I had blood taken by my GP last Tuesday. She seemed to kind of stab the needle into the join of my forearm/upper arm wasn’t too bad at the time but since then its bruised like hell!

Is this right?

No…I’m sorry to tell you, your **** days are over

😆

Its a fair old bruise but I have seen worse. Did you press on it for 5 minutes as you are supposed to?

any obvious swelling?

I wouldn’t worry too much unless its obviously swollen or there are numb or cold fingers

Pretty bad bruise, but should resolve…. are you on warfarin?
If it’s red box and painful, be aware you can get skin infections after blood tests, although this does just look like a bruise.

DrP

I bruised like that a couple of years ago when I had some blood taken. My arm did not drop off. 8)

I didn’t press for 5 mins. Its swollen up a bit tbf. No swollen or numb fingers but I am getting pins and needles through the night. This may be that I am sleeping on it though.

I had similar when I gave blood once, the doc messed up badly when putting the needle in.

Thanks FoxyChick 8)

Not on Warfarin? Why should I be?

Is it possible that the Doc was abit ring rusty re; Bloods and made a pigs ear of it?

Yer big soft girl

allthepies, you were too quick for me! I think/hope its the same thing.

Yer big soft girl

Guilty. I am a blouse, my imagination is running wild atm 😳

Either you didn’t press on it hard enough/long enough, or they nicked the big artery that runs down your arm so it bled a bit. Neither are owt to worry about; it’s a week later andyou’re not dead yet therefore you’ll live.

HTH

Muchos Gracias. 8)

A few years ago had a canula, a big needle stuck in my hand, for a blood transfusion, when completed the nurse forgot to yurn ther litle knob that stops the blood flowuing out of me, it squirted all over the floor and curtains while she screamed and ran for some paper towels, until i just turned the knob.

Then last week a freind got admitted to sasualty, the Dr when he took the canula out gave her a piece of cooton wool, and walked off when she tried to put her jumper on the blood squirted out all over the wall and bed.

What ever you do don’t ring NHS Direct for advice and say you have pain in your arm.

I’d love to say TJ is talking bollocks but I’m not a nurse so I cant comment..

haematoma – should get better but if you get progressive pins and needles, or it starts feeling warm and very tender to touch get it looked at for real!!

As per TJ, any blood taken needs the puncture site to be pressed on for 5 minutes. The bigger the needle the more risk there is of bleeding into the surrounding tissue and large bruises forming.

Other thing is Dr’s often have rusty blood taking skills; my GP won’t take bloods themselves, they send patients into the phlebotomy department of the hospital.

missingfrontallobe

Aye, I thought as much. The GP said she would do it so that I wouldn’t have to come back for the nurse to do it. (who did a flawless job the last time)

Kind of wish I had I had waited, but hey ho!

Cheers for the replies/piece of mind.

missingfrontallobe

Aye, I thought as much. The GP said she would do it so that I wouldn’t have to come back for the nurse to do it. (who did a flawless job the last time)

Kind of wish I had I had waited, but hey ho!

Cheers for the replies/piece of mind.

Other thing is Dr’s GPs often have rusty blood taking skills; my GP won’t take bloods themselves, they send patients into the phlebotomy department of the hospital.

Corrected that for you missingfrontallobe 🙂

I’m saying nothing.

as a GP I take blood on average about 5-10 times a week… often when the nurses or our phlebotomist cannot get a sample 8) But then I was an anaesthetist in a previous life…

Rough luck about the bruising – but it sometimes happens whoever takes it, and anyone who tells you different hasn’t spent much time actually seeing patients who have had recent blood tests.

MissingFrontaLobe – if they send you to a local hospital is to save them money employing staff and to increase their profits.

Don’t worry stoatsbrother, in primary care we don’t have the luxury of nurse practitioners to do all our jobs for us!!

You have someone to help with some of your jobs?

Lucky Bastard!

Dont worry our local paramedics enjoy staying and playing rather than scooping and running which seems the most appropriate option when a+e is 10 mins away. If their not doing that they are queuing outside a+e as they can’t drop off as the EU needs to meet it’s 4 hout in a+e target. (still applies in wales) ho hum!

Yeah queues are an all too common sight now.

What a waste of your time! It must really frustrate you that you cant handover your patients to A+E purely because of some poorly thought through political target

It’s on it’s way out but can’t see it making much difference to be honest. Dr’s need to go back on call to reduce the need for hospital admissions as well as allowing admission to rural hospital
at night and weekends.

But Dr’s are on call and GP’s arent an emergency service , so i cant see that making any difference either.

Not asking them to be emergency service, just to attend the generally unwell instead of passing it on to ambulances. On call yeah right.

Usual paramedic bullshit!!

If you have a problem with it complain to the PCT about their ooh’s service.

I’m appalled by the many occasions when Paramedics tell my patients unsafely they havent had an MI on the basis of an ECG alone. I’ve sent several in after they’ve who turn out to have a raised troponin.

So paramedics aren’t perfect either DRAC. I just hate the way NHS professionals don’t work together for their patients and generalise based on their perception of what goes on. If a patient phones me with severe shortness of breath and chest pain do I A) go and see them in 2 hours after surgery or B) call 999. you work it out!

jesus, did she take a run up?

simple answer, some doctors are lazy and rubbish, some paramedics are lazy and rubbish, I’m super great and can ride my bike really fast.

What he said!

(p.s. the Nurse practitioners are there to get in the way and ask irritating questions not help out)

Blimey hit a nerve there, Meehaja gets the point over.

If a patient phones me with severe shortness of breath and chest pain do I A) go and see them in 2 hours after surgery or B) call 999. you work it out!

Like I said for emergencies it’s fine, for a minor illness they’ve had for 2 or 3 days then why send an ambulance. Work it out!

Actually bit of edit. I didn’t have a go at Dr’s, they do a very good job but the system of Dr’s no longer be on call is flawed in it’s current state. There is very little as the NHS Direct don’t send Dr’s a lot of the time even if we’ve been assessed often enough they say to take them to hospital anyway.

Funny how you were happy to lay into our profession though but like I say must have hit a nerve.

but like I say must have hit a nerve.

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