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Finger pricking shenanigans

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This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
Flower

Flower

Well-Known Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
Do you ever prick your finger, squeeze it and a blood drop appears in a different place to where the lancet went in? This has happened before to me and I thought maybe I’d misfired the lancet and it had punctured a slightly different area but this evening the lancet went in on the left, I squeezed my finger and blood appeared on the far right side of my finger . What on Earth is going on? Am I alone in this weird phenomenon ? 😱🙂
 
Sounds like you’ve sprung a leak! Yes, I’ve had it happen...occasionally I’ve had it appear in two other places! I think it’s to keep us amused and / or paying attention.
 
I have occasionally found that I get too spots of blood a few mm apart and wondered if the lancet rebounded sometimes and spiked me twice but obviously the other side of your finger could not be explained by this. Was your previous lancing on the same finger... ie do you think the previous piercing of the skin a few hours earlier perhaps had not fully healed and when you apply pressure for the new one it sprung a leak?
 
Yup! I’ve definitely had that 😛

My other particular favourite is the ‘slasher movie’ variant, where the ‘other’ hole which lets the blood out is very tiny, and the blood comes squirting out over several feet in a tiny arc-ing stream of droplets all over you and whatever is nearby. 😱
 
Yes, I've had that happen with my little finger a couple of times. No obvious droplet, so squeezed it and the got a spurt! I assumed it is because the skin on my little finger is finer than the thick calloused skin on my other fingers.
 
Phew! Thank goodness I’m normal then 😛 I think my rhino hide setting on my lancing device may cause some sort of shock wave that reopens previous holes in my fingers

Ooh yes @everydayupsanddowns I've had the impressive ‘slasher movie’ happen where two punctures combine for an impressive show! 🙂
 
At my age I'm just grateful for any blood that comes out 🙂:D

John.
 
Flower said:
Phew! Thank goodness I’m normal then 😛 I think my rhino hide setting on my lancing device may cause some sort of shock wave that reopens previous holes in my fingers

Ooh yes @everydayupsanddowns I've had the impressive ‘slasher movie’ happen where two punctures combine for an impressive show! 🙂
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Only ever happens when I’m wearing a white or very pale coloured shirt 😛
 
I’d never really thought about it being two holes that causes the big spurt. Back in the day when I went on a BDA teenagers holiday, some of the boys would compete to see who could get the highest. Having then looked at the ceiling we could see previous visitors had also reached some height!
 
Lisa66 said:
I’d never really thought about it being two holes that causes the big spurt. Back in the day when I went on a BDA teenagers holiday, some of the boys would compete to see who could get the highest. Having then looked at the ceiling we could see previous visitors had also reached some height!
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You’d definitely have had a head start with reaching the ceiling with the lancing device of the day back then @Lisa66 ...😱😱

D9A8DE01-AF14-4C64-A851-1CC9F8B7C727.jpeg
 
Wow! It looks a bit like a staple gun!
 
rebrascora said:
Wow! It looks a bit like a staple gun!
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It was worse than that! It was a guillotine for fingers called the Autolet, it smashed down from a great height 😱 I had to sit for ages to brace myself to press the launch button and pretty soon cut out the middle man and just stuck the lancets straight into my fingertips. Thank goodness for progress 🙂
 
Ha ha, I think I’ve still got mine somewhere, no idea why. Launch button...that’s so funny, but describes it perfectly. I too used to sit bracing myself, it did require quite a bit of pressure and if I think about it I can still hear the snappy noise...forgotten how viscous it was. Yikes not sure I could have used a lancer on its own. Yet, if you think back we probably thought it was the latest whizzy tech after widdling on sticks :(

To clarify I didn’t take part in the “who can hit the ceiling” competition 🙂
 
Oh the wonderful Autolet , we used them at my work, horrid things.
 
I’ve bled from a previous holes too, hada few squirters in my time at work.
 
Oh, my! @Flower & @everydayupsanddowns - blimey! I have all this to look forward to! I picked up new needles today and they were 28 not 33. What I hadn't realised (being a rookie) was 33 is smaller... so I set my lancet to 5 and within seconds of completing (my now successful fortunately) reading I had a whacking bruise on the finger! I still have red marks. I don't want to waste needles but will definitely be asking for 33 next time. Although that said the 28 ensures a bleed! No leaking yet though... will think about where I use my meter in future. The kitchen would wipe down easier than my desk!
 
Neens said:
Oh, my! @Flower & @everydayupsanddowns - blimey! I have all this to look forward to! I picked up new needles today and they were 28 not 33. What I hadn't realised (being a rookie) was 33 is smaller... so I set my lancet to 5 and within seconds of completing (my now successful fortunately) reading I had a whacking bruise on the finger! I still have red marks. I don't want to waste needles but will definitely be asking for 33 next time. Although that said the 28 ensures a bleed! No leaking yet though... will think about where I use my meter in future. The kitchen would wipe down easier than my desk!
Click to expand...
Ouch ouch .
 
Gosh! I didn't even know that lancets came in different sizes. I think the spring in the lancet mechanism should come in different strengths. The lancet I got with my Caresens meter just bounces off my skin even on the deepest setting. Thankfully my Nexus lancet is more robust and does the job on the highest setting most of the time.... I have rhino skin!
 
Ljc said:
Ouch ouch .
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@Ljc It was a bit, Lin! For a while. However, easier to deal with bruises than the day I had to lance every finger allowed in an attempt to get enough blood.
@rebrascora Barbara, glad to give new knowledge as your posts are always helpful and full of advice. My skin is more like butterfly wings, but I think my blood is frozen! I read somewhere that if you are doing it right it shouldn't ever hurt. I followed exactly what was outlined and it still hurt!

Just happy to be getting readings now and know the meter works, just not always the person attached to it! 😉
 
Neens said:
I read somewhere that if you are doing it right it shouldn't ever hurt. I followed exactly what was outlined and it still hurt!
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Don't you believe it! There are techniques to reduce the pain and there will be times when you hit a sweet spot but there will be plenty of times when you don't.
My skin is tough but I still have nerves. Sometimes I do hardly feel it but occasionally it will still be sore the next day.
 
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This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
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