Honey in the soap and fingersticks

My sister messaged asking about the honey she just discovered is in their hand soap (first time mom to an infant - no honey under 1yr). I thought, “Wow! Maybe that’s why my fasting was slightly out of range this morning - maybe my soap has honey, and I didn’t rinse thoroughly.” Nope, my fasting was out of range because, well, diabetes… :rofl:

Note to self, though - hand soap can have honey. O_o

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?

I guess I’ve been using soap the wrong way!
I’ll start using it for lows. :grinning:

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LOL! I’d love to hear how a CDE would respond to THAT. :laughing:

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See, there is an explanation for everything!

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:nauseated_face: oh, that’s nasty!

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i know that you’re a very very busy guy, but maybe you just have too much time on your hands :wink:

where on earth are you finding about all this stuff from? and, if you are getting paid for these discoveries, i want in on the action. i work cheap.

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It’s not impossible … I started using some liquid hand soap from a major drugstore chain, and my sugars began looking a little bit high, even when I knew I was low. Got rid of the soap, problem solved. It did not contain honey, but it obviously contained something that was messing with my fingers.

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i found 2 products that clean my hands wonderfully without any problems:

Dial anti-bacterial (white ) soap bars
Liquid antibacterial dish soap

it works well and its cheap.

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FYI, they may be due to be reformulated in the next year or two, since the FDA banned the active antimicrobial ingredients (e.g., triclosan) in a lot of the antibacterial soaps for every day use. They should still work ok though, since it’s the soap part, not the antibacterial part, that does the cleaning.

basically, i just want to get any kind of sugar/food/juice off of my fingers before i do my finger stick. :sunny:

thank you for the info, though. i appreciate it.

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We got rid of the antibacterial. It was not being nice to my hands.

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thanks for that, Thomas; i have found my hands to be dry as can be. and my finger tips are all callused and dried out as well. its horrid; but i thought i was doing the best thing with the antibacterial soap.

(also, b/c i use the subway system in NYC, i like my hands to be super clean; you never know what you can pick up traveling on public transportation :wink: )

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What are you talking about DM? The sub system in NYC is the cleanest place on the planet. I like to sit on the floor of the restroom there when I have to test my BG. :wink:

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I laughed so hard I started coughing!

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We have found the Gold Bond Diabetic to be pretty good at moisturizing.

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thankfully there are no restrooms on the subway system. but if i were pushed to the floor i would have to detoxify myself in a steam room and then take a very very long shower. :wink:

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i’ll try the Gold Bond. I use this product called Moo; its a large tub with a cow a lll around it. its very thick and goopy, though. the other thing i have used is the Lubraderm but it is kind of watery and doesn’t quite do the trick.

I like the Gold Bond Ultimate Healing and also a brand called Now Solutions Shea Butter Lotion (at night–a bit greasy).

Try switching away from the antibacterial soap. EH has supersensitive fingers, some skin condition that just makes the sides of his fingers peel off, not related to diabetes. If he uses harsh soaps, and very hot water, it makes it much worse.

We’ve switched to Srventh Generation dish soap and have found it to be really good. We also use their hand soap.

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Agreed—the reason the FDA is banning triclosan etc is that the level of the chemicals in antibacterial soaps is not actually enough to kill bacteria, just enough to expose them to the chemicals and make them more resistant, so they are actually counterproductive. It’s not clear whether the chemicals are otherwise harmful as well, but they may be and they seem to be irritating for some people. Those chemicals are still ok to use in places like hospitals where they are used in higher amounts in necessary contexts (like surgeons scrubbing in). Also, lots of soaps contain many other unnecessary chemicals that can be irritating—when in doubt, avoiding ones that contain the ingredient “fragrance” or “perfume” is also a good bet, since that’s actually a catch-all for a lot of nasty things that can have nothing to do with fragrance and can be very irritating. I’ve found a few good options—I like the Honest Company liquid hand soaps a lot, which I get at Whole Foods, and Seventh Generation is good. For dishes, your best bet is probably to wear gloves though!

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