Need help avoiding capillaries!

[Timothybil]

I am a new diabetic and as such am injecting myself twice a day. As per recommendations, I am using belly fat as the injection site, of which I have way too much! :whistle: Unfortunately, said belly fat is liberally served with capillaries, which I don't want to nick (leaves big bruises). Is there a colored light or whatever that will make the capillaries more visible so I can avoid them? UV, green, blue, red? TIA

 

[PhotonWrangler]

Red light seems to penetrate skin better than anything else. I believe this is why those pulse oximeters use red light to see through your finger.

 

[Cataract]

Any bright flashlight seems to penetrate the skin nicely; I can see the veins in my arm very well, but as far a capillaries go, I am uncertain they can be seen with such a simpe technique or even by eye alone. Have you asked a nurse or the doc?

You could always get a Lee filters sample book and try different colors, but I doubt it would be helpful.

 

[aginthelaw]

if you have a 100-200 lumen led (an incandescent will be to hot), you can press it against your belly near the site you're injecting and you should be able to make them out, the same way you can see your veins in your hand if you put your fingers over the light. if you look up forums or google medical photography, that's really one of the only ways to apply the use of filters to accentuate the look of veins. projected, filtered light had been unreliable for me. in other words, viewing thru a filtered lens works better than shining a filtered light. on a personal note, i was lucky enough to be in good enough health to be able to start an excercise/diet regimen that helped me to get rid of the type of diabetes i had. good luck to you

 

[127.0.0.1]

I am a type 1 and inject 4 to 8 times a day
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get used to the bruises. that is all there is to say on the matter, full stop.

your goal is not to worry about how you look, your goal is the lowest possible A1C, equal to a person without diabetes.

 

[smokinbasser]

I am a type 2 and I simply alternate sides/sites, I have seen a bruise but ignore it.

 

[Risky]

I'm a nurse so what would be a good flashlight to use to help find a hard to find vein on someone that needs an IV?

 

[TEEJ]

We use Blue light to track blood...but, for veins and arteries, an infrared camera tuned to the right settings makes the rest of you look transparent. Its why bed bugs, mosquitoes, etc, see IR...they can home in on the plumbing.

:D