sprayed blood on my poor specimen collector

[eee123]

I had a bunch of blood tests today.  When she took the needle out my blood sprayed out onto her skin.  She rushed out to clean it off and her colleague came in and held cotton wool balls on me until the bleeding stopped and she could place a band aid.  Last blood test I had somewhere else after I left I found that blood was running through the bandaid down my arm on my clothes.  I had thought it was because I had that blood test at 5pm on Friday right before closing time so the collector was rough and hurried.  It seems that is not the case.  The lady that helped me today asked me if I was on warfarin after the blood spurt which I'm not.  I asked the lady that had to endure my blood on her if this had ever happened before and she said never.  She was worried that the blood spray might have gotten into her eyes and had to scrub all the blood off her arms. 

 

I am so disillusioned with the medical profession already and really feel reluctant to bother with the cost and inconvenience of tests and doctors but today I could have also hurt an innocent party.  No doubt at least she will be worried about catching hiv or something else from me (I don't have anything as far as I am aware which I told her but I'm sure she is still worried)

 

I am a bit nervous about blood tests as it is, but spraying blood on the specimen collectors skin?  I can't do that to anyone again morally and don't see how I can have a blood test again.  The specimen collectors can't be expected to have blood sprayed on their skin.  It isn't an ER and they shouldn't be expected to take on those risks.

 

Is this blood spray common when having a blood test and nothing to worry about?

Edited October 25, 2014 by eee123

[sourlemon]

I've sprayed  blood a few times. I'm not on any medication that  would make this happen.  I think maybe I have super veins? Anyway, the largest spray came from my finger.   They were checking my blood sugar levels  before a  blood test (because  I was acting funny and it turns out it was low). I remember being pricked on the forefinger and BLAM.. this fountain shoots  up and onto the floor, shoes, lab coat,  face, arms and hair of the tech.   I can't control my veins so I really had  nothing to be faulted  for.  There was a  bit of panic in her face, and she asked  if it's happened  before.  At  the time, it had not.  I was still squirting as she cleaned up.   She realized that blood was still shooting  up from my finger so she grabbed a cotton ball and had me hold  it.   It stopped  immediately.  I was told that a capillary may have been struck- or something  like that.

 

The other 2 times were from my arm as the tech pulled the needle out.  I warned them it may happen.   Again, blood everywhere.

 

I think people who do that job... their work revolve around bodily fluids.  Fluids spill  and they are  trained  to handle stuff  like  that.  I think it's nice  that  you are  concerned about her well being, but I would ease up on yourself.  It's not like you willed your veins to do this.

 

I don't know how common the spraying  is, but it has happened  to me and a few people I know. I think it just depends on the needle, position, and vein.

[discomposed]

I once had a psych nurse remove an IV from my arm (to scurry me over to psych emerg) and my blood shot up in the air, out past the curtain and into the hallway (aka "across the room"). She went running yelling "WE HAVE A BLEEDER!!" while I used a bandaid wrapper to stop it from shooting upward. I kind of blame her for her mishap, as had she looked at my other arm she'd have seen a deep red cotton swab taped to my arm where they removed the original IV a day earlier and also found I was bleeding quite a bit.

 

There's various reasons one might bleed all over the place with one little needle poke. Certain medications and illnesses can cause one to be a bleeder.

 

What I do now is joke about that right before anyone draws blood, and as I'm sure you can guess, they keep that information in the forefront of their minds when drawing my blood, for example by keeping a cotton swab over the needle as they remove it. I'm also instructed to keep pressure on my swab for a minute longer than other people and am not allowed to leave until they've confirmed I've stopped bleeding. The phlebotomist should be keeping this possibility in mind every time they draw blood, but just as with any job when you do something fifty times a day and nothing goes wrong, you let your guard down and aren't prepared for the one that finally does - now that you know you have a tendency to bleed all over the place, you can forewarn them and all will go fine.

 

Just find a way beforehand to inform the person doing the collecting that you're a bleeder, and they'll ensure they take the right precautions to prevent injury or trauma to you or themselves.

[lavender fairy]

I have the opposite problem.  I'm a terrible stick and they can never get blood from me.  We don't control our veins.  Seriously, I have a medical condition where I need to get blood drawn often and I just inform the techs so they can get their most experienced person out to deal with me. 

[iaawal]

I know someone who sprayed blood on the specimen collector. Never had it happen to me though. 

[melissaw72]

I have the opposite problem.  I'm a terrible stick and they can never get blood from me.  We don't control our veins.  Seriously, I have a medical condition where I need to get blood drawn often and I just inform the techs so they can get their most experienced person out to deal with me. 

 

This is why I had to get a port placement.  I ended up with so much scar tissue from blood draws that they said I had to get a port (when I was having iron infusions), because they could never find a vein.

[Gearhead]

"'WE HAVE A BLEEDER'"? Oh my God, Discomposed, that's kinda priceless.

 

I have terrible veins that no one can get a needle in on the first (2nd, 3rd) try, AND I've hosed a collector down with blood. I asked my friend who's a phlebotomist and her highly technical response was "Yeah, that happens sometimes."

 

It did make me feel like a Monty Python skit though.

[WinterRosie]

I have the opposite problem. Even a normal blood draw seems to take too much blood from me and I can't stand up afterward without getting dizzy and falling down, unless I sit there for about ten minutes first and work my way up to it. Because it's a busy clinic they sometimes try to rush me out... and then I end up on the floor. 

They keep juice in the fridge for people like me. Which only goes to show that their job is to handle bodily fluids. They're used to it. OP, she screwed up by getting lax. She wasn't in the right to blame you for it. Now she won't be lax for a while. So it's a good thing that that happened. As you've said, you're 'safe' and it could have been worse.

[eee123]

Thanks for your replies.

 

Don't know how I can stop myself shaking even more when I get my next blood draw though?  It will be worse after this experience.  Medical appointments make me anxious and shake. I didn't particularly like being left bleeding whilst they rushed off to wash the blood off.  What if they freaked out mid draw after getting my blood spatter and just left me there with a needle in my arm??!  Or jabbed it somewhere it wasn't meant to out of surprise?

 

Don't know if my arm shaking contributed to the problem.  My hands shake when I see a medical professional.  It is getting annoying how they keep carrying on about it.  I tell them I am just nervous around Drs etc but they still keep carrying on about it.  What is funny is, whilst most of them just immediately talk to me about my assumed anxiety, others order bloods etc or are really concerned and suggest I must see a neurologist.  Just wish they would shut up and get on with the job that I was referred to them for.  Why should someone with Dr anxiety be hassled at every medical appointment especially after explaining I have Dr anxiety.