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How do you clean finger for testing? poll

before testing (can clcik more than one choice and anon)

  • I always wash my hands

    Votes: 21 61.8%

  • I mostly lick and soetimes wash

    Votes: 2 5.9%

  • I mostly wash and sometimes lick

    Votes: 5 14.7%

  • I never lick

    Votes: 14 41.2%

  • I always lick

    Votes: 1 2.9%

  • I sometimes dicard the first drop and use second drop of blood

    Votes: 5 14.7%

  • I always use the first drop

    Votes: 20 58.8%
  • Total voters
    34
I get the budgie to lick my finger.
 
I use the cat always after the budgie and licking his lips. Nice one
 
Drat, I didn't notice it accepted multiple options til it was too late!

You can add an extra vote to the 'always use 1st drop' option.
 
Some of us always discard the first drop, and use the second.
There's no option for I usually wash, but if I can't I just test (i.e. I don't lick to clean my finger)

I could go on. Sorry, polls bring out my pedancy to its strongest force. When it's strong, it can become very, very strong.
 
Took up the carpet, and the carpet grippers yesterday.
Probably stabbed my fingers tips enough for the next week.
 
I'm delighted to get enough blood for one drop, let alone enough to discard it and get a second drop. Sometimes I have to jab 3 or 4 times on different fingers for this one tiny drop.

I always wash, never lick. I wash my hands twice in fact, then rinse under running water.

However, I do lick afterwards!
 
you lick a finger to clean it? lol seriously? there must be more germs in your mouth than on your finger?
 

To be fair, I wipe away the tiniest drop, as soon as the red stuff appears. I don't waste any more of the precious stuff than I can avoid.

I have recently found I get better samples using the sides of my fingers, rather than anything closer to the pad.
 
I wipe it off my top like an apron..I struggle to get a blood sample so there's not much left to clean, I'm left with the smallest amount of blood. Not the most hygienic thing in the world but haven't had an infection so far anyhow lol.
 
I really only wash my hands when testing whilst cooking or during gardening.
Many of my tests are during long walks or runs in the middle of nowhere, in the car, in restaurants or any odd place that I feel hypo. I suspect I don't clean before most tests.
In 9.5 years , I will have done around 21,000 tests .I've got lots of little black marks on my fingers but no infections. My HbA1c has always been in accord with my testing.
 
I'm more or less the same as Phoenix. If I can, I'll run my hand under the tap first and then test but if I'm not able to do that, I'll either not test or do one further up my hand towards the palm.
 
I rarely wash hands, unless food prepared earlier.

I work gardening all day. If I need to test, just whip off gloves n test.. (Would have to walk 1/2mile to outside tap-could be bad by then!!).

At home in house unless done food prep I just test. If I get an unbelievable reading-then I wash).

Done it like this for over 30 tears. Caught out twice with food prep only in that time. Still got fingers, and toes and all limbs...

Am I likely to change? No.
 
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