Hand soap giving me a false blood glucose reading

(2c998397a1f0b4dac7bc) #1

Has anyone else found that using some fragrenced hand soaps before a blood glucose test gives you a false reading? I have tested now with hand sanitiser and liquid soap and get 0.8 mml difference in my readings!!

(Darlene Horsley) #2

Yes! And I’ve also noticed the same thing with rubbing alcohol. I’m relieved you mentioned it and that it’s not just me.

(Dameon Welch-Abernathy) #3

Hand sanitizer has the same effect

(Marie Dantoni) #4

Interesting. Might be that glycerin and alcohol do affect things.

(Sophie) #5

I’m an avid hand washer and it seems that the least you can do is use an alcohol wipe if you can’t wash your hands. So what can you do? Plain soap?

(Marie Dantoni) #6

Wild guess here, Sophie. Soaps contain glycerin which is also an alcohol. I’m guessing that the reading is due to residual soap / rubbing alcohol on the skin, and has no bearing on blood levels.

(Sophie) #7

I get that. What can you do besides not use anything and run the risk of infection every time you prick your fingers?

(Marie Dantoni) #8

I don’t test, but I would continue to to keep it sanitary.

JustPeachy
Sophie

    December 30

Marigrace:
I’m guessing that the reading is due to residual soap / rubbing alcohol on the skin, and has no bearing on blood levels.

I get that. What can you do besides not use anything and run the risk of infection every time you prick your fingers?

(Darlene Horsley) #9

I’m counting on vigorous thorough friction under running water for 20 to 30 seconds and not obsessing over it for BG testing.
Interesting read here.

(Sophie) #10

Great article. I also use the hottest water I can tolerate. Needless to say my hands really suffer in the winter, but on the other hand (pun!) I stay relatively free of all those nasty bugs that all my friends seem to catch and try to pass to me!

(Darlene Horsley) #11

Me too Sophie and then I buy stock in handcream!

#12

I wash my hands with dish soap (no residue) and rinse thoroughly.

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #13

If you are consistent in your practice—same amount of soap and water, rub for the same amount of time, etc.—each reading should be off the same little bit. The absolute accuracy of the readings is not as important as the trend over time.

This is the same principle as knowing that your watch is consistently two minutes fast—you can allow for it, and it’s irrelevant if all you’re doing is measuring the interval between events.

(Sophie) #14

I use it too. Soap is soap as far as I’m concerned. Better that than none at all.

(Consensus is Politics) #15

I use alcohol first, and use a sterile cotton ball to wipe it dry. I also give it a minute before pricking to be sure whatever vapors are present don’t effect the sample. I also don’t remove a Test strip until all of that is done. I try to keep the strip as free from air as possible. All of that, when I’m feeling anal about it. Plenty of times I literally just wipe my finger off on my (cleanish?:speak_no_evil:) shirt and don’t stress over it at all. It’s just a pin prick. I’ve gotten far worse wounds in my left, leaving foreign items in there behind. I have more scars than I can count. I’ve had gashes down to the bone. I’ve never been seen for a single one, and never had a single stitch (probably should have had several :roll_eyes:). And I’m still here complaining about the kids, not wearing shoes outside, running around barefoot on a wooden deck. Do they listen when I tell them the horrors of tetanus? (Horrors isn’t a strong enough term. When you get a muscle cramp strong enough the cramp breaks your bones, that’s…:scream: [shivers]).

(Consensus is Politics) #16

I seem to remember some science experiments when I was a kid. [yes, Über science geek, as young as 4 yrs old]. There was one having to do with cross contamination. Spreading disease. Turned out washing hands in intolerable hot water was not nearly as effective as just comfortably warm water, with soap of course. When we washed hands in HOT water, we always seemed to get larger bio samples than when we used warm or even cold water. Washing your hands in hot water isn’t going to help kill off any germs unless you can use 160 degree water. Trust me, you can’t. Water becomes intolerable at about 120 degrees Fahrenheit give or take a few degrees depending on your pain threshold. Mines pretty high, and I. An barely last 10 seconds at 125. Most home water heaters have a default setting of 120, though often have manual settings to go higher. Mine can go to 160. But you risk serious injuries to children when it’s that high. I keep it at 120 for that reason.

Oh… mr verbose again :sunglasses:

I think the reason is at HOT temps we tend to focus on OUCH instead of the job at hand😉

(Bunny) #17

The Effect of an Instant Hand Sanitizer on Blood Glucose Monitoring Results https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3262711/

(Michael ) #18

Hydrogen peroxide? I have always used this rather than alcohol. After the reaction with flesh, you’re left with water so wouldn’t think it would cause reading. Also,i use puracy natural soap and none of the fake fragrance or antibacterial crap. Can’t remember the last time i got sick. Only clean my house with vinegar as well. Society uses too many chemicals with no proven positive effects

But i guess hydrogen peroxide wouldn’t clean prior to prick so a natural soap would be the recommendation

(Consensus is Politics) #19

I was excited to see The NewcwearAstwoWabbit bring some science to the table.

But it falls short this time. The sample sizes they worked with, in my opinion, are just to small. Mostly because the BG Test strips are so inaccurate to begin with.

I could clean and dry my hand with the best possible product to ensure no contamination. And Test all five fingers, and have pretty much the same results they did. I could test them again a minute later and get far different results. I did several tests in a row on the same finger stick the other day (it was a really good stick😳) my first reading was 160, the next from same site, still bleeding, 130, and a third time was 140. I switched to another meter and Test strip manufacturer. The reading with it was 106. Went back to the first meter again, the value was 120.

These testing units for us “lay folks “ is just unreliable. I think the FDA approves them for use being as far off as 20%. That begs the question, to be off as much as 20%, or to be off and average of 20%? The later meaning it could be far more off once in a while making the Test irrelevant.

#20

I don’t think it’s just the risk of infection. I got a 400+ reading because I had washed my hand, but forgot I’d eaten a few bites of finger food before testing. Any stray molecules on your skin can throw the reading off. I find I have to rinse pretty thoroughly. Maybe it’s worse because we have such hard water.