Diabetes Care Club

I came across a great evergreen article in Diabetes Health Magazine with tips for choosing the right lancing device.

One of the best pieces of advice is to review lancing devices independently of meters in order to select the one best suited to your specific needs. The article also suggests that important criteria to consider are pain, safety and convenience. Here's what it says about the pain factor:

"Many people with diabetes acknowledge that callused fingers and frequent doses of sharp pain have become a normal part of everyday life. In addition to pain at the moment of lancing, people with diabetes also experience lingering pain and slow healing of the punctured sites.

"To help minimize pain, tissue damage and discomfort, choose a device that offers a smooth, well-controlled stick. Spring-driven devices with cam guidance tend to offer smoother control than those with linear guidance.

"Lancing to the right depth is another key consideration. A lancet should pierce the skin only to the depth necessary to get an adequate amount of blood. Lancing too deep causes increased pain, while not lancing deep enough requires re-lancing. For now, the best option is a device that features multiple depth settings. While these devices offer improvements over those lacking this feature, they often prove unreliable in reaching the intended depth. To compensate, the user dials the depth setting deeper than necessary to prevent having to re-lance."

UPDATE: Since this article initially appeared, the Accu-Chek Multiclix has been introduced and is a world first in diabetic medical supplies. Its comfort dial has 11 penetration depth settings, which lets you adjust to match skin type. This reduces pain by avoiding contact with deeper nerves. Once set, it stays in place.

As technologies continue to improve, next-generation devices will offer enhanced sophistication to ensure near 100 percent reliability in depth accuracy.



This blog is associated with Simplex MD (simplexmd.com) and the Diabetes Care Club (diabetescareclub.com), sponsored by Simplex Healthcare.

Please note: Information provided is for general background purposes and is not intended as a substitute for medical diagnosis or treatment by a trained professional. You should always consult your physician about any health care questions you may have, especially before trying a new medication, diet, fitness program, or approach to health care issues.