When the doctor/nurse takes blood from you, why do they try to find a vein, not an artery? And also why is this mainly done on the arm as opposed to other parts of the body?

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When the doctor/nurse takes blood from you, why do they try to find a vein, not an artery? And also why is this mainly done on the arm as opposed to other parts of the body?

In: Biology

16 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

I had a grueling stent of almost 3 months in the hospital with necrotising pancreatitis. At one point I had 3-4 IVs at one time and they finally gave me a a Picc line for IVs, meds, and blood draws. When I was released after 37 days (tour 1)I had the wimpiest veins ever. So when I ended up back in the ER a couple weeks later (related reasons) they couldn’t get a vein to start an iv in my arm, they kept “blowing out” (not sure the technical term) and I was screaming and crying in pain. They tried multiple stabs, ultrasound guided, nothing worked.

So they had to use the top of my foot. Not ideal I’m told. but when your pancreas is exploding and you’re in the worst pain of your life, anything to get the show on the road 🤷🏻‍♀️

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