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Sharing lancing device and risk of infection

FYI, Let alone someone using my device, like in a cafe, if I accidently leave it on the table, and if the waiter unintentionaly touches and moves it to organize the table; when I return back home, I disinfect the case and everything in it with 70% isopropyl alcohol swabs as per instructions in the booklet which comes with the glucometer in the box. Maybe it is only me, as with my condition of diabetes, my immune system's strenght is 1/7th of someone who has no diabetes.
 
luv2spin said:
FYI, Let alone someone using my device, like in a cafe, if I accidently leave it on the table, and if the waiter unintentionaly touches and moves it to organize the table; when I return back home, I disinfect the case and everything in it with 70%
isopropyl alcohol swabs as per instructions in the booklet which comes with the glucometer in the box. Maybe it is only me, as with my condition of diabetes, my immune system's strenght is 1/7th of someone who has no diabetes.
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But do you know that most of the healthcare professionals in hospitals and pharmacies use the same pen by changing lancet each time? I have not used any publicly available device. This device is just being used by my mom and she is married and I don't think she has any STDs or other Hepatitis type of diseases.

Edit: I have also talked to my general physician about it and she said that people are just at risk of HBV by changing the needle and sharing the injector. She said that there is an extremely low risk of transmission and I am on the safe side as it is a negligible risk.
 
What your GP is saying as well as what the forum Moderator is saying are very correct and true. Moderators here are very knowledgeable and experienced.

I would never have my BG tested in a chemist shop and in hospitals I doubt that if they use a pen as we use at home but, then again it is like this over here, I don't know how it is over there.
 
andalsonofeden said:
But do you know that most of the healthcare professionals in hospitals and pharmacies use the same pen by changing lancet each time? I have not used any publicly available device. This device is just being used by my mom and she is married and I don't think she has any STDs or other Hepatitis type of diseases.

Edit: I have also talked to my general physician about it and she said that people are just at risk of HBV by changing the needle and sharing the injector. She said that there is an extremely low risk of transmission and I am on the safe side as it is a negligible risk.
Click to expand...

Hi again @andalsonofeden ,
I'm not sure of your location & the protocols of your health care system?

I'm based in the UK. The pe loaded disposable lancets for single use in hospitals, tend to look like this.?
Once used it will not function again. & is disposed of in the correct manor..
image.jpeg
 
Jaylee said:
I'm based in the UK. The pre loaded disposable lancets for single use in hospitals, tend to look like this.?
Once used it will not function again. & is disposed of in the correct manor..
Click to expand...
It's the same in Queensland hospitals, they use disposable lancing devices that can not be used twice.

I did have a link for them, but cannot find it this morning.

Rifkah said:
But what do I know I just some person on the Internet.
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Opinions are like rectums, everyone has one.
 
9E281A43-F7D9-4799-A1CA-08B73B192145.jpeg
andalsonofeden said:
But do you know that most of the healthcare professionals in hospitals and pharmacies use the same pen by changing lancet each time?
Click to expand...

Jaylee said:
Hi again @andalsonofeden ,
I'm not sure of your location & the protocols of your health care system?

I'm based in the UK. The pe loaded disposable lancets for single use in hospitals, tend to look like this.?
Once used it will not function again. & is disposed of in the correct manor..
View attachment 26552
Click to expand...



I agree with @Jaylee , I’m in the U.K. and where I worked (til I retired in 2016) we used these. Single use, in fact it was impossible to use twice as the needle retracted back into the casing after one stab and could not be activated again.
 
Thing is I have several lancing devices so that every one in the household can have their own. If you are worried the best thing is to have your own kit and use that.
 
Rachox said:
View attachment 26554





I agree with @Jaylee , I’m in the U.K. and where I worked (til I retired in 2016) we used these. Single use, in fact it was impossible to use twice as the needle retracted back into the casing after one stab and could not be activated again.
Click to expand...

Wow, thanks @Rachox . You found the exact device that gets used on me when I go for the macula oedema treatment..
Unfortunately, the depth setting or the nurse's technique is not that good & it ends up spent with no sufficient blood drawn.. Lol, I end up using my own device with it's personal depth setting. :banghead:
 
Jaylee said:
Wow, thanks @Rachox . You found the exact device that gets used on me when I go for the macula oedema treatment..
Unfortunately, the depth setting or the nurse's technique is not that good & it ends up spent with no sufficient blood drawn.. Lol, I end up using my own device with it's personal depth setting. :banghead:
Click to expand...
We generally had yellow or lilac, the yellow went deeper. I think there’s other depths too.
 
Rachox said:
We generally had yellow or lilac, the yellow went deeper. I think there’s other depths too.
Click to expand...

Yep, I guessed the colour was some sort of depth set coding.. The HCP just always seems to have the lilac ones.?
Everything is barcode scanned & logged before use on a patient these days. Like "stock control?"
 
Energize said:
If you have your blood sugar checked in hospital, ie on the ward as a patient, the same device will be used for all the patients.

I've not seen anyone take the trouble to clean the device in between patients. The lancet and the strip is new for each patient, though.
Click to expand...

Whenever I have had a finger prick test in hospital a "single use" lancet device is used and disposed of immediately.
 
Never mind thw fact you put a new lancet in to test yourself.

Did you put a new one in to make sure you mother does not ge an infection from YOU.
 
Bearing in mind that hospitals use the same device, albeit with fresh lancets for every patient, we would be up the creek without a paddle if this was the case.
 
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