Diabetes is surely hard on the hands.
Testing your blood sugar through the prick of the fingertips each and every day makes for sore and sometimes very callused fingers.
But there has to be a better way, right?
Well, as a person living with diabetes, the need for monitoring your blood sugar won’t go away. It’s a necessary process to make sure you take the right amount of insulin needed for your body to function. However, checking your sugar doesn’t have to be so painful.
Check out these tips for less painful finger pricks.
Use soap and water, not alcohol.
Many people with diabetes get in the habit of wiping the finger with alcohol to sanitize the area before sticking the needle. But the alcohol may be making things more painful for you. It’s an astringent and the skin tightens upon contact. Whereas, if you use water and soap, the finger gets just as clean and there’s no pain during pricking.