• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

How to get accurate results if you're unable to wash your hands prior to testing?

T

TheGreatGateway

Active Member
Messages
25
Sometimes it's just not possible to wash our hands at all when out and about, or we need to catch our symptoms quickly. What should one do to get as good a reading of blood glucose as possible without hand washing? Also does it make a difference if you wash your hands with a bar of soap or just regular hot water?
 
I have a few alcohol medi swabs in my meter case for the times I need to test and there is not a tap available.

bbP1044186232-22-lotslayers2_grande.jpg
 
I stick my targeted finger in my mouth, and then wipe it on an article of clothing. Then call it good, and test.
 
Tipetoo said:
I have a few alcohol medi swabs in my meter case for the times I need to test and there is not a tap available.

bbP1044186232-22-lotslayers2_grande.jpg
Click to expand...
Whilst an alcohol swab will make a decent job of killing germs, unless there is enough of it and vigour rubbling, it will not necessarily shift rough food contamination.

Alcohol can also distort the readings.

I just get on and test.
 
I almost always test without washing hands - just wash if either I’ve been handling food or if I get an unexpected reading. When first diagnosed and I religiously washed hands prior to testing my skin completely dried out and cracked.
 
...or simply take your readings from another place, such as from your arm. Not as convenient as from your fingers, I admit, but fully possible...
 
DCUKMod said:
Alcohol can also distort the readings.
Click to expand...
@DCUKMod If the alcohol swabs are good enough for hospital departments / wards., GP surgery treatment rooms, pathology shops etc. for cleaning the area to stick a needle in it's good enough for me to do the same. :D
 
Yes, alcohol wipes and wet wipes are both good to use, in my opinion.

An important consideration though, is that the skin must be left to dry before proceeding further.

The teaching in hospital is: 5sec rubbing, 10sec drying. That provides decontamination.
 
LooperCat said:
Alcohol swabs can give a falsely lowered reading.
Click to expand...
So all of the blood tests I have had done at hospital departments / wards., GP surgery treatment rooms, pathology shops etc. are all wrong.

I don't think so...
0y4h3.gif
 
Tipetoo said:
So all of the blood tests I have had done at hospital departments / wards., GP surgery treatment rooms, pathology shops etc. are all wrong.

I don't think so...
0y4h3.gif
Click to expand...
Laugh away. Modern U.K. ambulance guidelines are to not use them for this reason.
 
LooperCat said:
Laugh away. Modern U.K. ambulance guidelines are to not use them for this reason.
Click to expand...
From what I remember from the last time the QAS paramedics were at the bowls club treating someone, they used mediswabs before they put a drip in his arm.
 
Tipetoo said:
So all of the blood tests I have had done at hospital departments / wards., GP surgery treatment rooms, pathology shops etc. are all wrong.

I don't think so...
0y4h3.gif
Click to expand...
Tipetoo said:
From what I remember from the last time the QAS paramedics were at the bowls club treating someone, they used mediswabs before they put a drip in his arm.
Click to expand...

I think there’s a subtle difference between cleaning skin before a finger prick as opposed to inserting a drip or taking a sample direct from a vein, for two reasons. A finger prick is a tiny sample of blood from capillary veins, therefore any other fluid present can hugely dilute the specimen hence the need to dry your finger before the test plus there isn’t much risk of infection.
Inserting a drip or taking a venous sample is much more invasive so sterility is way more important, then the blood is a larger sample and enters the specimen tube directly bypassing any moisture on the skin so very little chance of diluting the sample.
That’s my understanding anyway :)
 
Rachox said:
I think there’s a subtle difference between cleaning skin before a finger prick as opposed to inserting a drip or taking a sample direct from a vein, for two reasons. A finger prick is a tiny sample of blood from capillary veins, therefore any other fluid present can hugely dilute the specimen hence the need to dry your finger before the test plus there isn’t much risk of infection.
Inserting a drip or taking a venous sample is much more invasive so sterility is way more important, then the blood is a larger sample and enters the specimen tube directly bypassing any moisture on the skin so very little chance of diluting the sample.
That’s my understanding anyway :)
Click to expand...
Absolutely. Shoving a needle deep into a vein carries a significant infection risk, so we clean the site with alcohol. A simple fingerprick for capillary blood doesn’t carry the same risk, so we wipe the area with sterile water and dry it with gauze. The drop of blood is so small that the reading is easily corrupted by trace amounts of alcohol, plus repeated use of these wipes on the skin over time dries it out and thickens it - making cracks more likely (quite a big infection risk) and tests more painful in the long term.
 
I just squeeze out the first blob and wipe it off on a clean tissue then use the next drop if I can't wash. Testing showed this gives a similar result to washing, rinsing and wiping finger on clean paper and better than washing then using a towel to dry my hands.
 
TriciaWs said:
I just squeeze out the first blob and wipe it off on a clean tissue then use the next drop if I can't wash. Testing showed this gives a similar result to washing, rinsing and wiping finger on clean paper and better than washing then using a towel to dry my hands.
Click to expand...
This is what I tend to do myself!
 
I lick my finger.
I have tested after using alcohol hand wipes and the result was 0.5 so....:hilarious:
If my hands are particularly dirty (not necessarily food) and I use an alcohol wipe, I then wipe my finger on my clothes, but 99% of the time I just give my finger a lick and a wipe on my trousers.
 
Back
Top