What's the least painful place to have a cannula?

[Bookworm382]

I had one at the start of the year and don't remember it being particularly painful but I also don't remember where it was placed. I had another this week and it really flipping hurt! The nurse inserted it into the side of my wrist. It was in for a few hours and stung the whole time.

I'll need another next month. Where should I ask for it to be placed?

Top of your hand is best but if it was stinging it could have been whatever was going into you

Thank you, I'll try for the top of the hand. I think it was the cannula causing the stinging as it was in such an awkward place but even if it wasn't it was really painful going in, I haven't even got a visible vein there whereas I've got great one on on back of my hand and the crook of my elbow.

I've had many many cannulas (cannulae?) for least painful I'd go for inside of elbow, most painful in the foot. Side of the wrist is bearable but not exactly comfortable. I think maybe back of the hand is usually OK - but my veins there are all totally shot so can't be used. Make sure your hands are nice and warm before you have it done then its easier to get the vein.

My hand is itching and burning at the thought of this not the hand if it can be avoided. Crook of your elbow if you can, although I never have a vein there!

How long will you have it for? Top of hand isn't particularly painful but can be really arkward if it's more than a few hours

Top of the hand is best for me as I can still move about. Had one in the wrist before and it bloody hurt.

Most annoying is crook of the elbow. Doesn’t hurt but makes it a pain to move my arm about

I've had a lot of cannulas. It depends whether you have to sleep with it as to best place.
If you don't have to have it in overnight or longer then inside your elbow is fine. Otherwise my preference is on the forearm. I had one there recently when I was in hospital a week and it was comfortable.
You might not get a choice though, sometimes depends on the skill of the person doing it and your veins. I've had some real hatchet jobs done by HCAs.

Elbow probably least painful during and after . But an awkward place and more likely to get caught.
Hand is more painful when it's in and if there's any problems with it, but much more convenient having it in the hand, and less likely to get in the way, and access to it is easier.

Used to do IVs. The veins are best (biggest and near the surface so easier to see and palpate) in the crook of the elbow, but if you’ve got to have the cannula in for a few hours maybe not ideal as obviously you would need to keep your arm straight. The veins in the hand are much smaller, but near the surface. Side of the wrist would be a last resort for me.

Inside of elbow. Top of hand is usually where people go to first but if it needs to be in for more than a few hours it's a PTA as it catches in everything.

Retired anaesthetist here. I’ve inserted over 40,000 of them. A correctly inserted cannula shouldn’t hurt at all! They are only painful if they are:
a) tissuing - leaking into your subcutaneous tissues because they have been improperly placed or have punctured the back wall of the vein on insertion, or
b) an irritant drug is being infused into a too small vein.

Sometimes the adhesive dressing can be painful, if you are allergic to it, causing itching and burning, or if it is pulling on small hairs in your skin.

I had them in for over a week in hospital a couple of years ago. They really shouldn't be painful but I got very sensitive to mine, and it did really hurt. In the last couple of days they moved it to inside the elbow, and it was a bit better. I hope whatever is ailing you is better soon!

I hated it on my hand. I spent a week in hospital being cannulated constantly and inside of the arm was the least worst option.

What I found really annoying was the difficulty getting old ones removed. They didn't seem to want to keep using the same ones, but I'd ask for the old ones to be removed, they'd note this, but then it never happened - not their fault, I'm sure they are over-stretched, but annoying all the same.

a) tissuing - leaking into your subcutaneous tissues because they have been improperly placed or have punctured the back wall of the vein on insertion

This happened to my elderly mum. No one noticed until we arrived at visiting time and her arm was like a balloon - cannula was to drip fluids in as she was nil by mouth.

Inside of the arm elbow for me.

Had a few in my hand, for my 3 c sections. I had to have gas and air while they were inserting them. Took lots of attempts, hand black and blue (the air was blue too). They wouldn’t consider my arm.

Had a couple more this summer in my arm (inside of elbow) and not a problem, just a little scratch like a blood test.

Top of my hand.

I did have one last monday. For some reason, they thought that my arm would be better. Yeah, didn’t work and that’s my arm now.

Then they finally listened to me about where works best and it went in no problem.

Always put a blanket over the cannula site, it makes the vein dilate and it is much less painful. My veins are pretty much destroyed, the only ones left are in my wrists, but keeping them warm will usually keep the vein open for longer.

I think it depends how your veins are and how deep they are. My nurse was explaining last time that if the canular doesn't have to last long they can use a lighter weight one. I have a regular one in for a couple of hours and they usually put it in the inside of the elbow because it's easy. I have a good vein there on the right and it doesn't hurt, however the vein on the left is deeper so if I have blood taken from that side it does hurt. I had a different nurse recently and she put it in my forearm where I also have a good vein - it stung a bit going in but was over quickly and it was easier to move when it was in. I've had several surgeries and the ones in the back of my hand always hurt going in!

I've had them in the top of my hand and the side of my wrist. I preferred the hand. The times it really stung was when it had broken / gone wrong somehow. They always insisted on putting in the last dose of whatever anyway, before they replaced it! Not nice. Hope the next time you get it, it's as good as can be expected

I was in hospital a month ago for 5 days and they had to replace mine several times as my veins just don't like to behave. Between the cannula and them taking blood every day I was like a pin cushion.

Cannula most comfortable on inside of elbow, top of hand pass ok but awkward as would pinch when I moved my wrist or tried to do anything like get dressed.

They tried to get blood from inside elbow, hands and feet. Avoid feet if you can, that's really sore and I've ended up with some nerve damage from a particularly bad attempt by a student doctor. Now if anything touches or presses the top of my foot I get shooting pains into my toes.

When I was in hospital I had to have them multiple times in the space of a few days. When I had one that stung when whatever they were putting into me was going through the cannula they replaced it and put another elsewhere and it was fine. I would speak up next time and see if they will move it if it stings again. I can't remember where felt best, perhaps elbow because I was pretty out of it most of the time.

Crook of elbow. I was in hospital a lot with HG, and it was far more comfortable when they could put it there. Foot was by far the worst.

Back of your hand for me. But.... depends if it's done calmly ( ie not in resus by a panicking nurse - I told her to stop and she did bless her) or by a anetastist while your labour type situation) the anethatist number my hand first as I was swollen up like a balloon with pre eclampsia.

On your hand you can also bandage it up to sleep and roll about at night.

God to many spelling mistakes. Dyslexic here