5 tips for gentle and virtually pain-free blood sampling

Lancing fingers is a vital part of your daily diabetes management. In a recent study, finger soreness and pain were most reported as the main reason people living with diabetes refrain from regular blood glucose testing. One factor contributing to greater pain sensation when lancing the finger is wrong handling of the lancing device. Lancing correctly with Accu-Chek^® lancing devices keeps discomfort to a minimum. You can monitor more comfortably with these five easy steps:

Ensure hands are clean and dry.

Lance on the side of the fingertip rather than the pad.

Keep the skin taut by pressing the lancing device firmly against the skin.

Select a penetration depth as shallow as possible but still produces blood.

Alternate fingers daily and take the necessary steps to ensure good blood circulation.

Also:

• Consider sampling beyond the fingertip. If you and your healthcare professional agree that checking from other sites is right for you, you may experience less pain after a blood glucose check if you use your palm, forearm or upper arm instead of your sensitive fingertips. 
• Always use a new lancet. Today's lancets are so tiny that just a single use can bend or dull the tips. As a result, they can hurt more if you try to reuse them.

Choosing the least-painful lancing technology can also help reduce blood glucose test pain. The Accu-Chek Softclix and the Accu-Chek FastClix lancing devices use the Clixmotion^® technology, which minimizes side-to-side motion for less skin tearing. What's more, each offers 11 customizable depth settings to help match your skin type and help eliminate blood glucose testing pain.

Physical activity is good for everyone, but for people living with diabetes, it can make a big difference in keeping your blood sugar level managed. Not only that, but staying active allows your cells to process insulin more efficiently, improving your overall A1c levels.

The many benefits to staying active

Physical activity is one of the cornerstones of managing your diabetes, because the list of benefits for people living with diabetes is long. Physical activity can¹:

• Improve insulin sensitivity for people living with type 1 diabetes².
• Decrease the glucose in your blood for people living with type 2 diabetes³.
• Improve glucose utilization.
• Decrease circulating insulin levels, during physical activity.
• Decrease glucose production from the liver.
• Lower your cholesterol, blood pressure and reduce stress.
• Improve cardiovascular health and quality of sleep.
• Reduce obesity, joint pain and coronary artery disease.
• Prevent osteoporosis and delays the onset of dementia.
• Decrease fatigue and the number of sick days you take from work.
• Increase energy, quality of life and self-esteem.

Talk to your doctor or your pharmacist about what type of physical activity is right for you, and get moving at least once a day.

Stay safe while you exercise

People living with diabetes have a few extra steps to add to their workout routine. Here are a few safety considerations.

• You can do the same things as people living without diabetes, but you should still talk to your doctor or your pharmacist to make sure that you have no limitations. For example, someone living with diabetic retinopathy may want to skip a strenuous activity like weightlifting⁴.
• Check your blood sugar levels before, during and after you exercise. Have some carbs or fast-acting sugar on hand—like a banana, juice or glucose tablets—that you can take if you start to feel your blood sugar dropping. And the next time you talk to your doctor or pharmacist, let them know your results so they can offer advice on your regimen.
• Drink a lot of water while you exercise. If you get dehydrated, your blood sugar levels could drop.
• Be ready for an emergency. Wear a medical ID tag that provides information about your medical situation and make sure you have a way to call someone for help. If you can, it’s always a good idea to have a workout buddy or let someone else know where you are.
• Pay special attention to your feet. Make sure your shoes fit well and offer good support. Ideally, wear socks that will wick sweat away from your skin. After your workout, check your feet for any signs of blisters, irritation or cuts. If you have any that aren’t healing, have them checked out by a doctor.

It’s important to get a good workout, but don’t overdo it. If you’re in a lot of pain, out of breath or can’t talk, dial down the intensity to a level you’re comfortable with.

It may sound obvious, but don’t forget to breathe. Holding your breath, which we tend to do if we’re in pain or distress, will only deprive your muscles of the oxygen you need to function at your best.

Exercising at home

If you don’t live near a gorgeous hiking trail, or if you don’t have access to a gym, don’t worry. You can still increase your physical activity at home, and it’s completely free! As you continue to see your blood sugar results improve, you’ll be encouraged to stick to an exercise routine, lengthen it, and even add to it. Here are some moves you can do in the comfort of your own home:

• Stretching is a good way to get your body ready for exercise.
• Simple yoga moves increase flexibility and build strength.
• Make small and large circles with your arms while they are straight out at your sides.
• Calf raises are an easy strength-building and toning exercise for everything from the waist down.
• Run in place for 10 minutes, at your own pace.

No one can go it alone. Whether you are living with diabetes or you’re a caregiver, it’s important to have a few options for emotional support. Knowing who to turn to with specific questions will make life easier.

Find other people living with diabetes 

Few things are more comforting than talking with someone who understands you when you are living with diabetes, or if you are facing a type 1 or type 2 diagnosis. If you don’t already have a friend or a family member living with diabetes who can fill this role, seek out a diabetes support group near you. What do you have to lose? If you don’t like one group, look for another one until it clicks. Another great way to find others who support people with diabetes is to volunteer or join fundraising events of diabetes non-for-profit groups.

Join the DOC

The DOC is the Diabetes Online Community, a deep well of inspiration and support, all online. There are dozens of options: message boards, private groups, social media and blogs… People living with diabetes are everywhere online. You can look for private groups on social media sites like Facebook. Furthermore, some popular message boards live at TuDiabetes and Children with Diabetes.

Know your healthcare team

You’ve worked with your healthcare providers to lay out a plan for managing your diabetes, so don’t let all that hard work go unused. Make (and keep) regular appointments with your primary physician and find someone like a nurse or a diabetes educator you can contact whenever you have questions about your health.

Enlist your child’s school

If your child is living with diabetes, build a team of caretakers for your own peace of mind. Ask the principal to arrange a meeting between you and anyone who needs to understand your child’s diabetes needs—office workers, the school nurse, all teachers, coaches, and even transportation or field trip chaperones. The Kids and Diabetes in Schools (KiDS) project is a valuable resource for creating a supportive environment at school. Download the information pack, which is divided into sections for teachers, parents of children living with diabetes and parents in general. Free and available in 8 languages, it can be used with any educational session you arrange with your school. The Canadian Diabetes Association also has a document about rights of kids living with diabetes in school in Canada.

Additionally, get a clear understanding from your doctor about how the school day should work properly and make sure that the school understands your child’s daily treatment needs. The school nurse is your best friend. They’ll be your biggest asset when it comes to teaching other staff at the school about how to care for your child. Above all, don’t get discouraged. Learning curves are high for the first few weeks, and that’s okay.

Educate your family and friends

One of the tasks that comes with living with diabetes is educating the people around you who aren’t living with it. You may feel like it’s not working, but keep educating, always speak up, and be clear about what really helps you (and what doesn’t). In time, everyone will be on the same page. And if there’s ever an emergency, they’ll know what to do.

Benefits of monitoring your blood glucose

Monitoring your own blood glucose helps you take control of your health, especially once you learn what your test result numbers mean and what you can do with them. A recent clinical research, the Structured Testing Program (STeP), offers the proof. The study concluded that collecting, visualizing and understanding the data of blood sugar test results and focusing treatment based on that data significantly reduced the A1c levels of poorly managed, non insulin-treated type 2 diabetes over a 12-month period.

Blood glucose monitoring gives you the data to make informed decisions about your medication, diet and exercise regimens. It is a smart way to see how what your eating habits and what you do affect your blood glucose.

In fact, your test results guide the conversation you’ll have with your healthcare provider about setting target range goals for yourself and how well you’re achieving them. They also help you understand how to adjust your own oral medications or insulin dosage, if your doctor has taught you how to do this yourself.

Overall, you’ll be better equipped to cope with the day-to-day demands of living with diabetes so you can feel better each day. By doing all of this, you can lower your risk of future diabetes complications.

Best times to test

The standard times to test your blood sugar level include:

• Before breakfast (fasting)
• Before lunch/dinner
• Two hours after a meal
• Before bed
• Before and after rigorous exercise (and hours later)
• When you don’t feel well

Other events that could require more frequent testing include:

• Changes to your routine while travelling
• Changing or adjusting your insulin or medication
• When you’re experiencing either high or low blood sugar symptoms
• When you’re pregnant or trying to get pregnant
• Before and after surgical procedures
• After dental procedures
• During illness
• While taking medications for illness
• While premenstrual

Setting a target range

What is the target blood glucose level for people living with diabetes? It depends on your age and other medical conditions you may have. People living with diabetes should aim for a fasting blood glucose of 4.0 to 7.0 millimoles per liter (mmol/L) and a blood glucose between 5.0 and 10.0 millimoles per liter (mmol/L) 2 hours after eating. Your doctor will set target blood sugar test results specifically for you, based on several factors including:

• Whether you are living with type 1 diabetes or type 2 diabetes
• Your age
• How long you've been living with diabetes
• Pregnancy
• If you have other diabetes-related complications
• Your overall health, including other medical conditions you may have

When to retest

Have your test results come back too high or too low, yet you feel just fine? Or are your test results on target, but you still don’t feel right? Don’t dismiss the results. Wash your hands, retest and see if you get the same numbers before you take action. Over days and weeks, compare your readings to previous ones.

Tools for understanding results

Accu-Chek offers simple, on-paper diabetes management tools that help you understand your blood sugar test results. Try the Accu-Chek Testing in Pairs tool. It can help you and your healthcare provider identify patterns on how things like stress, food or exercise affect your test results.

Talk to your healthcare provider

Ask your doctor or pharmacist to help you analyze your test results. They will use this information to consider a number of options such as adjusting your testing routine, ensuring that you’re testing correctly, suggesting changes to your self-management or even ordering extra tests to explain any anomalies.