Injections and finger pricking

[Fezzy]

Hello everyone.

My son has just been diagnosed with type 1 Diabetes and is still in hospital, 3rd day. Is there any advice on how to cope with the finger pricking and injections? He is so scared and puts up a real fight at this time and afterwards he throws a real major rage wanting to throw things etc :twisted: .

I know it is early days but just wondered if there was any advice or similar stories from other members on here.

Many thanks.

 

[kay957]

Hi Fezzy,
How old is your son?

 

[peecee]

put the pricker on lowest setting then increase bit by bit until you produce a big enough drop of blood , also try the sides of the finger not the tips or pads, ask the doctor/nurse about alternative site testing if suitable.

 

[ebony321]

Hi,

just a few ideas..

You can get 'magic cream' sorry i don't know the medical name, which is applied 10-20 mins before an injection that helps the area.

you can also get a teddy with a certain company that's like a diabetes buddy! or get a teddy from anywhere then he can give his teddy a pretend injection then you give your sons his?

you could also test your blood first to try encourage him to see it is a little painful but if you can do it he might feel better after seeing you...

I'm not sure how old your son is but involving him in the care could make him feel special, like him inserting his own test strip into the machine, that's if he's old enough.

It must be quite scary for a child! hope it goes more smoothly soon!

 

[Fezzy]

Thanks for the responses. My son is just 3 years old and on his third day of testing and injections. Things improved greatly today wshen we discovered the hospital had a treatment room with distraction light, and other stuff, why it wasn't offered to start with i'll never know, but it has made a huge difference.

Lots of good tipe here and i particularly like the diabetes buddy/teddy.

Thanks.

 

[Jen&Khaleb]

Hi there,

Very sorry to hear of your family's recent diagnosis and stay in hospital. It is a very stressful time at the start and a huge learning curve.

My son was diagnosed at 8 months so has never really known any other life. He sometimes isn't fussed to get his injections and I tend to prepare it out of sight. I then lay him face down on my lap with a toy, book or the portable dvd player in front of him and use his butt, hip fat and thighs for needles. I often sing one of his favourite songs.

All the best and hope you are home soon. It doesn't take long before diabetes becomes just another member of the family.

 

[Hobs]

All good suggestions above so I will just add about home testing (finger pricking).

Some testing meters require less blood that others so that is worth remembering when selecting which brand you settle with.

Two I know about need no more that 3 micro litres which just about covers a pin head or about enough to fill this O ... Abbott Freestile Lite and Menarini's GlucoMen LX both need just 3 micro litres but there may be more brands out there.

Now a few words about injection site numbing creams .. I have been told these also reduce blood flow to the site and therefore of no use when trying to draw blood for home testing.

Good luck and please pop back sometime and let us know how you get on with your son ..poor wee lad

 

[hismom]

hi,
I just wanted to add that from our experience different finger prickers hurt less than others. My son is using the Accu Chek multiclix. He reckons this is really painless. It also has 6 finger pricking lancets in one barrel.




steph

 

[Hobs]

OOooooops ... my previous should read 0.3 of a micro litre

 

[Jen&Khaleb]

Steph, I have to agree with the multiclix being a goodie with kids. Soft on fingers and when you drop them you don't get a sharp floating about. Also great for kindy/school not having pointy bits. It was a pretty expensive purchase for me - I don't know why the strips and needles come on our subsidies system but lancers and lancets don't. Do you get lancers/lancets on your NHS?

 

[Fezzy]

Hi everyone,

Thanks for all the comments. Just thought i'd give you an update on how things are going. My son is now home after a week in hospital. The finger pricking and injections is rarely an issue at the moment (for now).

He resisted to start with but he soon became used to the idea of it. Tried a few different lancet devices and, as mentioned aboth, the accu-checker multi-stix has been the best. It's certainly not as vicious as the others tested and seems alot safer to use around kids.

He got so used to the insulin injections that he occasionally threw a tantrum when he didn't get the injection where he wanted it. :roll:

So it's now time to try and settle into the new routine at home. Thanks for all the replies, i'm now trawling the posts for other useful tips.

Thanks again!!