Blood testing diabetes type 2

[Healthier]

Hi everyone after having diabetes 2 years now I have finally decided to start testing my blood sugar.

Only I have quite a problem.I am a beauty therapist that works with my hands daily.Hence one of the reasons I haven’t already done it.
I can’t wear gloves for work as it would feel awful for customers having a facial etc.

Open wounds are a big no no in my profession due to hygiene and whilst a blood test site is small it’s still a problem.

At a loss what to do. Any advice will be appreciated.

Thank you in advance

 

[Ljc]

Hi @Healthier. The SD Codefree that we often recommend to people who have to self fund the ongoing test strips as it has the cheapest test strips we know of around £8 for 50 , can test a few different areas
It’s available directly from https://homehealth-uk.com/all-products/codefree-blood-glucose-monitoring-system-mmoll-or-mgdl/ ( we use the mmoll version in the UK)
Or

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Codefree-G...&linkId=f39210144fdc26c27738e45b6d957003&th=1

 

[Robin]

Hi everyone after having diabetes 2 years now I have finally decided to start testing my blood sugar.

Only I have quite a problem.I am a beauty therapist that works with my hands daily.Hence one of the reasons I haven’t already done it.
I can’t wear gloves for work as it would feel awful for customers having a facial etc.

Open wounds are a big no no in my profession due to hygiene and whilst a blood test site is small it’s still a problem.

At a loss what to do. Any advice will be appreciated.

Thank you in advance

Some meters (maybe all, I don’t know) have an alternative top on the lancet for testing on other parts of the body, but I’ve never done it, so can’t say if it’s as accurate, or as easy. Worth looking into, though, someone else on here will hopefully be along soon with more info.

 

[Northerner]

Hi everyone after having diabetes 2 years now I have finally decided to start testing my blood sugar.

Only I have quite a problem.I am a beauty therapist that works with my hands daily.Hence one of the reasons I haven’t already done it.
I can’t wear gloves for work as it would feel awful for customers having a facial etc.

Open wounds are a big no no in my profession due to hygiene and whilst a blood test site is small it’s still a problem.

At a loss what to do. Any advice will be appreciated.

Thank you in advance

Hi @Healthier, welcome to the forum 🙂 There is an alternative to finger-pricking in addition to to those mentioned above, although it does require a bigger initial outlay. The Freestyle Libre flash monitoring system uses a sensor which you put on your upper arm and you can then scan this in order to obrtain a reading, Details here:

https://www.freestylelibre.co.uk/libre/

You would still need to do the occasional finger prick to ensure the scanner is reading accurately, but the Libre will offer you far more information than using test strips and you will save money on strips so this can be offset against the cost of the sensors 🙂

 

[Andy HB]

This is an interesting issue. Because the pin prick is such a small wound and, for me, it stops bleeding pretty quickly. I am not even aware of it any more an hour later. I wonder at what point it could be considered not a wound any more? An hour, two hours, a day or longer? I guess it also depends on how frequently one tests as well.

Sorry I have no answers, but I am interested!

Andy 🙂

 

[Sally71]

Don't know if this helps, but I believe it's perfectly acceptable to use toes or ear lobes for testing too, you don't have to use fingers!