Finger pricking

Status
Not open for further replies.
S

sue63

Well-Known Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Parent
Hi there

Can you give me some advice about finger pricking. My son has only been diagnosed a month and is quite reluctant to test much. He is injecting twice a day and tests before he injects.

When I ask him to test a bit more he actually admitted it hurt quite a bit and so he didn't want to! (don't blame him!) He plays the guitar so he values his fingers!

Will his fingers toughen up or is there more painless techniques or devices?

Thank you again!
x
 
Hi Sue. I have found that, generally, it doesn't hurt me so much now as it did after diagnosis a couple of years ago. I play guitar also, so I just use my little fingers. If his lancet device has different settings, he might like to experiment with that to try and find the most comfortable/least painful setting. I have mine set at 2, but it goes up to 5!

Running the finger under warm water beforehand will also help. You need to wait a couple of seconds after lancing before squeezing the blood out.

I have done about 4,500 fingerprick tests in the past two years, and my fingers are not too bad, just a little calloused. Hope this helps! 🙂
 
1) Does he use a new lancet each time or does he reuse them? If reused, they will get blunt quite quickly and that is one source of pain.

2) Try not to prick on the finger pads, but around the edges.

3) Reduce the depth that the lancet pricks (assuming your pricker is the same as mine).

I hope that helps,

Andy

p.s. Sorry, I can't answer the question about whether the fingers will toughen up or not.
 
If he plays a lot then his finger pads will be quite hard and he will need a high number on the lancing device just to penetrate. As Andy says you should prick the side of the finger, that will be softer as is not used on the guitar, I use setting 2 or 3 at most, again use a new lancet to make sure it's as sharp as possible.
 
I really find a new lancet works wonders, and also having very warm hands. On hot days I can switch my lancet to the lowest number and still get plenty of blood. I always test on the sides of my fingers to prevent nerve damage in the future.
 
Hi Sue,

After fourteen years of this my finger tips are like leather. Just make sure he rotates his fingers. I'm trying to to keep to the sides of my fingers at the moment. It gets easier as time goes on.

Tom
 
One thing I swear by is washing my hands in warm soapy water first. It reduces the chances of false readings and the lancing device can be turned down so it hurts less. Also, us the side of your fingers - it hurts less.

If you can't wash your hands in warm water use eg in the public loos useing the hot air dryer warms up my pinkies enough.

If you have the Accu-Chek Multiclix lancing device then changing lancets is a breeze and the fresher the lancet the less it hurts me.

Hope that helps.
 
After a while he may find the sides of his fingers get as calloused as the tips of his fretting hand! Using different parts of the sides of different fingers can help to keep the 'depth' down. For me this has more effect than a new lancet, which I can sometimes find more painful not less. If callouses start building up on the sides he could always try using the other side of the finger - a bit more fiddly to get the droplet on the strip but it doubles your choices!

There's also a bit of a knack of how firmly you are holding the device against your finger. Firmly, but not hard is what works for me. And the more relaxed you are the easier this is to control.

It could be worse... for quite a while after diagnosis I didn't have a finger-pricking device at all - I just had to hold the lancet and jab it in. Ouch!

M
 
Just to add that it is also possible to take a measurement from your arm, or other places, like your earlobe! Most people who have a choice tend to use their fingers though, and it hsould be pointed out that a test from the arm will not be as accurate as a test from a fingertip, especially if levels are changing rapidly like with a hypo.

There's quite extensive information about blood testing on the pages here:

http://diabetes.webmd.com/home-blood-glucose-test
 
I also wash my hands in warm water first whenever I can, and I use a different finger every time, starting on the left. I do find it hurts less when I use the side of my pinky fingers than any of the others. It's easier to get blood out of a stone than it is out of me, so warming up my hands first is essential.
 
I found that changing my tester worked for me. My previous one was horrid and hurt more than my new one. So ask the nurse/doctor if they have an alternative he can use. 🙂
 
My fingers are fine now after 4 and half years. It will get better with time.
I sew a little aswell and did before hand so my fingers where ok with the needles.
Always use the sides not the middles and i find using a different finger all the time the better thing to do for me.
I dont use my thumbs they hurt, they do at hospital and i dont like it.

x
 
Same as all mentioned above. And also, we were told NOT to use the index finger and thumb, as they are the most used digits. So when the fingers are sore, at least it won't be those ones. 😉
 
I use my forearm to test everytime, but i am aware that readings can be inaccurate from here. i hated doing my fingertips when i was younger so a doctor advised me to change to my arm, and i have done it there ever since.

My HbA1C results are ok too so for me the inaccuracy associated with testing from the arm havent effected me too badly. But it would be different for everybody.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top