A handheld device for repeated local puncture of human or animal skin, comprising a housing having a handle, a drive device in the housing supplied with a rotating movement about an axis of rotation by a driveshaft, a conversion mechanism coupled to the driveshaft to convert rotating movement into a driving movement along a driving movement direction, and a puncture device which is arranged in the housing and as a puncture needle, which is arranged on a needle shaft that can be moved back and forth repeatedly along a path of movement together with the puncture needle and is connected to the conversion mechanism, wherein the conversion mechanism has a rod crank device, and the stroke executed by the puncture element in moving back and forth is adjustable by altering a relative position between an axial direction of the axis of rotation and the direction of the driving movement.
