Blood Drug Testing

What factors mark the difference between good and painful blood tests?

I've had blood tests where I barely felt it happening, but I've also had tests where it hurt: once it hurt severely during the entire time drawing. Just yesterday I had one that didn't hurt so much during the drawing but when the nurse put in the needle I had severe shooting/burning pain down the underside of my arm (a sensation that still recurs if I stretch my arm the wrong way). Getting poked in the blood vessel for four months! I'm glad I didn't take that training.

Public Comments

1. There is a technique to drawing blood so it's not painful. The needle should be driven straight down through the skin, which is where the pain sensors are, so that a minimum area of skin is punctured. If you slide the needle in at a shallow angle, you are dissecting the skin as the needle goes in, and that can be painful. We used to learn this stuff back in the day when I went through my phlebotomy training, because we had to practice on each other every day for 4 full months before we were allowed to stick a patient. If someone was using painful technique, we could tell them immediately, and the person could correct their technique. Unfortunately, phlebotomists and nurses don't practice on each other anymore, and instead use a rubber arm which doesn't jump when it's stuck. So, not everyone knows the little tricks of the trade today to make venipuncture as painless as possible. Next time, look for a phlebotomist (the person who draws your blood) with some grey in their hair. They've been around longer, and have more experience than the young kid who just started work last week.
2. I don't know where the above person got his training as a phlebotomist. I never ever draw blood in the manner he describes; I have taken blood from more people than I can count - and I am the go-to person in the hospital when there's a patient who's hard to get blood from. Depending upon where the phlebotomist is taking the blood (almost always from the crook of your elbow, known as the antecubital fossa), she could be near some nerves and/or tendons, and possibly even nicking one. I have a vein that is most often used for blood draws, which crosses over a tendon - unfortunately, it's the only vein I have which is easily accessible. On occasion, it is painful because of the wrong angle or wrong entrance into my vein. Experiencing pain is not always due to the phlebotomist's technique - sometimes the anatomy of the patient can be a bit tricky (I have had occasions when I had to get someone else to do a venipuncture for me, because I just couldn't get it. If you are feeling that much pain, then tell the person to stop right away as you are in pain. If most of your blood draws are from the same vein, you might ask that the phlebotomist to look elsewhere, or ask for someone else to try.
3. To a great extent, it is the skill of the person drawing your blood; the rest is the person's anatomy. Pulling skin taunt helps, piercing skin first, then the vein (not a single stab for both), anchoring a vein well, and a 45 degree angle are all good technique. Nicking tendons is not good technique and does hurt. Going through the vein and pulling back is also poor technique (you should stop pushing as soon as you see a flash in the needle hub). Not blind sticking (probing around for a vein) is also a good point to not hurt so much. Then there are draws that are painful no matter what. But experience and good technique are key.