Many Questions on Testing

In the last three weeks I have received over five emails asking why I am not writing about testing more often and one was rather insisting that I write more. First I will refer readers to several blogs that I have written in January 7 to 10, 2013. This is the link to the first one.

First, I would advise everyone to properly wash his or her hands with soap and warm water and dry thoroughly. The temperature of the water will vary with the season and in general you will want to use the hottest water during the winter months to help increase blood circulation. It is not desirable to use alcohol to clean the area to be tested as fruit juice will not be removed by alcohol and the person testing will have a higher reading in that case. Alcohol also dries the skin and unless you use a moisturizing hand lotion, your fingers will crack and not heal quickly causing more pain for testing.

 

The above demonstrates the correct place on either side of the finger to prick with the lancet device. There are less nerves in this area making this less painful by a lot. Be sure to rotate on either side of each finger and then move to another finger. Do not test in the same place or on the same side of the finger more than once until you have rotated to all the fingers and thumbs. 

 

The above picture shows the incorrect area to prick your finger as generally on most people there a more nerves in this area making for more pain. Remember these two images as many people just write “finger tips” meaning the bottom of the two above images.

This does mean that you cannot experiment on yourself and some people are able to test on more of the area from the first joint to the finger tip. Many people find that their nerves will not allow this much latitude in testing area. 

The above image and the image below is the lancing device that I use. Most meters allow you to select the lancing device you desire, but many also come with their own lancing device. Most allow for adjusting the depth that the lancing device penetrates. It is normally suggested that you start with the lightest setting and increase the setting until you receive sufficient blood for the test strip.

In the image above, please notice the white lancet. The round tip on the left side needs to be removed after the lancet has been inserted in the lancing device by twisting it off. Most lancets are very similar in size and operation.