Are finger-prick tests accurate?

[Kari55]

I’m trying to research whether finger-prick test like Medicheck and Blue Horizon are as accurate as normal blood test. It seems a bit strange that a little amount of blood is enough. I would be grateful for any comments.

[SlowDragon Administrator]

It's not just a few drops, you fill a small tube.

Alternatively can pay extra £25 for private blood draw, if you don't fancy DIY. But you need a local private hospital and blood draw needs to be as early as possible in morning for best results

Literally thousands on here are forced to get private testing as NHS tests are often inadequate as they won't test FT3 or both TPO and TG antibodies or often vitamins either

[Kari55 in reply to SlowDragon]

Thank you for your helpful reply

[trelemorele]

Why wouldn't it be accurate?

Diabetes patients do it for their hormone - insulin testing and in much less qty why wouldn't it work for anything else?

[Kari55 in reply to trelemorele]

Because it’s not venous blood.

[Angel_of_the_North in reply to Kari55]

But capillary blood is often used for testing children and the elderly with fragile veins. So if it's Ok for them ...

"Capillary Blood

Capillary blood is obtained from capillary beds that consist of the smallest veins (venules) and arteries (arterioles) of the circulatory system. The venules and arterioles join together in capillary beds forming a mixture of venous and arterial blood. The specimen from a dermal puncture will therefore be a mixture of arterial and venous blood along with interstitial and intracellular fluids.

Capillary blood is often the specimen of choice for infants, very young children, elderly patients with fragile veins, and severely burned patients. Point-of-care testing is often performed using a capillary blood specimen."

[Kari55 in reply to Angel_of_the_North]

Thank you for your reply, very helpful