Pain Free Blood Sugar Testing
How To Test Your Glucose Levels With Less Suffering
By following three simple steps, it is possible to reduce or elminate pain that is associated with diabetes testing
The three most important keys to having less painful blood sugar testings are not in which specific brands of meter is used, but knowing which features of the diabetic equipment itself help eliminate painful testing.
The diabetic meter
Some people believe that a certain meter will be less painful to use than another meter. The truth is the only thing that makes one meter less painful than another is the amount of blood it requires to do an accurate reading. So, the first step to getting less painful readings is to find a meter that will require a smaller blood sample. The smaller amount of blood required, usually the less pain there will be.
The lancing device
The lancing device is the device that quickly pushes the lancet through your skin and into your finger. Most lancing devices are spring loaded. The spring is wound up and then released. The spring propels the lancet through your skin to produce the blood.
Since most lancing devices use the spring loaded system, it follows that the newer the spring, the tighter it is and the quicker it pushes the needle into your finger. The quicker it pushes, the less pain there is. However, after usually about six months or so, the spring will lose it tightness and start to wear out. This means it will take more force to actually penetrate the skin and it will start to hurt more.
Lancing devices have five depth settings from very deep to very shallow. Normally, the setting should be in the middle at about level three. As the spring wears out, it will be necessary to set the depth level on the lancing device to go deeper and deeper. If you notice that in order to get the lancing device to puncture your skin, your depth level is already set at five, you will want to replace it, as this shows the spring has just about worn out and the lancing device is pushing very hard against your skin to break through.
So, the second step to less painful blood testing is to make sure you replace your spring loaded lancing device every six months or so.
The lancets
Lancets come in widths, called “gauges”. The most common lancets range from 25 gauge to 33 gauge. The larger the gauge number, the thinner the lancet will be. So, a 25 gauge lancet will be thicker than a 33 gauge lancet. As a rule, the smaller the gauge, the thinner the needle and the less painful it will be.
Although many healthcare professionals say you can re-use a lancet over and over, in truth, the lancets are not designed for repeated use. After the first use, the lancets is no longer sterile, so manufacturers do not make lancets to be used more than once.
Technology has allowed the manufacturers to continue to make smaller gauge lancets and so the metal used in these lancets are thinner and thinner. With more and more uses, the lancet tip may actually bend and become duller.
Also, the manufacturers apply a lubricant to the lancet to allow it to pierce the skin more easily. The more often the lancet is used, the more the lubricant wears off.
So, to the third step to reducing pain is to make sure you use the thinnest gauge lancets that feels right for you and to replace the lancet after each use to stop the tips from becoming dull or bending and reduce the possibility of lubricant wearing off.
To learn more, about this topic and many others, there is very excellent source of diabetes information.
Further reference: www.diabeticalliance.com
