Lancet colours

[UncleSteve]

I've just purchased a CoaguChek XS and it came with a CoaguChek XS Softclix lancet pen with a small pack of yellow lancets.

The Cat No. on the lancets packet is 03 506 517 001.

Can anyone advise what size 'needles' these yellow lancet have please?

I understand 21 Gauge is the largest available. The issue I have is trying to get enough blood for a workable sample (I'm still working on my technique), so don't wish to acquire different lancets if I've already the largest size.

I look forward to any comments.

Thanks in advance

 

[Freddie]

Hi UncleSteve and Welcome......

The yellow lancets you have should be a 21g/0.8mm.
Looking at my box of lancets, there's a blue dot indicating the size 21g - in my case, on the box it's beside the reference #

make sure your hands are clean and warm - warm water helps to soften the skin and I like using the baby finger to "poke"

 

[UncleSteve]

Hi Freddie,

Thanks for your reply.

Up until recently my wife has always taken blood from my arm with a hypo/syringe and dropped it off at the clinic. We've done this for the past 15 years, but it does cause hassles, so recently been going to the clinic myself and they too have used a finger pricker and struggled to get blood out of my fingers! So not really surprised at my own efforts to get a small sample.

I have been experimenting with various techniques, but wanted to make sure I'm using the largest needles, hence the question.

My lancets are in a sealed clear plastic bag with the previously quoted numbers on it. There's no dots or indications of the lancets size, they're all plain yellow.

I may consider re-engineering the pricker to stab deeper, but see what others say first....

 

[Bina]

Hello UncleSteve, and welcome to the gang.
You will love the Coaguchek XS once you get a routine going.
I also use the yellow lancets 21g. (not the skinny little diabetic needles) Softclix pen is set at 3.5 for my little fingers, but you can set it higher.

- Lay out my supplies on the kitchen table.
- wash my hands with very warm water before.
- Sitting down, I load my strip into the monitor and keep my left hand hanging down, even swing it a bit.
- Then I stick the lower side of my pinkie finger on my left hand and give the base of the finger a little squeeze to encourage the blood.
- When there is a good drop hanging, touch it to the side of the test strip and the monitor will draw it inside and beep if all is good.
- This has worked perfectly for several years and my results match up exactly with my occasional Lab test.

 

[Agian]

Given what people are saying, I suspect the Coaguchek XS is the way to go.

 

[pellicle]

Hi

Can anyone advise what size 'needles' these yellow lancet have please?

I use the yellow

I understand 21 Gauge is the largest available. The issue I have is trying to get enough blood for a workable sample (I'm still working on my technique),

I look forward to any comments.

I too struggled to get a sample in the required time. (See my post on the 15 second rule), and I found that side incision and a rubber band as a tourniquet gave me a really good sample in a short time.

I apply the band on the finger the knuckle above where I will lance, and not excessively tight either. I apply about 10 seconds prior to lancing and lance as soon as I see the colour change in the finger tip. It has stopped the errors from the sample being too small.


http://www.valvereplacement.org/for...A-DIFFERENT-Incision-Site&p=541143#post541143

 

[ski girl]

I've also found it helps if I'm really well hydrated - so I don't test until about midday at the earliest. Sometimes if the first stab isn't yielding enough blood I just stab myself again, close to the first stab site, so that I get a larger drop of blood. Kinda vampirish but it works!

 

[lance]

Hi Uncle Steve, XS is a great little machine--I wouldn't be without mine.
I dial my Softclix to 5.
Sometimes, because of dry skin during the winter, I put a band-aid over the puncture area at bed-time and test the following a.m.

 

[UncleSteve]

Just wondering how much its going to effect the INR result by forcibly squeezing the blood out of my finger to get a sufficiently sized sample?

Thanks

Steve

 

[lance]

Steve
We're warned not to do it--not sure of the exact reason.
I should have said a wet band-aid overnight softens the target area for me.
Some posters, in the past, said they puncture their finger, insert the strip and , if necessary, wipe away the first drop and test the next one.
OR
Press the thumb against the joint below the finger tip and then puncture.

 

[Protimenow]

The idea is that if you squeeze the finger after you incise it, you may be diluting the drop with interstitial fluid (plasma) and will get an inaccurate result. One thing that I found that works well for me as a prep before testing my blood is to shave first. The activity -- moving my hand up and down my face, immersing it in hot water, etc., seems to help me to get a good drop.

With the exception of the ProTime meters, all others (InRatio, CoaguChekXS, Coag-Sense) ask for the FIRST drop, within fifteen seconds of incising the finger. They anticipate some clotting activity after fifteen seconds. They also account for the (presumed?) clotting factors that are in the skin, and that have an impact on the data. In another thread, I proposed that for those of us with more than one meter of the same type, parallel tests be run -- one with the first drop before fifteen seconds are up, and one taken from the same incision some time later. Once I get my CoaguChek XS out of its current prison, I may do exactly that (I have an XS and an XS Plus, which I'm sure use the same method for calculating INR), in the next few days. Tomorrow, I'm scheduled to have THREE fingersticks (one at an Anticoagulation Clinic, then one for comparison to my Coag-Sense and XS Plus meters). Perhaps later this week, I'll see about parallel testing.

Pellicle also said (and it works) that wrapping dental floss or thread around the finger, below the knuckle, for a few seconds before you make the incision can also get a good drop (though this may also have a lot of interstitial stuff in it).

 

[lance]

Steve,
Following a conversation with my primary care physician I learned there are no anti-coagulation factors in skin and body blood volume of anti-coagulant is exactly the same throughout the body. So I don't understand why a second drop could be different. Maybe it refers to time. I'm not sure.
Sandra

 

[Protimenow]

I'm not entirely certain that Sandra's doctor is correct. ProTime wants the SECOND drop (assuming that there's something in the first drop that would skew its results), and the other manufacturers want the FIRST drop within 15 seconds. I understand the assumption that the blood would start to clot on its own after fifteen seconds, messing up the meter's result, but it's safe to assume that the meter manufacturers ARE concerned with a difference from the first and later drops of blood.

 

[lance]

The blood is flowing from the first stick so it is wiped off and then fresh blood from the same stick is applied. IF anti-coagulant is contained on/in the skin it makes sense some manufacturers would require a second drop because the ant-coagulant would be washed away with the first drop of blood.
If enough blood were flowing for a successful test, a second drop wouldn't be required. Users are loath to waste strips due to an insufficient drop of blood being applied within 15 seconds
Anti-coagulant in the bloodstream doesn't decide where it goes it goes everywhere blood goes so is the same concentration everywhere.
Other than that warm hands are helpful.

 

[Protimenow]

This first drop thing has nothing to do with anticoagulant. The assumption is that there are PROcoagulants in the skin, and these are released with the initial drop of blood. The effect of these PROcoagulants is accounted for by all but the ProTime, which asks that you actually wipe off (discard) that first drop, and take later drops. (This makes it more like venous blood, which the ProTime is also capable of testing, unlike some or all of the other meters).