Each person needs to systematically check their health by passing at least the simplest tests, such as a general analysis of capillary blood, urine. Directions for these studies are prescribed by local therapists, and collection is carried out in state laboratories for free or in private for a fee. No matter how unpleasant the test procedure is, you must remember that timely and correct diagnosis of diseases can only be done with a laboratory blood test. According to organizations and specialists in the field of healthcare, more than half of the diagnostic information about the patient provides the results of laboratory tests.
A blood test, which doctors advise to take at least once a year or six months, shows the amount of hemoglobin in the blood for the timely detection of anemia, allows you to assess the level of red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. To reduce pain during the delivery of laboratory analysis of capillary blood, it is better to use a scarifier.
Scarifier: what is it? What is it for?
Foreign words flow into our speech gradually, and for use in speech it is necessary to accurately understand their meaning. With the meaning of the word "scarifier" (what it is and how it is applied), a dictionary of foreign words will help to understand. The first and most common is used in the medical field and refers to a medical instrument with which a notch is made on the skin to perform capillary blood analysis. The medical scarifier is a stainless steel plate that ends with a pointed spear. Some of these types of devices are made of other materials and have a more modern look. Children's lancets are especially different.
The second value is applied in the agricultural sector - this is the name of the agricultural implements. Scarifier for the lawn - what is this tool? This can be understood from the general meaning of the term. The term “scarifier” in literal translation from Latin means “producing notches.” As an agricultural tool, the scarifier makes notches in the ground to a depth of 4 to 15 cm so that more air enters the soil.
Scarifier types
But the article will focus on the medical meaning of the term “scarifier”. So, in medicine this device is actually used for bloodletting. For the collection of capillary blood, various types of this device are used - children's and standard. Standard ones are used to make incisions on the skin of an adult. They come in various types: with a spear in the center of the plate or in the side.
There are automatic devices that use a small needle packed in a capsule instead of a blade. The needle can be of different lengths, it is not visible when used, which is ideal for blood sampling in children.
Scarifier Benefits
A single-use scarifier allows you to take blood for tests almost painlessly. In addition, the patient who came to donate blood can be sure that the device was sterile and was not used before. The doctor or laboratory assistant in front of the patient opens the sealed packaging of the scarifier and makes an incision or puncture on the skin. A scarifier is a device that minimizes contact with the environment and the hands of medical personnel, so the risk of contracting an infection is almost zero.
Modern scarifiers
So, the scarifier - what is this device? All laboratory assistants and doctors know this, but the choice of the type of this disposable instrument lies with the patient. Often it depends on the manufacturer, whether it will hurt when taking blood. Pharmacies are now selling modern scarifiers, which differ in appearance and quality from a steel plate. They are colorful bright tubes, on the end of which there are needles in capsules. These needles come in various lengths, you need to choose the right one according to the color of the device itself. The manufacturer of this type of lancet is MEDLANCE Plus. There are four colors of the scarifier to choose from: purple with a needle length of 1.5 mm (it is advised to use it for patients with diabetes); blue, capable of making a puncture of 1.8 mm; green with a needle length of 2.4 mm and yellow with a puncture depth of 0.8 mm.
The violet scarifier is not advised to be used when taking a general blood test. The puncture is shallow and quickly tightened, so this option is ideal for patients with diabetes. Blue lancet is best used for donating blood for sugar, for determining the blood group, for determining coagulability and other tests. For men and other categories of patients with rough skin on the fingertips, it is better to use a green scarifier. That this device has a needle length of 2.4 mm has been indicated above.
Baby Scarifiers
Scarifiers for children are best chosen modern. For small patients, a yellow lancet from MEDLANCE Plus (0.8 mm depth of puncture) or Acti-lance purple (1.5 mm depth of puncture) is ideal. It must be borne in mind that if you select a scarifier for blood sampling for a baby in the hospital, then you need to take it with the largest needle, because such an analysis is taken from the heel. In addition, a sterile scarifier with a blade is suitable for this, which will provide good blood flow for analysis.
Scarifier Requirements
So, we figured out what a scarifier is. That this is a high-tech invention, for the implementation of which experiments were carried out, certain materials were selected, we understood. Each type of scarifier has its own length, shape and diameter of the pointed part. Each type of lancet has its own rounding form, sharpening method. The basic requirement that is common to all scarifiers is sterility.
User reviews
According to many, the use of a scarifier during blood donation significantly reduces not only pain, but also fears. Mothers say that children's scarifiers are a wonderful device that allows you to take blood from the smallest babies. If the child is sleeping, then during the procedure for taking blood from a finger, he does not even wake up, only frowns a little or moves in his sleep. Therefore, mothers do not experience feelings of guilt and anxiety after this procedure.
Some patients who have already learned about the existence of this device for collecting capillary blood are surprised that doctors themselves do not offer patients to use a scarifier, and some laboratory assistants (such cases were also observed) refuse to use the tool purchased at the pharmacy. If the packaging of the sterile scarifier is not damaged, and its shelf life has not passed, then the refusal is illegal.
Where to buy the device
You can buy a scarifier in pharmacies. However, according to reviews from many users, there are sometimes problems with the search. There are cases that there is a regular sterile lancet, but no special children's one. The solution in this situation is that you can order the necessary type of scarifier in the online store of medical products or online pharmacy.