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charlottevet
27-07-13, 16:46
Hi All,

JUst a reassuring post to all of those who are nervous about blood testing.

When I was a little girl I would majorly freak out if anyone came anywhere near me with a needle. If I found out we were having jabs at school Id work myself up for weeks and weeks then cry hysterically when we went to have them done. :weep:

As a 21 year old, I am absolutely fine :yesyes:. As a Vet student I guess it would be hypocritical of me to freak out at bloods needles and injections as I stab little creatures with them every single day of my life.... :scared15:

The Proceedure:

So, the nurse will get you to come and sit beside her in a chair with lovely squishy arm rests, put out the slected arm, and then sit back and breathe.
She will then tighten a cord around your upper arm above the elbow area to make your vein pop out nicely :blush:

The nurse will then scrub a little spirit on to your vein area. THIS is when you might want to hut your eyes and look away, if you havent already dne so - I personally tend to sit down and close my eyes immediately lol.....

She will tell you that you will feel a slight pinch or scratch, and this is when she will pop the needle in. The whole thing will take around 10-20 seconds, depending on how many containers she needs to fill.

The actual sensation isnt really that bad at all, Im alays cringe a little at the initial entry of the needle hub, but then its generally fine :D you might feel a little light vibration or "gurgling" close to your arm as the blood passes out into the needle, but generally there is very little sensation at all.

sometimes your arm can ache a little immediately on removal, especially as they press some cotton wool to your vein area stright away, that always makes me feel like giggling- you know when something feels really odd, like hitting your funny bone? its sort of like that :)

So dont worry :hugs: All will be A ok, easy peasy!

lOTS OF lOVE

Charlottevet

Tish
27-07-13, 21:02
I've discovered that there's no problem at all if you're completely relaxed (though I look away too!).
I remember when the nurse would tell you to bend your arm to hold the bit of cotton wool in place - this would result in massive bruising down the arm, so always keep your arm straight afterwards :-)

jill
27-07-13, 21:05
Hi hun :D

Thank you for taking the time to post this :yesyes:

TAKE CARE

LOVE JILL XXX

Rls1994
28-07-13, 00:01
Great post! I am glad you got through it fine!

Before February this year, I had a HUGE phobia of needles. I had to have a blood test done in February and kept delaying it for about a week and a half until I finally got the bottle to just have it done.

Although I was trying to be brave and calm, I was panicking like crazy in the waiting room. I calmed down a little after a couple of minutes but it started getting worse again when I was finally called in.

The nurses were brilliant and totally understanding about it. They offered some freeze spray to apply on my arm which I happily accepted and WOW, I will be completely honest.. I only felt a very LITTLE tiny sting when the needle went in and out, but it was no where near as bad as I was anticipating. I felt a bit sick afterwards and the nurses noticed that I went as white as a sheet, but they gave me some water and I was fine after. :)

So please, if anyone of you dreads blood tests, I hope that you do get it done! It's absolutely nothing to worry about! :D