Wow! You re-use the needle tips? I have to admit that I’m too nervous to do that. How long have you been doing that for without any problems? Aren’t they dull and hurt more?
As far as washing my hands before testing, I wash with soap and water, dry my hands with a clean towel, then use an alcohol swab to clean the test area and let it air dry. Then I test, I know that it is a lot to do and a hassle, But I feel that it is worth it to prevent any infections, specially since I don’t have any insurance.
I change with every test. Too many memories of undergraduate microbiology.
I just screw one onto my Humalog pen every morning and I leave it on all day. Then I take it off and put it on my Lantus pen and take that shot…total of 4 shots. It totally saves money. I’ve been doing it for over a year and not one problem ever and it never hurts. I also use the green needles which are the smallest you can get.
I also only use 2 fingers but don’t have much problem with callouses(testing 7 to 8 times a day). I think part of the reason is the lancet I use. It’s an Accu Check Softclix. I noticed a reduction of callouses after changing. It’s a proprietary design and so is not interchangeable with other lancing devices. The one disadvantage is that the lancing device is pretty pricey, the lancets, however, are similar in cost to others.
I use one per test and discard it. A blunt lancet hurts more, blows a bigger hole (more tissue damage) and is a more-likely source of infection than a new one.
I’m a programmer-analyst and a classical guitarist – I don’t take chances with my fingers for pennies per day. That seems just…crazy to me. Why would I?
Even if you pay cash for them, they’re still only a penny each or less. Why risk your fingers for less than eight cents per day? Fifty cents per week? That’s a fraction of a cup of coffee.
I don’t want to end up with scarred, numb finger-tips. No amount of lancet macho street cred is worth that.
Your fingers deserve better, in my opinion.
What’s a few cents per day, really, in the grand scheme of things?
That sounds like a good way to contaminate your pens, especially the Lancet pen which is not supposed to be mixed with any other insulin.
I think you’ve been lucky so far.
Me, too! I’ve seen too many creepy-crawlies under the microscope to be cavalier about infections.
Shiver…
I use one a week and I don’t have a callus problem and never had an infection…I think it’s just all a matter of what works for you. I’m not trying to save money on lancets…I just don’t feel the need to change it so much.
Do you mean Lantus pen? You said lancet pen…sort of confusing. I am more of the philosophy of let’s just all take a deep breath and calm down. It’s my body. I have excellent control and not one infection…ever. It’s what works for me. 
i really don’t understand why so many people are so anal about this stuff. re-using syrnges/lancets is probably more common than not. by the way, your not saving yourself from the grave by using alcohol swabs. i do one a week aswell. am i the only one that gets the feeling that many diabetics are a little obsessive compulsive about these kinds of things?
The few times I have forgotten to change mine – YOW – huge purple bruise.
Perhaps my skin is just more thin/delicate than some. I had a purple baby finger for five days when I forgot to dial down my depth the other day, even with a new lancet. It looked like I’d dipped half of my pinky in ink.
I frankly don’t see the point. I guess people re-use their dental floss or don’t switch out their toothbrushes for years, too. I’m too much of a anxiety princess to do that kind of thing. I want it fresh, I want it clean and I want it new. ;0)
Unless it’s an old tee-shirt. I love me some old, soft, tissue-thin tee-shirts for sleeping.
I change my lancet every time I read a post asking how often do you change your lancet.
I really should do it more often, but I test every two hours.
Wow…it never occurred to me that I didn’t have to use a new lancet every time. Like you, Stef, when I was diagnosed (1990), I was told to change the lancet every time I tested. I guess aside from being told to do that, I was afraid that the lancet would get dull and hurt. My fingers are calloused enough already. Maybe I’ll try this though…
I’m with you Ryan. I think sometimes people don’t have enough to worry about. What’s up with the hypervigilance???
Yes, Lantus pen. I made a misspelling.
“…let’s just all take a deep breath and calm down” sound like the philosophy of almost all of the Type 1’s I have ever met who were diagnosed young.
I was diagnosed in my late 40’s, so I don’t feel this “why are all the old people hovering over me” thing that young people often feel when they’re diagnosed with a chronic condition. Quite the contrary, I usually like it when people hover. To me it shows that they care about me and that I’m not flying without a net. 
I’m curious – why only two fingers?
I change about 1 time a week unless my daughter or my g-kids test their bs. The reason I do so is b/c it’s MY blood (I know whats wrong with me) and it saves money. All the money saved here the better.
lol i agree with you both. and i have dam close to forty yrs. never not once have i had a infection and when i was on needles i reused them a lot.now with the pen i change the needle when its empty!! lol i dont get it either.