Adult patients However, blood volumes increased with the lancet penetration and depth. Lengths vary by manufacturer (from 0.85 mm for neonates up to 2.2 mm). In a finger-prick, the depth should not go beyond 2.4 mm, so a 2.2 mm lancet is the longest length typically used.
A penetration depth of 1.85 to 2.25 mm is recommended for adults, depending on the thickness of the skin. For children aged less than 8 years, the penetration depth should not exceed 1.5 mm. Selection of puncture site.
From the preceding considerations, it follows that a lancet of 0.8mm diameter has to penetrate at least 0.6-1.3mm into the skin to open enough vessels. Deeper or wider punctures provide more blood than necessary, cause needless pain and increase the danger of infectionb.
Acti-Lance and Medlance Plus type lancets had one blade version and the mean collected capillary blood volume was 82.2 and 99.0 μL, respectively. Prolance type lancet had two blade versions, and its use was associated with the highest mean capillary blood volume (118.3 μL).
Using a lancet, or heel incision device, and wearing gloves, perform the puncture on the plantar surface of the heel (the shaded area in figure 3). The puncture should be made to a depth of less than 2.0 mm with a sterile lancet or incision device (figure 4).
In a finger-prick, the depth should not go beyond 2.4 mm, so a 2.2 mm lancet is the longest length typically used.
Wipe away the first droplet of blood with a cotton ball or gauze as indicated. Rationale: The first drop of blood may be contaminated with the alcohol used for disinfection, which may provide an inaccurate result.
Best least painful lancing devices to buy
The 30-gauge needles are strong but thin to reduce discomfort and pain. You can use this lancing device on your finger or elsewhere on the body.
Officially, all lancets are single use.
Needle stick injuries can also happen at home or in the community if needles are not discarded properly. Used needles may have blood or body fluids that carry HIV, the hepatitis B virus (HBV), or the hepatitis C virus (HCV). The virus can spread to a person who gets pricked by a needle used on an infected person.
Though diabetes lancets are designed to make the process as efficient as possible, piercing the skin is understandably painful and may lead some diabetics to avoid testing as often as they should. However, knowing your current blood glucose levels is essential to managing diabetes and preventing serious complications.
Never use the center of your finger. If you place the lancing device on the side of your finger, you'll feel that poke much less than if you use the center of your finger. That's because there are fewer nerve endings in that part than in the middle of your fingertip.
“I have found many patients complaining of pain and then I notice their lancing device is dialed up to “stun.” I dial it down to 2 or 3 and they are totally skeptical but here is the trick: Press the lancing device really firmly against the side of the finger before you hit the button.
Lancet should never penetrate more than 3.0mm. For heel the maximum depth is 2.0mm, because the calcaneus or heel bone can lie very close to the surface. For adults and children older than 1 year, dermal punctures are almost always performed on the fingertips of the non-dominant hand.
Why must the puncture site NOT be squeezed after a fingerstick? It causes tissue fluid to mix with blood and can cause inaccurate test results.
The distal end of the third or fourth finger is the most commonly used site. The very tip of the finger should not be punctured because there is a greater chance of puncturing bone as the bone is close to the skin surface.
Yes. The best strategy is to bring the meter in at a 45° angle and touch the end of the strip to the very edge of the blood drop.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) strongly recommends against reusing any lancet, particularly if it happens to involve more than one person. No kidding. Sharing needles is, of course, a whole different ballgame: Just don't do it.
Needle-stick injuries
Sharps can include other medical supplies, such as syringes, scalpels and lancets, and glass from broken equipment. Once someone has used a needle, viruses in their blood, such as hepatitis B, hepatitis C or HIV, may contaminate it.
A. Finger-stick blood samplers (lancet devices) are used to obtain blood for testing blood sugar (glucose). These devices consist of two parts: a “lancet holder” that looks like a small pen; and a lancet, which is the sharp point or needle that is placed in the holder. The lancets are only ever used once.
“When testing on your finger, use only the sides of your finger, where there's better blood flow, and not the pad of the finger," says Hector Verastigui, RN, CDE, clinical research coordinator at the Texas Diabetes Institute in San Antonio. "Testing on the pad of the finger is more painful.”
Place the tip covering the lancet on the side of your fingertip to avoid making the frequently used part of your finger sore. Press the button to discharge the lancet. Depending on your glucose monitor, you may be able to test your blood glucose from other sites, such as your forearm or thigh.
The dawn phenomenon is an early-morning rise in blood sugar, also called blood glucose, in people with diabetes. The dawn phenomenon leads to high levels of blood sugar, a condition called hyperglycemia. It usually happens between 4 a.m. and 8 a.m.
Furthermore, in one of these recommendations, patients are advised not to squeeze the finger to obtain a drop of blood as this could potentially influence the blood glucose concentration (3).
The dawn phenomenon
In the early hours of the morning, hormones, including cortisol and growth hormone, signal the liver to boost the production of glucose, which provides energy that helps you wake up. This triggers beta cells in the pancreas to release insulin in order to keep blood glucose levels in check.