Pricking a fingertip to get a blood sample was once the only way to check your blood glucose outside a doctor's office. Today, people with diabetes have a choice of where to take a blood sample: the fingertip or the forearm. Before you begin forearm testing, please review the owner's booklet and discuss testing options with your health care professional.
Before You Test
Always be sure to read the test strip package insert and owner's booklet carefully. And then make sure you have all items you need to test:
- Blood glucose meter
- Test strips
- Blood sampler
- Optional OneTouch® UltraClear™ Cap, which fits on the OneTouch® UltraSoft™ Automatic Blood Sampler. (Included with the OneTouch® Ultra® and OneTouch® UltraSmart® Blood Glucose Systems).
- Sterile lancet
General Tips For Less Painful Testing*
- Regardless of where you test, use a new lancet. A lancet is no longer sterile after its first use. Plus, a used lancet can tear your skin because the needle can become jagged-edged even after one use. Changing the lancet for every test can minimize the pain.
- Select the depth setting on the sampler that's most comfortable for you.
- For a shallower, less painful stick, dial down to the lowest setting needed to get an adequate sample.
When to Fingertip Test
A fingertip test can be done at any time you decide to check your blood glucose. Fingertips have a lot of nerve endings, and they can become sore as you draw blood from them. Rather than always using the same finger, it's a good idea to rotate the testing sites.
Tips For Fingertip Testing:
- Massage your hand so you don't have to "milk" your fingertips. Start from the palm out to your finger tips
- Pick a spot on the sides of your fingertips because you use that part less than the center
- Don't hold the lancing device too tight against your finger
- After testing, use your other hand to apply firm pressure to the lanced finger (This prevents bruising and soreness).
- After testing use lotion on your fingers to keep your fingertips soft
- Give fingers a chance to heal between tests. Use all your fingers, and rotate around your fingertips each time you test.
When to Forearm Test
Although forearm testing can give sensitive fingertips a break from testing, forearm testing should only be used at certain times.** Why? Studies show that the test result you might get from a forearm sample could be less accurate than a test from a fingertip sample if your blood glucose is changing rapidly-- for example, if you're checking less than 2 hours after a meal, an insulin dose, or exercise. Before you try testing on your forearm, read your owner's booklet, talk to your health care provider, and be sure you understand when and how to forearm test.
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