Living With Diabetes & Fingertip Sensitivity
Most people with diabetes check their blood sugar using a lancing device on their fingertips. Over time, this process often results in fingers that have: Increased soreness and swelling, visible puncture marks, continuous low-level area pain, callouses, loss of tactile sensation. While these symptoms can be annoying, for those whose professions depend on them being able to sensitively feel with their fingertips, it can also lead to a significant decrease in job performance. Repeated and prolonged “fingersticks” can cause a reduction in concentration due to pain triggered when pressure is exerted on the pads of their fingers.
Repeated lancing to test blood sugar leads to loss of tactile sensation, as well as bruise marks and callouses.
There are many examples of tactile dependent professions: IT, Graphic Design, Customer Service, Marketing, Musicians, particularly those playing stringed instruments, Healthcare, Electricians, Medical professionals, particularly surgeons There are many approved disability claims stemming from a person not having the required tactile sensitivity to do their job even though they were otherwise able bodied. Sadly, a person with diabetes could have extreme loss of tactile sensation, but not the loss of pain. That is, after testing their blood by lancing their fingers, over time, they reach the point where even though they couldn’t feel a difference in various textures it still hurts when they lance.
What makes the loss of finger tactile sensation even more difficult to deal with, unlike the loss of senses such as hearing or taste, is that when the loss occurs gradually, such as caused by finger lancing, the deterioration is usually not obvious to the person being afflicted. In fact, there is a test, nicknamed the “Sand Test”, where a panel of different textures is moved past the fingertips of the subject being tested. With their eyes closed, using only tactile sensation, the subject has to identify when the texture of the panels surface changes. Similar to how eyes are tested on an eye chart, the lower you go on the panel, the more difficult the texture is to differentiate. This test shows that people who repeatedly lance their fingers, such as those with diabetes do, can lose up to 60% of their tactile acuity. This compromises the joy of living, and for people whose profession depends on being able to accurately know the positions and/or texture of what they are touching, it is even worse because this can hurt them professionally.
Tactile nerves gradually withdraw from areas of pain so tactile sensation is also lost even when the finger poking is not directly on the area being tested. For instance, poking the side of the finger can cause a loss of sensation on the pad of the finger, and vice versa. The loss of sensation can even extend to adjoining fingers, rather than just the one that was being pricked. This loss of sensation in fingertips, as well as pain and callouses resulting from repeated lancing, is another reason why alternate site testing is gaining such strong interest within the modern medical community. Now alternate site testing is both accessible and practical. In fact, the FDA has cleared one standalone pain-free lancing device for use on alternate sites, as well as fingers.
Modern research has shown that under regular conditions, blood glucose levels are the same anywhere on the body, except in cases when it is rapidly changing, such as after eating, intense exercise, or taking fast acting medication. In those cases, fingertip testing reacts 15 minutes faster than many alternate sites. However, there is still no reason to test on fingers, as testing on the palm gives the same fast-acting reading.
Now recovery is possible. In time, once a person has switched to alternate site testing, it will give fingers a break. Not only will the finger pain, soreness, and bruise marks go away in about 5 weeks, but within 2-3 months, there will be an 80% return of tactical sensation. This modern application of alternate site testing is now available, and is a significant benefit to those with diabetes. Even those who use Continuous Glucose Monitors need to do do manual glucose checks sometimes. For example, when they may be getting sensor errors, have an expired sensor, are warming up or calibrating their device, etc. Everyone with diabetes can reap the benefits of comfortable, alternate site testing.
Switching to alternate site testing returns tactical sensation within 2-3 months, as well as curing bruising and callouses, within 5 weeks.
11 comments
Alica Dew
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Fatima Olden
Feb 25, 2023 at 03:09To the mygenteel.com webmaster, Your posts are always well-balanced and objective.
Benedicta
Sep 09, 2022 at 23:54This research has been very helpful.
Tnx
Fernando
Aug 15, 2022 at 02:44I love your encouragement
Decraene Bernard
Jun 21, 2022 at 03:18You are totally crazy if you still test blood sugar by picking your fingers… itstfor years now that in my family they adapted the electronic round patch with one small pick in the arm , to be wireless controlled by a mini reader with super memory… practical , no pis no chit, and no poetry about pseudo medically risks etc.. my God The US .. what’s going on ??
Ricardo
Mar 31, 2022 at 12:46Free Style Libre from Abbot
Kassi Philippe
Feb 13, 2022 at 02:40Can i have diet for diabète type 2
Timothy Langan
Feb 11, 2022 at 03:53I was diagnosed with HERPES VIRUS for 4 years ago i lived in pain with the knowledge that i wasn’t going to ever be well again i contacted so many doctors and visit many hospitals on this issue and wasted a large sum of money but my condition never got better i was determined to get my life back so one day i saw miss Katrina post on how Dr osemuhu saved her from the same VIRUS with his herbal herbs medicine i contacted Dr osemuhu on his email address we spoke on the issue i told him all that i went through and he told me not to worry that everything will be fine again so he prepared the medicine and send it to me through courier service and told me how to use it,after 19 days of usage I went to see the doctor for test ,then the result was negative,am the happiest person on earth now. This testimony is real.Thanks to Dr osemuhu God bless you. Contact his email drosemuhucure@gmail.com or whats-app +234 814 437 2579. His YouTube Chennai.
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Elizabeth
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George Sun
Feb 07, 2022 at 11:08I have read that the Abbot Company has developed a painless system of blood checking It consists of a small patch that is stuck on the shoulder. A special reader is passed over, which shows the blood sugar level. No sticking, no pain.
Benard
Feb 05, 2022 at 22:07I am diabetes type2 is it possible to manage it Naturally without medication becouse of the side effects