₦airaland Forum

"If You Just Chook The Needle Anywhere Blood Will Come Out"

"𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮 𝘃𝗲𝗶𝗻? 𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝘆𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲, 𝗯𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗱𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝘁!"

Almost every healthcare professional has heard some version of this from a patient. On the surface, it sounds logical. After all, blood is everywhere in the body, right?

Well, yes... but drawing blood is a lot more sophisticated than simply making blood appear.

When a phlebotomist, nurse, doctor, or laboratory scientist carefully searches for a vein, they are not being dramatic. They are being precise.

Here's why:

We need a proper sample, not just a few drops

A laboratory test requires enough blood to fill collection tubes and perform multiple analyses accurately. Tiny drops from damaged tissue or capillaries are often insufficient and can compromise results.

Not all blood vessels are created equal

Veins are the safest and most practical targets for routine blood collection. Arteries carry blood under much higher pressure. Accidentally puncturing one can result in excessive bleeding, severe bruising, pain, and additional complications.

There are nerves beneath the skin

Random needle placement increases the risk of nerve injury. Anyone who has experienced that sudden electric shock sensation during a procedure knows it is something healthcare workers work hard to avoid.

Accuracy begins at collection

Laboratory medicine depends on quality samples. Contaminated, diluted, or poorly collected specimens can produce inaccurate results, potentially affecting diagnosis and treatment decisions.

Patient safety is always the priority

Every step, from identifying the vein to choosing the correct collection tube, is designed to protect the patient and ensure the healthcare team receives reliable information.

The next time you see a healthcare professional tapping an arm, adjusting a tourniquet, or taking a few extra seconds to locate the perfect vein, remember:

What may look simple is actually a blend of science, skill, anatomy, experience, and patient safety.

In healthcare, precision is never a waste of time.

Have you ever had a patient ask a question that sounded funny at first but opened the door to an important teaching moment?

The only time I apply this logic is when I'm dealing with a virgin which is quite hard these days

There are alot of misconceptions on this.

Hmmm. Thanks for the explanation

Eleribu
13 more characters needed

VeryWickedMan:
The only time I apply this logic is when I'm dealing with a virgin which is quite hard these days

It's not about the blood coming out
It's about ......

Ir is not just about the action bur the reaction afterwards

Blood of Jesus or blood of mary

Dpharmacist:
There are alot of misconceptions on this.

They are watching too many movies and technically they are correct. If I use a sharp needle on any part of your body, blood does come out but they don't want to know the stories of Nigeria women who go abroad or live abroad and they chook them like animals all in the name of blood. Medical racism but our people too are somehow a part of this because we must get that card. They believe over there that Africans have a high tolerance for pain so them go chook you die all in the name of finding blood...

https://www.tiktok.com/video/7575589064057965837

Yinbridge:
BS......... Na long story. I find time to come bk and write cos I have been stressed is an understatement.
Let's get right into it.

Remember I said relocation plus baby.

So before baby I had my Canadian permanent residence application going. So I was 30weeks when the approval came. Bak and forth trying to move and get passport stamped I entered 38weeks o my people. Got my Passport bk and moved immediately collected fake doctors report to give the airline that m 32weeks. Flew in on Thursday. Did all my registrations next day and was so stressed but it's all worth it o.
Early Monday morning 23rd, 3am, my water broke. I went to pee, the pee dinnor stop o that's how I knew the water broke o. I put pad and woke my husband up to tell him. He said let's sleep bk and by morning we will know what to do since I have no contractions. Before I slept off I msgd a lady who just gave birth in canada like me and told her my situation. She woke me with call by 7am to move straight to the hospital. Where she also delivered.

By 9am we got to the hospital, we got registered and put in d exam room. They tagged me, they examined my water that broke to know if I was really in labour. They took plenty blood o like becos I didn't have any record. After they took blood and check baby they admitted me. They put me in the labour room l was just not really contracting so they decided to induce me to make contract faster. They first gave me toast bread and juice to eat cos I can't eat again just water.
They asked if I wanted anything for pain. Gave me three options, oral drugs, laughing gas, and epidural. My sisters I was forming strong girl o. I said nothing o that I was fine.
I was assigned a nurse, a doctor and an assistant nurse to ring Bell anytime I need anything. They put a rope abi wire ni to monitor my heartbeat, baby's heartbeat and my contractions.
Then the whole thing started from past 10am. My husband and I started. For over 3hrs, it was 1cm. After 2 hours they came bk to check, it was 3cm. At this point I was hungry, tired and dey just kept saying you r doing great. You are doing well mama.
Omo I wan die 3cm and we still have 7cm to go. I begged pls gimme epidural. They said anesthesiologist is in d theatre. I cried ehn my husband was just begging me.

My parents in Nigeria were calling, his parents and our timr difference is 7hrs. Everybody stayed awake. He was being fired on the fone to know what was happening. My mum was crying pe lataro. We thought it will be fast. As we were admitted we called the parents and siblings to expect their baby. Had we known we could have calm down. My baby was really not ready. Actually my Edd was May 31st. But I guess the travelling stress induced the baby. At this point my husband and I prayed God help us.


Back to me crying. I was tired. Begging the nurse pls bring me the epidural. She said few hrs the anesthesiologist will soon be here. Few hrs keh. I cannot cope. Nurse was begging me o, telling me to walk around the room, it's a private room just be free. Inside the room I had my toilet, my baby's new machine to use for him, long chair to sleep for my husband and blanket
Then for a while i tried to sleep. I slept for like 1hr and they came to wake me the anesthesiologist was here. Omo I was in pain but walked me thru d process and said set your back. They started poking me. They poke and poke for 10mins. D anesthesiologist said I can't find your vein. I cried and cried. The nurse was holding me. My husband was also sad looking. The anesthesiologist said she will get an ultrasound to look for my veins, then she marked it. They started the poking again. After 5mins or so they were done. O mo after 30mins I was numb. I was feeling so good. I was contracting yet no s much in pain. From 10am nothing till next day. Omo by 6am d next day, I was 6cm. I was just there. Lifeless, my Husband didn't know what to do. He slept at some point omo I pity d man. Doctor came they continue to encourage me tht d baby is fine if they need comes they will do cs but for now I am doing okay.
I called my husband again let's pray. He said nooo he has prayed all he wants to do is give thanks. He started playing Christian music

By 9am cos the clock dey infont of Me like this, the doctor came again and said now we r 8cm. I was happy that finally we r almost there. I dinnor know that it was still a long. Omo it took more hours. The doctor said she will come finally by 11 and if no show, we move to CS. By past 11 my husband went to look for nurse. The doctor came and said finally we can start pushing.
Omo I started pushing o pushing and by 1 is only d head rhey were seeing.

The doctor even went to do operation but said she will be bk for me the nurse shud continue. By the time the doctor came. She said weldone your baby is coming. My husband said later I kept on pooing as I was pushing(smile) but nurse just packed it and not complain.

Sha the doctor came and said you r exhausted, shud I help u with 2 to 4 more pushes or u continue for 45mins. I said hen. How will u help she said vacuum Extractor delivery. I said yes pls she was just like your baby will have sore on his head. I said we wil take d pain together omo, I agreed o. She said push and d vacuum Extractor was inserted. I didn't feel too much pain o. Cos of the epidural. Dey removed my baby is 5mins. They kept him on my chest I just kept crying that finally. My husband was just there playing Christian songs and trying to trust God. Baby came he was just petting me and snapping baby. He immediately forwarded it to our family that hasn't slept for 2 days. I had tears, they sew me bk up

I was cleaned up. The nurse said we will move to postpartum after they checked my baby's weigh 3.2kg. They cleaned us all and moved me in wheel chair to the new room. They tested me and baby again and we were good. They immediately gave me and my husband food and drinks for a job well done. My family stayed awake and we called them. My husband just kept praying over his son while me I slept off.
We were in thr hospital for 2days. We got discharged on Thursday and my husband went to look for car seat for our baby. Then the nurses anf doctors came with plenty paper work, told us plenty things then wheeled me downstairs and my baby and they said byee. Gave me a lot for my baby and I and bade us bye.

Omo it was indeed a journey o. I thank God say this baby wait for me to become a Canadian o. In as much as the birth/delivery was a lot. The joy is that my baby is a Canadian. Thank you all for your love on this group o. I learnt a lot. My baby is gum body o. I can hardly get up and do anything he just cries. No help just me and my husband. But we thank God we r doing fine as a first time parent.

Cappo I Don submit BS o. Edd was 31st birth date 24th. Now our Edd Don turn to naming ceremony day o. Na zoom naming we go do o. Is just me and my husband we connect with our family online.

Needle phobia
I pray,make I no jam sickness or any event that will lead me to hospital
It's been a while

you can use your time learning math and English online in order to have a brighter future

Its a simple logic

To control the bleeding after collecting the blood

The vein carrys blood from the heart to other places in body . With press and pressure for about 1 min the bleeding stop

Abi una won dey carry scar up and down because a medical professional wants to take a few drop of blood of test .

Im not a doctor or medical professional , it’s just a simple logic that everyone should know

modified

abeg I know I said vains carries blood , I'm wrong , abeg make una no use quote and corrections kill me
we are all forgetting why I made this comment plus I said I am not a doctor or medical personnel 🤣🤣🤣

twenty charaters needed

It's because they need large amount of blood is why they look for vein that transport blood.

In addition, the veins are superficially situated, this made it easy to locate. From my elementary biology

The only reason people insist on asking questions like this is the trauma they experience when nurses start looking fir a vein like they're trying to find a needle .. slapping your fore arm like kilode?

Let’s just have a quick look at this. It’s a straightforward, elegant solution.

By Jahidah La Roche

Dec. 2, 2025

La Roche is a physician assistant and public health professional.

I was moments away from a routine screening colonoscopy when it happened again. The warm and professional pre-procedure nurse began preparing for intravenous insertion. She tied the tourniquet loosely around my arm, took a quick glance, and untied it within seconds. “I can’t find a vein. You must be dehydrated,” she said, moving immediately to the back of my hand.

I asked her to try my other arm instead, explaining that IVs in the back of the hand are unnecessarily painful. She obliged, and the moment she placed the tourniquet, a vein became clearly visible. I could tell she was hesitant. But she inserted the IV successfully, and my procedure went on as planned

That moment stayed with me not because of the IV itself, but because of the familiarity of that exchange. The quick assumption that my body — not her technique — was the problem. The way the explanation came instinctively, as though it were an unavoidable fact. It was an example of quiet, unspoken bias in patient care — one that too many Black patients know all too well.

Racial bias in health care isn’t always blatant. It doesn’t always look like a refusal to treat or a catastrophic mistake. Sometimes, it’s a sigh. A glance. A provider who stops trying just a little too soon. These interactions seem small, but they aren’t. They shape how Black patients experience medicine — from minor procedures to life-or-death situations. And they contribute to the very health disparities the medical profession claims to be working to eliminate.

Black patients, these experiences can become moments of medical mistrust. Difficult venous access — the medical term for “hard sticks” — is a real clinical challenge. But I didn’t meet the criteria for it. So why was the first explanation that my veins weren’t cooperating rather than her approach needing adjustment?

In the limited literature available, nurses have cited “dark skin” more often as the rationale for an IV attempt failing than for one succeeding. Darker skin does not inherently make venous access harder; it becomes a convenient explanation when things do not go as planned.

I’ve heard countless stories from Black patients describing blood draw horrors — being poked multiple times, told their veins are “rolling,” or that they are “difficult sticks.” I’ve seen patients start avoiding care altogether because of these repeated experiences.

I know, because I’ve spent years on both sides of the chair. As a physician assistant and public health professional, I’ve placed thousands of IVs. I’ve also been the patient watching a provider struggle, hesitate, and ultimately stop trying.

These bias-driven assumptions don’t just happen with IV placement. They happen everywhere in medicine. In a 2023 survey, 35% of Black adults said they have been treated unfairly or judged by a health care provider because of their race. These numbers aren’t abstract. They show up in who gets adequate pain management, who gets diagnosed correctly, who gets their symptoms taken seriously. They show up when a Black woman’s pain is minimized even during childbirth. They show up when a provider assumes a Black patient isn’t following instructions. And they show up when a routine IV placement is fumbled and explained away rather than corrected.

The result? Eroded patient trust. Delays in care. Worsening health outcomes.

Whenever racial bias in health care is called out, the response is predictable: more implicit bias training. But training alone won’t fix this. Awareness without action changes nothing. Medical and nursing educational institutions need to go beyond “cultural competence” and require practical, reinforced bedside training that accounts for racial differences in patient care. This includes proper venipuncture techniques for all skin tones — not as an afterthought, but as a core clinical skill. Hospitals and health systems must go beyond training sessions and create accountability structures that ensure providers are not rushing through care, making assumptions, or cutting corners. There should be real-time feedback loops where bias-related complaints are taken seriously, reviewed at the leadership level, and result in meaningful policy changes.

Health care providers — nurses, physicians, and allied health professionals — must actively interrogate their own biases in real-time and ask: Am I giving this patient the same effort I would for someone else? Have I adjusted my technique before blaming the patient’s hydration status? Am I really looking?

These moments add up. They have consequences — life-changing ones.

Jahidah La Roche, M.P.H., P.A., is a physician assistant and public health professional with two decades of clinical experience, focusing on bias, health equity, and culturally responsive care for Black women.


https://www.tiktok.com/video/7573101813889502495

Just a question

Can pharmacists give injections?

So they can't pour fuel and burn/sacrifice the car or what exactly?

Godfrey858:
Its a simple logic

To control the bleeding after collecting the blood

The vein carrys blood from the heart to other places in body . With press and pressure for about 1 min the bleeding stop

Abi una won dey carry scar up and down because a medical professional wants to take a few drop of blood of test .

Im not a doctor or medical professional , it’s just a simple logic that everyone should know

The bolded is incorrect. Arteries generally carry blood from the heart to other parts of the body. The blood is oxygen-rich.
However, the pulmonary vein carries blood with more oxygen from the lungs to the heart, the left upper heart chamber, in fact. An exception in the human body. Otherwise, veins return blood with reduced oxygen to the heart. And pump to the lungs to collect more oxygen.

A laboratory test requires enough blood to fill collection tubes and perform multiple analyses accurately. Tiny drops from damaged tissue or capillaries are often insufficient and can compromise results.

That ship has sailed since, forensic department doesn't need test tube 🧪 full of blood to get results

Lols
Poking randomly will crush the red blood cells. It makes the blood useless for lab machines.

Dancebreaker:
The bolded is incorrect. Arteries generally carry blood from the heart to other parts of the body. The blood is oxygen-rich.
However, the pulmonary vein carries blood with more oxygen from the lungs to the heart, the left upper heart chamber, in fact. An exception in the human body. Otherwise, veins return blood with reduced oxygen to the heart. And pump to the lungs to collect more oxygen.

Like i said , im not a medical expert or anything like that. Thanks for the correction

But a mosquito can draw blood from us easily even while singing in the dark. Why would nurses struggle to do same even in the full broad daylight?

Passionate888:
That ship has sailed since, forensic department doesn't need test tube 🧪 full of blood to get results

Forensic department aren't running CBC, EUCR, LFT AND MP... each test requires a specific amount of volume of either whole blood or plasma.... So in a routine or specialized medical lab tube is needed