How can I make it easier to get blood

[DaftyLass]

I have often had trouble when trying to get blood work done, they say I have wiggly viens.
Today it took 4 nurses, 9 tries and four places on my body before it worked.
It was embarrassing.
I hydrate, I am chubby but not overly large, I ended up doing a bunch of silly arm swinging to bring the blood up, combined with heat pads, it eventually worked.
Is there a quicker , easier way?
Is there something I can do to make it easier for the poor folks trying to do the draw?
And if you have a troublesome Vien patient, would you prefer they tell you, or let you get on with it without jinxing you, or making you frustrated?
I just want this to be a quicker , smoother, less then two hour thing

Anaesthetist. We get called to all the bloods and cannulas every other member of staff fails at. Indifferent to whether people warn me as 85% of people who tell me they're difficult, aren't. I hsbe awful veins in my elbows (amazing hand veins but most staff aren't trained to do hand blood tests like we do), I warn them which veins work and which don't, they then ignore me and fail but whatever lol

Hydration, staying warm, tourniquet high up the arm, dangle the arm down gravity as much as possible, "grab £50 notes" clenching, us tapping the veins like mad/rubbing with alcohol (releases histamine which causes vasodilation). Use of butterfly needles and syringes not vacutaners as those with tricky veins vacutaners create too much pressure and collapse the vein. Ultrasound is fab for people really difficult as can see veins not visible with the baked eye so used less often by other staff

Drink plenty, get warmed up long before the appointment (i.e. extra layers and coats etc), exercise beforehand, i.e. walk at least 10-15 minutes to the appointment to get the blood pumping. Keep hands in gloves in waiting room and coat fastened. A warm hat would also really help.

I was in your shoes, it was ridiculous. Once had the nurse bring a bowl of warm water for me to put my foot into to try to get blood out of a vein in my foot when they had to give up on my arms and wrists!

Hot water in a glove works well for tiny veins nut if you're issue is wiggly I doubt will be of benefit

I know some of it is genetics but I suppose losing weight, doing arm exercises and weight lifting would make drawing bloods easier. There are slim with 'difficult veins' and overweight people with 'easy' and cooperative veins.

I am obese with difficult veins.
My dentist said nothing about them and seemed calm, spent what felt like ages (5 minutes?) silently rolling or palpitating one location on my arm and he successfully drew blood first time round without bruising me. I normally always get bruising afterwards. I'm glad he didn't comment as I feel pretty rubbish and ashamed of my body as is.

I had phlebotomists and nurses all flustered and anxious about drawing my blood. One refered me elsewhere because she tried 4 times unsuccessfully. I felt really bad when even the more experienced phlebotomist made a couple of failed attempts. The dentist spent time focused on one vein whereas the others quickly moved on to assess another site and another site which could be due to time pressure. I was the same body in all 3 examples.
I'm grateful none of them mentioned my weight, some used humor to diffuse the tension. One nurse even blamed her own lack of skills and repeatedly assured me it wasn't me😅. I think health care professionals are generally understanding, kind and compassionate people who will see our veins as a challenge to their skills and a learning opportunity.

I feel you. Mine are rubbish.

I try and hydrate, get there early and walk 10-20 mins, I usually get public transport so that's easy for me, eat, clench and unclench fists to pump it up.

Mine always look good then as soon as the needle comes out they go and hide.

I've had arms in a huge yellow bucket of warm water before and when they come and do a scan to find it. Dreading the time if they ever have to go to my feet.

Damn, I thought this was a cry for help from Count Dracula!

When I had to have blood taken what felt like every other second it was because I was dehydrated and had a disease. I think they used a different needle and called someone in to assist. Speak to them beforehand about difficulty with drawing blood.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who has this problem, it's quite reassuring! Felt like I was failing at the time, like my veins weren't behaving.

I am really difficult to get blood from, and I warn them and if they want to use the 'looks good but never works' vein I won't let them (the only good one can't be seen but can be felt). I also request a butterfly and if they still can't do it they only get one more chance before I ask for someone else to do it. I bruise terribly and due to a lot of surgery I can only have blood taken from one arm, the veins on my hand can't be used either, so I am not afraid to advocate for myself now.

Yes to all this. I am a midwife and very good at taking blood and putting IV cannulas (we have to site 16G ones at work, some of the largest bore ones, often in women who are dehydrated or have fluid retention due to pregnancy), and perfectioned my skills watching an anaesthetist online who practices all these tricks. I do favour the veins on the hands and butterfly needles for venepuncture, they are actually much easier to access and often much less painful than the ACF (inside of elbow) when they're not clearly visible/palpable.

Also, ask the nurse to put EMLA cream (lignocaine cream) on your hand/arm 20 min before hand, there is no reason for you to suffer extra discomfort.

When I have someone with "difficult veins" I listen to them when they tell me the best vein to take blood off, because they often know best. However, I often see women with supposedly "difficult veins" who don't have difficult veins at all, simply the person previously taking blood has not tried optimal veins, positioning and techniques as @Destiny123 above has beautifully listed.

Big hugs to you, it's very unpleasant to go through all this every time you need blood taken. I always tell women though, that they don't have "bad veins". Their veins are perfect, their purpose is precisely to prevent foreign bodies getting into them. Your veins are absolutely doing their job and there's nothing wrong with them. It's our issue that we want to stick a needle in. I have very "easy veins", they stick out and amost cannulate themselves... but if I scrapped my arm against the ground I'd probably bleed to death.

PS I laughed out loud at the "veins not visible with the baked eye" typo... our eyes do end up pretty baked at the end of the day indeed 😁

Ask to soak your arm in hot water - that’s what I had to do as chemo just finished off the last good vein I had.I have a port fitted now but still sometimes have to do it the old fashioned way.It didn’t make any difference being hydrated or a tourniquet but being warm and putting arm in a bucket of warm water works for me.I insist on this now as I got extremely fed up of nearly every nurse of phlebotomist not listening to my suggestions of the only way it might work.Staff at hospital are brilliant in every area bar taking blood and insisting they can do it. Advocate for yourself once you find what works for you

I'm this patient. The only thing that works is requesting a thin needle. Remember to drink lots of water beforehand and stay warm.

Thank you everyone, I appreciate you taking the time to help, so thoughtfully
I am for sure going to stay about more hydrated, warmer, and I will let them know in a low key way that it can be difficult, but , now I won't say my viens are bad!

Yes me too, years ago I was advised to ask for a 'baby's needle' have had very few issues since.

I have to have blood taken with a small needle.

Should have clarified, this was with the butterfly needle, haha

I also think that the staff member makes a difference too. My OH needs regular blood tests and cannula's fitted for his chemotherapy and other infusions. He refuses to go to the hospital's "sit and wait" open phlebotomy dept as they can never get his blood. He insists on the more experienced nurses in either the day treatment unit or the oncology department and even with those, there are some where he will ask if someone else can do it because of prior experience that they can't do it. His veins are absolutely shot after six years of chemo/infusions/blood tests, so he feels he has the right to veto some of the staff who simply can't do it. He knows others who have no problem at all, so tends to ask if they'll do it. At first, our GP surgery had a brilliant nurse who could always get his blood, but she left, and her replacement simply couldn't manage it meaning he kept having to go back for second and third attempts with someone different. Unfortunately, the receptionists making appointments don't understand, and you get the "it is who it is" response so when they can't do it, he needs the nurse herself to book him in with someone else as the receptionists won't let him pick and chose which is very unhelpful and just means wasted appointments! Best advice has to be that when you find someone who can do it, try, try and try again to get that same person again.