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I need to order a couple of home blood tests, which come with those disposable lancets. Trouble is they only come with 3 and from previous experience getting enough blood out is near impossible. I usually require about 6 pricks to provide the required amount of blood.
Im thinking of buying a box so I don’t run out half way through the collection process, but no idea what ones to get. I have access to one of those diabetic lancets but they don’t provide nearly enough blood, I need it to make a bigger hole
I’m diabetic and on the rare occasions I have to do it, I use a fastclix (?) device where you can set the depth. Sounds like its a depth issue you have rather than size of lancet?
dangke your arms down, shake a bit, then use sides of finger I find gets best result.
I was doing monthly finger prick blood tests as part of a COVID study and found holding a hot mug of water for a few minutes beforehand really helped with blood flow.
Are you an elephant? Tips above for getting good blood flow and then not rushing to use the first tiny micro drop that appears but instead milking the finger to get a good hanging drop should work. If that’s not enough - try asking a loved one to do the lancing part - they’ll usually push harder (thus deeper).
From the ones you’ve linked use the yellow ones.
No need for warm cups, use your pinky or index finger, push just below the end of your gently with your thumb, press the lancet gently on the end of said finger and fire. Give it a few seconds whilst keeping your thumb in place and you’ll have enough.
These are professional lancets, they are very sharp, and the hole will get bigger the further you shove the point in.
While they come as a set of four, only two are pointy, and unless you drop them, they’ll last forever*, you just sterilise them.
I can arrest to their sharpness, I’ve got several of them, and managed to stick one in my finger a couple of times.
Accidentaly, I was poking holes into air bubbles on car graphics I was applying. 🤷🏼
*That’s why I’ve got several the same - dropping one onto a concrete workshop floor does nothing to enhance their performance… 🤨
https://www.suvorna.co.uk/products/skinpal-s100
What you need is one of these monstrosities. You could pop a blunted bit of carrot into the lancet holder and it would still draw copious amounts of blood. It was 'affectionately' know as the Guillotine.
30+ years later and I still have Autolet nightmares of sitting there, building up the courage to press the button and watching as the spring loaded stake came crashing down....
Alternatively, as others have suggested, the warmer your hands are, the more blood you'll get out. Run your hands under a hot tap for a couple of minutes, properly dry them then try.
C.
@beagleboy, back when I was a wee lad, about 8 or 9, I had to have a blood test, needle in a vein job. For some reason I flat out refused to do this and was given the option of filling the vial via the finger prick method, using the above apparatus.
Took about an hour, no finger left unpricked, some more than once.
I’m not saying that’s the reason I despise having my finger pricked to the point it has affected my health, but that’s absolutely the reason.
I use Accu-chek Safe-T Pro Plus lances. They come with different size needles (they are colour coded) and my local chemist shop gave me a selection of different sizes so that I could see which size worked best for me. Might be worth seeing if your local chemist could do the same for you. You can also select from 3 different penetration depths.
The instructions in my blood testing machine, says not to squeeze your finger to force the blood out.