sore fingertips!

[rosgrech]

I am quite sure other people have had the same problem. I have been testing BS from my fingertips since diagnosis a year ago but I have recently found them become ultra sensitive and boy do they hurt when pricked. I alternate hands to keep usage to the minimum but testing 4-6 times a day seems to have taken its toll.

Are there other areas (hands or even elsewhere) that can be used - even if temporarily to alleviate my sore fingertips?

Rosemary

 

[wiflib]

Which bit of your fingertip are you using? It's best to avoid using the sensitive 'pad' bit.

wiflib

 

[badmedisin]

It's usually less painful if you use the sides of your fingertips. There's forearm testing but I get the impression this isn't really recommended and you shouldn't use it to confirm a hypo. Not really sure why, sorry.

I did read about a woman who had her blood tests taken from her earlobe, with the result that one ear ended up a lot longer than than the other. So maybe not such a good idea...

 

[cugila]

Are there other areas (hands or even elsewhere) that can be used - even if temporarily to alleviate my sore fingertips?

Rosemary

You should NEVER use the tips of your fingers on a regular basis. If you think about it there are far more nerve endings there than the sides of your fingers, that is the reason it will get painful.

I test using just three fingers on each hand and rotate them each week, using the sides of the fingers only, that way you spread the 'pinpricks' around. I also test up to 7-9 times most days and have no pain whatsoever. Make sure the lancet device is at the lowest setting tolerable and allowing a decent size blood spot.

As for Alternative Sites for testing, (AST) yes you can but you must always discuss this with your HCP beforehand as they are not as accurate, especially if you are close to a hypo or your Bg levels are changing rapidly. There really should be no need if you are testing correctly, although there is always the exception to this.

Ken

 

[rosgrech]

Using the word fingertips obviously misled you. I do actually use the sides of 3 fingers on each hand - one hand per day!

No danger of hypos with BS's averaging at about 8.8 - it will be interesting to see what my third HBA1c test taken last Thursday turns out to be.

Have to persevere with the finger(sides)!

 

[catherinecherub]

If you consider your thumbs as well, there are 20 sites to choose from.

AST is not reliable because of the difference in blood flow. There may be a delay when blood sugars are rising or falling.

 

[HLW]

I was getting sore fingers, I realised what I was doing was setting the depth too low so I had to really press the lancet device against my fingers, and that was what was hurting them. I now make sure not to press hard and set the lancet to a deeper depth setting. Thought I should mention this incase it is whist is happening with you.

 

[Synonym]

Just wonder if you are changing your lancet before each test, or occasionally or not at all just yet :?:
I don't change my lancet very often but know when I should as it starts to hurt more, probably as it may get a little blunt after a while.

 

[patjenkins1]

My fingertips hurt when I have not used them for testing. Any ideas ?


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[AnnieC]

They say side of the finger is best but I am never sure how far down the finger I should go. I only test a couple of times a day so have not really suffered from sore fingers

 

[m1ndoro]

This explains why my son, whom never really complained about finger pricks, is now feeling bit of pain when testing. He changed his technique from what Dr showed us and I've noticed he's pressing into his finger.

 

[michaeldavid]

I never use those nasty, snapping, spring-loaded devices. They're needlessly aggressive. (And I imagine that they're especially unsettling for small children.)

I simply hold the bare lancet, and gently jab either the side of my finger (or thumb), or just below the pad.

I do this 16-odd times per day. (I tend to use each lancet for a week or more.) And I've been doing it for 30 years now.

I don't get sore fingers.

 

[patjenkins1]

My fingers are sore on the fingers I don't test on though.


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[michaeldavid]

If they're not sore on account of testing, then even your own GP wouldn't speculate on a diagnosis without first seeing your fingers.

 

[hale710]

I never use those nasty, snapping, spring-loaded devices. They're needlessly aggressive. (And I imagine that they're especially unsettling for small children.)

I simply hold the bare lancet, and gently jab either the side of my finger (or thumb), or just below the pad.

I do this 16-odd times per day. (I tend to use each lancet for a week or more.) And I've been doing it for 30 years now.

I don't get sore fingers.

I did this when my machine broke - so much more painful!!


Blogging at drivendiabetic.wordpress.com

 

[michaeldavid]

Well, then either your lancet was blunt, or you simply jabbed too hard.

When new, lancets are exquisitely sharp - they're far sharper than a sewing needle.

I suggest you try again. (What would it cost you?) And be gentle!

 

[m1ndoro]

Bare lancets? Is it kept somewhere sterile? IMO The spring loaded type seems more adequate for younger children, due to the machine doing the "pricking" instead of holding the lancets and having the dexterity to aim and apply pressure.

 

[michaeldavid]

Modern lancets are always sterile when first used.

But I'm not too fussy myself. So I normally just replace the little plastic plug on the end. (They don't all have replaceable plugs, but some do.) And then I put the lancet into my pot of testing strips, where it stays until next time. (I find each lancet lasts around a week before it starts to go blunt; and I test 16-odd times per day - mostly using ultracheap but highly effective visually read strips.)

I think perhaps it would be a bit much to expect vey small children to be happy about jabbing themselves with a bare lancet. But they will soon be having to give themselves injections. So the sooner they develop the kind of manual dexterity you refer to, the better. And indeed, it's a lot safer to develop such dexterity using a lancet than it is using a hypodermic needle.