Re-using Lancets?

This might already be answered… but I cant find much on the topic. How bad is it to re-use lancets?

I re-use them most of the time, a few times each.

I’m actually changing from a one touch lancing device to an accu-chek multiclix, to break that habbit. Since you can only use those once.

But I’m wondering, other than the lancet getting dull and hurting, are there any negatives to re-using them?

I try to change the lancet once per day. Sometimes more. I found it can get more painful if I use them too much and I worry about them becoming dull over time and doing more damage to my fingers. I haven't had any problems with infections etc. I don't use alcohol on my fingers just soap and warm water or I lick them and then wipe with a tissue. I won't use anything but one touch ultra- the lancet is very fine and does not hurt as much or make a gaping wound in my finger, which one of my endo's lancets did at my last visit. It took much longer to stop bleeding. I didn't like the multi clix or other such devices- I think they're wasteful/bad for the environment and I can't tell if the lancet has been used or not already anyway. I guess it is easier than physically changing the lancet which is annoying.

You can use the accu-chek multiclix forever....I probably change the drum out every 3 to 6 months...or when the time changes...

I use a multiclix and you can use it multiple times. I don't even know how long I go without changing it. Sorry, I probably shouldn't have told you that since you are trying to break the habit..lol Personally I don't see a problem with it and lots of us re-use them quite a bit!


Meee, we all like different products of course, but I'm curious why you think the multiclix is wasteful/bad for the environment? The whole drum is a lot smaller than other lancets I've seen and even if you use each only one time (lol) it's 6 uses per drum!

Hi Zoe, I have tried a lot of them so maybe I'm thinking of a different one, but with the drums, don't you have to put a new drum in each time you finish with the lancets? So basically you're throwing out a huge piece of plastic each time you decide to change it as opposed to only throwing out the lancets when you change them which are smaller. Just my opinion, of course, to each their own :) I also find the disposable pens to be wasteful. I'm now sawing off the plastic on my levemir pens and putting the vial into my novo echo pen because there are no levemir pen refills.

I could never tell if I had used a lancet or not with the drums because you had to move it around by hand and I always forget to do that.

I also had a problem figuring out how the drums worked- just too confusing for me!

Hi John, do you just keep reusing the lancets then? I guess that is maybe better, but I prefer to change them once per day now.

I change my freestyle lancet maybe every 10 days or so. Dr. Bernstein once commented that it’s not necessary to change them every time or every day for that matter. Eventually they become dull and of course if you don’t use alcohol or wash before using them they may become dirty. When I first started testing I changed them every time, not any more!

There have been several discussions on this topic.

I put in a new lancet in my Accu-Chex multiclix device only when I change a bottle of test strips--every 50 tests. Have done that for years with no problems.

Not sure if this has been addressed, but multiclix refers to the ability to adjust to different depths of the lancets when it jabs a finger. I used to be a 1 and am now a 4 1/2. More usage, the deeper the lancet needs to go to draw blood through the scar tissue.

I do not use a drum of lancets--mine is the very basic model where you need to remove and replace.

I usually use them until the get dull, mostly b/c they shoot blanks and I have to do multiple sticks and poke around to get blood out. A year or so ago I lost my pump and got the Delica lancets which are very nice and super comfortable but don't seem to last as long, still at least a week or 10 days.

We probably each are just used to what we're used to, Meee! You have to put in a new drum when you've used all six of the lancets inside, which in my case is just short of infinity..lol. I'm not sure what I was seeing, but I think I saw someone else's (single) lancet and it was at least 3 times larger than the drum. The drum is less than the size of a dime around and about the same size deep, more or less. Since I use each one many many times, I just turn the drum when it gets too dull or the mood strikes and you can't go back so when I've turned all six it's done.

But good for you for being conscious of waste. I'd hate to see the pile of supplies I've gone through in a year! But lancets are the least of it for me since I just reuse the hell out of them!

I use an accu-chek multi clix lancing device and lancets which are in the form of drums. I think multiclix does refer to the drum format, though it also has the capacity to adjust depth (don't all lancing devices have this?). Perhaps there is another version of Accu-Chek which is not a "multiclix" drum.

In his book that I read, he mentioned changing them when they get dull, and that the 5-10 that come with the meter are pretty much all you'll need.

New/thinner ones might cut down on the callusing/scaring type stuff, but I've yet to hear anyone talk about getting syringe/lancet infections from reusing. I guess I switch them about once a month just to see if there is any difference. There never is.

I use regular insulin syringes, not lancets. I don't count, but probably 10 or 20 times each. No infections.

We're talking about what you use to test your blood sugar!

Zoe, yes. I use syringes instead of lancets to test my blood sugar. They're about 10 times skinnier and more comfortable. Been using them almost 30 years.

I did not know that! I have the lancing device, and went through a drum when I first got it. I tried to re-use them, but must have been doing something wrong.

It came with my last pump, the Accu-Chek spirit.

I really liked it(the lancing device not the pump), but had about a thousand one touch lancets! LOL

Reuse them for as long as you wish. Long as YOU are the only one using them, no issues at all.

Most of us with any experience remember VERY well, when you could cut up strips and make ONE strip last 3-5 tests purely because the results were colored and you visually atched them up to the closest color on the bottle(s).

Golly gee they went off the market quick… wonder why that is….??? (ssi)

Same with syringes btw WITH a few more restrictions, if you use them more than once. Easily done provided you only use one syringe designated for whatever insulin you take. Can't use the lantus syringe in the homolog, human vial(s)/pens…

Gotta stay designated to one insulin only. IF so use them until the lubricant on the needle fails, the markings start to fade. Either case its time to use a new one… IMHO-fwiw

How do you use syringes to test your blood sugar??

Poke your finger like it was a lancet.