Newbie Question about "Blown Veins"

[jsinr]

Forgive me for asking such a basic question, but I am a new nurse and cannot find an answer anywhere. Seriously I have checked all my textbooks and online for an answer.

What exactly does it mean to "blow a vein"? What exactly is going on with the vessel? How whould I know that I blew a vein? What are the complications of a blown vein? How can I prevent blowing a vein when performing veinapuncture?

Thanks!

[Super_RN, BSN, RN]

mandrews said:

I forgot to add that on my sweet little fragile elderly people sometimes it blows with a tourniquet but seems to be better to not use a tourniquet at all.

melissa

That's exactly what I was going to add! I am often more successful without a tourniquet on elderly people.

:balloons: Jaime

[Brotherbob, BSN, RN]

A bp cuff instead of torniquet seems to work better for fragile veins, but I have never understood why

[CrohnieToo]

Brotherbob said:

A bp cuff instead of torniquet seems to work better for fragile veins, but I have never understood why

Unless you've really blown that BP cuff up it isn't as tight as a turniquet. As a patient I can tell you that most of you get carried away and tie that turniquet WAY TOO TIGHT! By the time the turniquet is released my arm has gone past the painful dull ache to numb! The blood draw or the IV set isn't painful but that darn turniquet is!!!