Testing BG

[Georgia]

Is it "normal" for my kitty to have developed little hard bumps on his ear from constant "Poking" to get blood? I do try to use both ears, but one seems to bleed so much better for me than the other. I do treat it to keep it from infection and pain, but have noticed these bumps. :?

 

[Dusty Bones]

I haven't noticed any bumps on Dusty and I poke all the way through the ear . I put a cotton ball behind his ear and just poke away 2 or 3 times, get his blood, then press firmly for a few seconds to stop the bleeding and prevent bruising.

 

[KPassa]

Try not to aim for the vein but instead between the vein and the edge of the ear. Any bumps and bruising will usually clear up within a couple of weeks to a month after you first start testing. I've been testing Mikey a year and a half now on mainly his right ear and you can't even tell he gets tested at all. In the beginning, though, his ears looked terrible!

 

[Georgia]

Rocky has always been great about me testing his bg with the ear poke, but the last two days he hasn't been cooperative and today he even hissed at me. I have no idea why he has changed. I put some neosporin on his ear today to see if maybe he is having some pain. It scares me not to be able to test his blood, but I really don't know what to do. nailbite_smile

 

[KPassa]

They might be a little sore so the neosporin should help with that. How often are you testing each day? If you're testing a lot, you can "give his ears a break" for a little bit, but make sure you get those pre-shot tests and mid-cycle tests in as you're able to.

 

[Georgia]

Has anyone on here ever used something to numb the ear before testing? I was asking since I know they sometimes numb humans ears before piercing. Today I went to the drugstore and asked the pharmacist to recommend something. He told me to get "Curacaine". I am hoping that this might help relieve some of Rocky's ear pain and allow me to still check his levels. I am trying to get blood out of the left ear, but his right ear has always been the easiest. I also wondered if I could us Orajel since that helps babies with teething pain on their gums.

 

[BJM]

You can use a topical antibiotic ointment (not cream), apply a minute or 2 ahead of testing, wipe off thoroughly (so it doesn't gunk up the strip and give you an error), and test.
Ex Neosporing with pain relief.