Which Finger?

I have never heard of that before.

Learn something new everyday

 

Avoid pricking your thumbs, index fingers and the tips/ central parts of the other fingers, as they are very sensitive and it may damage the nerves.

http://www.uhsm.nhs.uk/patients/Diabetes patient leaflets/Monitoring blood sugar.pdf

 

I sometimes use toes

 

Wow, I have actually never heard before that there were some fingers that you should not (could not?) use for finger pricking?
The general 'best practice' has been these:

But clinically you can equally well use all 5. All have more or less same blood flow, and in any case sufficient to give you same level of bg accuracy reading. The guidance on which to use and how was more for your personal convenience and general comfort.
Thumb and index have more nerve endings than the other 3, reason why they in average will give more pain signals if used. While the remaining three have same neurologic connectivity. Next to this, then the finger end pads are also with more nerve endings and capillaries offering more blood than needed and may be more challenging to quickly heal up as result without using a patch. Reason why general advice has been to use the two sides of the three remaining fingers.

Your reason why pinky cannot join the daily Dracula party?

 

My sister was diagnosed in France. They told her never to use her index fingers. She might need them later for reading Braille

 

I use them all except thumbs, don't know why, that's just the way it happens.
I should try using them just to spread the load.
Pinky always gives the most blood.

 

Well, you learn something every day!

I've been using the pad of my thumb for years now. That's how I was told to do it by my Diabetes Nurse. It doesn't seem to have affected me as my blood tests are always generally in line with my HbA1c and I don't appear to have any damage to my thumb.

 

The most gross thing I ever read on this subject was on this board where a DN said to a patient, "You don't want to do that too often since you will need them when you go blind".

Blessem.

 

Having broken the tip of my index finger of my left hand many moons ago and not had good feeling in it since then, I guess I'll finger prick it anyway and never read braille...

 

**** those cynical and rude care providers!

 

i must admit i use them all apart from thumbs, pinky bleeds loads but the others dont like to give me much lol

 

I can perhaps understand not using thumbs and index fingers as these are the ones we probably use the most for precision handling of things, so could cause the most hassle if we ever did do any damage to the nerves.

I've never understood about using the sides and not the pads, as it's the sides that hurt me the most... Being left handed I nearly always use my right hand fingers for pricking and certainly my little finger is the most prolific blood wise...and possibly the one I use least of all for everything else.

Robbity

 

with you there, sides are hellish for me and pads more or less pain free.... since reading this thread I've tried sides and finding blood is hard to come by and sore for some times afterwards.....

 

So I've gone back to sides for a couple of days and finding that I need to give it the Full Monty to get any blood... and lordie is it sore for sometime afterwards....
Going to have to rethink this.

 

I test the edge of the palm of my hand- clench your fist, you will notice the edge of the palm of your hand will engorge with blood, test anywhere around here, usually painless and just as accurate given there is often a variation in results between fingers and hands anyway.

 

Daft advice if you are older since it’s difficult for an adult to learn braille anyway due to not having the high sensitivity of a young person.