my hands shake. can i do it?

[moto_za]

hi,

from working in a lab and pipetting stuff and also taking a picture by using a camera my hand tends to shake slightly. Can I still be a dentist? (not sure why my hands shake sometime slightly when I am holding something sensitive) thanks for your help

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[reapply2007]

Tough to say. It might just be too much caffeine or the need for rest.

 

[moto_za]

yea, not sure, when working in the lab i would have to use both hands to keep the pipette from shaking (that is when doing really sensitive and small things)😎

 

[1992Corolla]

yes you can. Try to carve some fake teeth out of a bar of soap and a pocket knife for practice

 

[SugarNaCl]

yea, not sure, when working in the lab i would have to use both hands to keep the pipette from shaking (that is when doing really sensitive and small things)😎

Hmmm...really? Have you worked in a lab long? are you nervous or unused to it? Oh, but I see it happens with camera too. hmm. Forget my post. It's pointless

 

[Ething]

if it makes u feel any better, i am in the same boat. my hands shake slightly too and i needed 2 hands for pipetting in the lab also. i was told not to worry about it by many dentists.

 

[SydB]

hi,

from working in a lab and pipetting stuff and also taking a picture by using a camera my hand tends to shake slightly. Can I still be a dentist? (not sure why my hands shake sometime slightly when I am holding something sensitive) thanks for your help

Finger rests....

I have shaky hands to the point where people comment about them and i'm doing well so far.

 

[sejin8642]

I know someone who had the same kind of hand-shaking habits. So he went to see the doctor and cured it somehow. He said this kind of symptom could be cured by physical exercises.

 

[DATkilla]

well it's not only you. my hand tends to shake too when pipetting in the lab especially when loading wells for electrophoresis. I think it's just nervousness giving that the whole class is looking. It is more stable when I'm working alone. I've however practice drilling and carving on models and I was told my job was very good. 😀 so nothing to worry about.

 

[pine88]

do you smoke? That can make your hands shake chronically.

 

[persiancat]

You can treat the symptom by taking propranolol. Ask your doctor about it. It is mainly used for hypertension, but also for hand tremors.

 

[Ething]

well it's not only you. my hand tends to shake too when pipetting in the lab especially when loading wells for electrophoresis. I think it's just nervousness giving that the whole class is looking. It is more stable when I'm working alone. I've however practice drilling and carving on models and I was told my job was very good. 😀 so nothing to worry about.

haha......this is exactly when i found out my hands shaked. i was always unsure when i was pipetting if my hands shaked or not but when i did the electrophoresis (with the whole class looking) i had a really tough time and was shaking. loading those wells are not so easy! Plus i was afraid of contaminating the other wells.

 

[tinman831]

Everyones hands shakes to a certain degree. Nothing that a good finger rest won't solve.

 

[pmantz]

Booze always kills the shakes for me. J.K.

 

[SugarNaCl]

You can treat the symptom by taking propranolol. Ask your doctor about it. It is mainly used for hypertension, but also for hand tremors.

Awww... My Masters work was with the adrenergic receptors... I used propranolol to treat my cells... ::music:: memmmmmmories!

 

[CSI Dentist]

Yup... i use two hands for pipetting.... i don't have the steadiest of hands, but it should not be a big of a problem. Practice makes everything perfect... besides.... it didn't prevent you from pipetting so far, why would it prevent you from being a dentist in a long run.

But caffeine and I don't get along.... my hands thend to shake like crazy.. hahha... so just lay that off whenever you have to do some precise work.

 

[SugarNaCl]

OK...I have to be honest with you guys. Of course it is probably because after 5 straight years of lab work, pipetting has become second nature... but how in the world does one pipet with 2 hands? I don't understand it. Pipets are designed for only one hand. Even when I am using radioactive substrates for timed experiments, I use only one hand. If I used 2, it would probably be all over the place and trust me, that is a pain in the tushy to clean up if you spill even a little of it! 😛

 

[CSI Dentist]

i know.. it is hard to describe. I work with really small volumes, like 0.02 ul on daily basis. I hold my pipetteman with my right hand, and just use like a finger on my left hand to steady my pipette when loading a gel or small tubes.

My coworker uses one hand, and his hands are perfectly steady. But I don't know... maybe it is just a practice thing. I"ve been doing it for two years this way, and it works for me.

 

[abzirian]

Wow i never thought about that either, but now that you mention is, my hands shook a lot when i worked in the lab (particularly the genetics one) too. Even with the gels too. I'm sure it wasn't due to nervousness because even way after i got used to doing it my hands still shook. Eventually i would time the shaking of my hands so i would know when to release... my camera photos never have been blurry like you mentioned though.

 

[dds_sdc]

i think it just takes practice.. my hands used to shake too.. esp. if the professor was watching me do it.

 

[SugarNaCl]

i know.. it is hard to describe. I work with really small volumes, like 0.02 ul on daily basis. I hold my pipetteman with my right hand, and just use like a finger on my left hand to steady my pipette when loading a gel or small tubes.

My coworker uses one hand, and his hands are perfectly steady. But I don't know... maybe it is just a practice thing. I"ve been doing it for two years this way, and it works for me.

Ok, I have one other question. A more technical question. What type of pipetteman do you use to dispense 0.02 uL? Is it a precision instrument b/c I have never seen one that lets you pipette less than .1 (designed for .2 uL) and I even have such a hard time convincing myself that that is accurate. Generally, I will just dilute the sample or drug or substrate or enzyme so I can add a higher volume unless a very small volume is critical. Fill me in... I would love to know how precise this instrumentation is that you are using. Sounds pretty top of the line. Thanks

 

[DAT_MAN]

I also shake when I use the pipepette in the lab. I think it's from everyone watching. But I get prescriptions of propranolol ( Inderal ) , which works like a charm. I love the stuff. I take it before tests just to slow down my heart rate and nervousness. I use it before speeches too. Ask your DR. about it, you don't know what you're missing out on. Also, I had the same concern as you but i did some research and found that finger rests eliminate any shaking you might have so don't sweat it, you're just being paranoid. You will learn all that good stuff in d-school.

 

[goosestuff]

Everyones hands shakes to a certain degree. Nothing that a good finger rest won't solve.

Yep - find a way to rest your shaking hand upon something so that you don't shake - it'll steady it. Next time you go to the dentist, you may notice that your dentist has a finger resting somewhere on your face.

 

[shayaas]

i 2 facing same problem of shaking hands in lab infront of lecturers,,, plzzzzzz any1 can give suggestions

 

[DentalJedi]

i 2 facing same problem of shaking hands in lab infront of lecturers,,, plzzzzzz any1 can give suggestions

I am a dental student and my hands shook in undergrad when I would pipette. I will answer your question if you retype it in grown-up language.

 

[shayaas]

I am a dental student and my hands shook in undergrad when I would pipette. I will answer your question if you retype it in grown-up language.

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