Why is my arm painful after giving blood? If, during your donation, you informed staff of pain or discomfort in your donation arm, hand or fingers, this may be related to possible tendon/nerve injury. These are uncommon risks associated with venepuncture (when a needle is used to take blood from a vein).
There are bundles of nerves close to your major veins, and if one of those nerves is nicked or punctured by the phlebotomist (the person drawing your blood), you could experience the following: The feeling of an electric shock during the procedure. Persistent pain in the arm.
This is a normal reaction and should go away by itself within 1 week . People may also experience some pain or tenderness at the site of the needle insertion, and possibly some minor swelling. According to Bloodworks Northwest, a nonprofit organization, applying a compress can help to relieve pain and swelling.
swelling that is large or increasing in size. numbness or pins and needles in the arm, hand or fingers. severe or worsening pain. coldness or paleness of the lower arm, or hand of the affected arm.
What does a blown vein look like? The area around your blown vein may appear red or purple. This is because some blood has leaked out of your vein and pooled under your skin. The discoloration is temporary and should go away within a couple of weeks.
Typically, nerve damage caused by blood draw heals within one to two months. However, more serious cases can take up to six months or longer to heal. Damaged nerves can typically regenerate at a pace of 1 inch per month, or 1 millimeter per day.
A punctured major artery can increase the risk of hemorrhages, hematomas, nerve damage, blood loss and infections.
Arterial bleeding is characterized by rapid pulsing spurts, sometimes several meters high, and has been recorded as reaching as much as 18-feet away from the body. Because it's heavily oxygenated, arterial blood is said to be bright red.
Collecting blood from an artery is more painful than collecting it from a vein. That's because the arteries are deeper and are surrounded by nerves. You may feel light-headed, faint, dizzy, or nauseated while the blood is being taken from your artery.
Some people continue to feel some discomfort or pain and we are not sure why. It is probably because of nerves under the surface of the skin but this should settle quite quickly. If not you should go to see your GP or a member of hospital staff.
Blood donation is normally a safe process. A small number of blood donors experience donation-related events (1), and serious complications such as upper-extremity deep vein thrombosis (UEDVT) are extremely rare (2).
However, researchers at the University of California, San Diego have found that you can lose up to 650 calories per pint of blood donated. That's not a bad deal for kicking back and doing a good deed. Lowers the risk of cancer. Offloading a batch of your blood means reducing iron stores in your body.
When the needle is withdrawn, you'll be asked to apply gentle pressure with a piece of gauze bandage to the site. This helps to stop the bleeding and may help prevent swelling and bruising. Make sure that you do not bend your arm, as this may cause bruising. Hold pressure until you are asked to remove your hand.
The incidence of nerve injury during venipuncture varies in different reports, ranging from 1/21,000–1/25,000 to as low as 1/67,000 [2,5,6]. While most of these patients fully recover, a rare possibility exists that they may experience severe, chronic pain that met the diagnostic criteria of CRPS.
Superficial thrombophlebitis is an inflammation of a vein just below the surface of the skin, which results from a blood clot. This condition may occur after recently using an IV line, or after trauma to the vein. Some symptoms can include pain and tenderness along the vein and hardening and feeling cord-like.
Arterial bleeding is more dangerous than venous bleeding. The arteries carry blood from the body and back into the heart. If the arteries become damaged and start to bleed out, an individual can suffer loss of life within five minutes if the bleeding is severe and if no medical attention is received.
Vascular pain often feels like an uncomfortable heaviness or throbbing sensation. It can also feel like an aching sensation. It usually affects your legs and can be worse with walking or exerting yourself.
An arterial puncture is a rare complication of blood donation (0.014%) and should be recognized at the earliest. Immediate removal of the needle and direct pressure for 10 min can prevent the complications of prolonged bleed, hematoma, arteriovenous fistula, pseudoaneurysm and compartment syndrome [1].
A vein usually takes a couple of days to heal. It is also useful to have a backup vein that is used to being injected in case you have issues with your regular vein.
According to the CLSI standards, veins to the front of the wrist (palm side) or lateral wrists (thumb side) must not be used for venipuncture due the presence of nerves and tendons close to the surface. Drawing from veins in sites other than these may subject patients to injury to nerves, arteries, tendon and bone.
If you hit a nerve, the patient may jerk his arm or describe a shocking pain. If your patient reports this, immediately stop the procedure and remove the needle. Instruct the patient to elevate his arm and use ice and light pressure on the site.
Direct puncture nerve injury usually causes immediate symptoms, including: sharp acute pain at venipuncture site. sharp shooting pain up or down the arm. sensation of pain that changes in severity depending on needle position.
Pain is the most frequent symptom of a nerve injury. It is usually described as a severe shooting or burning sensation at the injection site with radiation to the dorsum of the forearm and hand. Patients could also present numbness, paresthesia, hypoesthesia and other sensory disturbance.