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HIV / Hep C Risk during Weird Blood Draw
Hello, im 26, male,
Recetly i had a very weird experience during a blood draw for a drug test, and im concerned about a possible HIV / Hep C exposure.
When i get blood drawn i look away because i get nervous, but in this case the nurse was taking a lot of time to fill the tube, so i checked my arm and i noticed two drops of blood like an inch away from the puncture zone up in my arm.
There was no trail of blood between the drops and the puncture, thats why im concerned that the blood came from the needle, because id didnt looked like the blood leaked and oozed from the wound.
Is this normal? where did those two drops of blood came from?
Recetly i had a very weird experience during a blood draw for a drug test, and im concerned about a possible HIV / Hep C exposure.
When i get blood drawn i look away because i get nervous, but in this case the nurse was taking a lot of time to fill the tube, so i checked my arm and i noticed two drops of blood like an inch away from the puncture zone up in my arm.
There was no trail of blood between the drops and the puncture, thats why im concerned that the blood came from the needle, because id didnt looked like the blood leaked and oozed from the wound.
Is this normal? where did those two drops of blood came from?
Best Answer
Too add, it's not uncommon for a few drops of blood to be present on the top of the collection tubes. It could very well be from when the nurse changed tubes, especially because that's done rapidly.
Just saw several venipuncture videos and blood just dosen't jump out of the vein when the needle is inserted (sometimes it just oozes out).
The droplets of blood came from the needle before it was inserted in my vein (i saw them when the needle was still inside the vein, not after), i guess i will have to wait 3 months to get tested.
The droplets of blood came from the needle before it was inserted in my vein (i saw them when the needle was still inside the vein, not after), i guess i will have to wait 3 months to get tested.
When i saw the two drops of blood the needle was still inside my vein, so either it was blood splashed from the vein upon needle insertion ( i dont know if this is possible) or the needle had blood inside ( dont know if it was reused or used to extract blood from another sample )
Hello nursegirl and thanks for your response.
In the past, i have seen blood come out around puncture site, the concern im having is because the blood was not "connected" to the puncture site, it was like two stray drops of blood away from the wound, is it possible that the blood splashed or something like that when the needle was inserted?
In the past, i have seen blood come out around puncture site, the concern im having is because the blood was not "connected" to the puncture site, it was like two stray drops of blood away from the wound, is it possible that the blood splashed or something like that when the needle was inserted?
It's not at all unusual for blood to come out of the needle after phlebotomy. No concern.
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I WILL tell you that most ALL phlebotomy equipment these days is single use only, meaning it won't work a second time. So, if you're worried about the nurse using a previously utilized needle, that's just not realistic.