Which finger should you choose when measuring blood sugar?

"I don't know how to test rapid blood sugar. I prick my finger 4 to 5 times a day, which is painful and expensive." I believe this is what most of my friends think. We usually spend very little time facing medical workers. Most of our lives rely on self-management, and we are the protagonists in blood sugar management. Therefore, it is crucial for you to be a qualified diabetes friend. So what does it take to be qualified?

 

         1. Which finger should we measure? Is there any difference between them? There is no difference in blood sugar measured by the left and right hands or five fingers. You should try to choose fingers that have less activity, lower probability of infection, less pain, and affect daily life, such as the ring finger, middle finger and little finger. The thumb and index finger, which are the most flexible, sensitive and used the most, should be avoided as much as possible.

 

         2. For patients who need to monitor blood sugar for a long time, how can we avoid finger pain? How should we arrange our fingers? The nerve endings that feel pain are distributed in the epidermis. As long as they pass through the epidermis quickly and deeply enough, the pain can be effectively relieved. Therefore, it is recommended to choose a blood glucose meter that requires a small amount of blood and a blood collection needle that can adjust the depth of the needle and is "strong". It is recommended that the needle be used "one time". Repeated use will make the needle dull, increase pain, and make it susceptible to infection. In addition, tensioning the skin at the needle site allows the needle to move in and out of the skin more quickly to further reduce pain.

 

         3. When measuring blood sugar, what should you pay attention to when cleaning and disinfecting your fingers? If your finger is damaged, infected, scarred or has a rash, do not choose this finger for the time being; washing with warm soapy water can effectively prevent infection and clean the finger. Impurities containing sugar affect the accuracy of the results. In addition, warm water can promote blood circulation and make your fingers better engorged. Regardless of the cleaning method, you must wait until the skin is dry before collecting blood to avoid affecting the accuracy of the results. Warm reminder: After blood collection, use hand cream or ointment for diabetic hand and foot protection to keep your fingers moisturized to reduce the formation of calluses. Once your fingers become red, swollen, hot and painful, you should be alert to the occurrence of infection. Antibiotic ointment can be applied and bandaged. If there is no relief after simple treatment, please seek medical treatment in time.

 

         4. If there is not enough blood after pricking your finger with a blood sugar needle, can you squeeze your finger?

  How to do it correctly? Repeatedly and forcefully squeezing your fingers will cause a large amount of tissue fluid to mix into the blood, causing the blood sample to be contaminated or diluted, thus affecting the accuracy of the results. The recommended approach is to droop your arm to engorge the fingertips before blood collection. After the needle is inserted, gently push up from the base of the finger on both sides of the finger to make a "small drop of blood" appear at the wound site. In addition, you can also make your fingers congested by the following methods:

 

Before measuring blood sugar, massage the part of the finger that is to be inserted into the needle 5 to 6 times from the root of the finger to the fingertip to allow it to become warm and congested. You can also droop your arm so that it is lower than the level of the heart for better congestion.

 

2. Swing your arm like a thermometer to fill your fingertips with blood.

 

3. Use a rubber band to tie the middle knuckle of the finger to be measured to allow blood flow to the fingertip. After tying, loosen the rubber band to allow blood flow.