Frequency of lancets

[Steff]

I know we have discussed in the past how often or not in some cases lol you change your lancet , but I just wanted to know if this sounds mad, i have been diabetic 13 month now and i still have the first pack of lancets i was given back in Feb 09 is that really bad or do others have boxes of lancets that have sat half full for years?

 

[Laura22]

I change my lancet after every test.

Same with needles for pens 🙂

 

[Caroline]

I change mine when it begins to hurt or when I test another person. Not very scientific I know. The advice is one lancet one test.

 

[AlisonM]

I change my lancet after every test.

I used to change mine every time too, but now that I'm having to buy my own I'm being less fastidious about it. I change mine about once a month.

 

[shiv]

for the first...17 years of my diabetic life, i was never told about changing lancets. i was told to just change them every once in a while or when it began to really hurt.

now i try to do it once a week. i still forget to do it every now and again.

 

[Old Holborn]

I change mine every test. But there again I only test twice a week.

 

[twinnie]

i try to change mine after every test but i can test up to 6-7 times a day and my memory is really bad so i do forget but i change the needle for my insulin every time

 

[Laura22]

I do straight after I take the strip out the meter. That way I don't forget 🙂

(But I usually forget my BG reading instead lol)

 

[SilentAssassin1642]

LOL! I rarely change my lancet. Usually its every couple of weeks but there have been times where it has been months

 

[Laura22]

I got yelled at by my DSN last time I went. I told her I change it every other test! Her face was like thunder! Gave me a stern telling off. Never did it again! She's a scary lady! lol

 

[RWJ]

Once a week, usually after Saturday morning test, for lancet. Every injection for needle, and I never inject through clothing. My OH is a nurse so hygeine is not negotiable! Sometimes think I'd better off with a hijacker..lol

 

[scotty]

I change lancets every time i test,

 

[Copepod]

Not all nurses believe in changing lancets & needles for themselves every time. In fact, just yesterday emptied a small vitamin pot full of lancets & chopped needles into a sharps bin at work - at least 10 months worth of items. Why use more resources than you need?

 

[Northerner]

I change needles every time, partly because the pen cap won't go back on with the needle attached, but partly also because it hurts less to inject with a new needle. Lancets are different - they are likely to hurt anyway so I only change them when they start to hurt a lot 🙂 I, too, have had the same box of lancets since diagnosis nearly 2 years ago - I even had to ask my GP to put them back on my prescription - they had been removed because I hadn't requested any since diagnosis! 😱

Interestingly, I once read that when they were discussing the rollout of insulin pens in the late 1990s, one of the perceived cost benefits was that the needles could be reused. My DSN said that, in emergencies it was OK to reuse, but not as a rule.

 

[Peter C]

I know we have discussed in the past how often or not in some cases lol you change your lancet , but I just wanted to know if this sounds mad, i have been diabetic 13 month now and i still have the first pack of lancets i was given back in Feb 09 is that really bad or do others have boxes of lancets that have sat half full for years?

the Americans on alt.support.diabetes change lancets once a year on St. Swithun's Day.

 

[aymes]

I change the needle everytime. Lancets, I reckon about once a month or so....
My dsn tells me she'd prefer I changed it every other day though, she reckons theyre good for about ten tests.

 

[rossi_mac]

I try (don't we all🙄) change lancet every week, but as memory not the best it is sometimes is longer, needles every meal time I change, so if I correct after a meal I'll be using the same needle as the previous meal.

 

[sofaraway]

I change my needles almost every time, don't tend to use them more than twice. I have the multiclick lancet device so twist it to the next one about once a week or so.

 

[Fudge]

I Change the needle every time because I also got the same stern look when I asked how many times, I use a Accu-Chek Multiclix which has 6 lancets then just replace the cartridge.

 

[D_G]

I change my needle after evry injection, never re use those! i use my multiclix finger pricker from my old meter as i like it coz i dont have to carry extra lancets around with me and one barrell lasts me around a month.....though it probably shouldnt 🙄