fainting and blood tests/donation

[JHZR2]

Hi,
Ive always been one to feel faint and acually do so with medical stuff. It is weird because I can cut myself, be bleeding all over, and look at he wound, blood, etc. it is interesting. But talk about much, or be punctured to remove blood, and it is a different story.

Needles for shots, while I dont like them, are OK. Never had an IV - doubt Id like it. But drawing blood? Ugh.

Thing is, I need to donate. I have the right blood for an in-law that we are close with. I need to give it prior to their procedure. I went for a certain test today and they took a vial, which made me flush and white and feel really lousy. First time Ive not fainted - nearly did though... And that was one small vial... I hear it takes a half hour to donate a unit of blood.

So how do you prevent fainting???? Im not good at mind over matter in this case.

 

[The_Jeff]

Eat right before if it's a physical/ blood sugar thing, I fainted once skipping lunch then donating a pint. Even if you don't faint it's a nice perk up for the guy getting it.

 

[spasm3]

Its a protective response some people have, not a lot you can do about it. Its a vaso-vagal event. Your body is dropping its pressure in anticipation of blood loss, to prevent bleeding out. Drink a good bit of water before donating, not much caffine( a diuretic). Try to not think about it. I might try and mp3 player and some fast music ( Jumpstart my heart by Motley Crue!!!).

Good luck

Bryan

 

[HTSS_TR]

When I had root canal or donate blood or something that hurts badly, I tried to concentrate onto something else such as planning a vacation or keeping my mind busy solving some work related problems. Time flew by and I didn't feel anything.

 

[Volvo_ST1]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Hi,
Ive always been one to feel faint and acually do so with medical stuff. It is weird because I can cut myself, be bleeding all over, and look at he wound, blood, etc. it is interesting. But talk about much, or be punctured to remove blood, and it is a different story.

Needles for shots, while I dont like them, are OK. Never had an IV - doubt Id like it. But drawing blood? Ugh.

Thing is, I need to donate. I have the right blood for an in-law that we are close with. I need to give it prior to their procedure. I went for a certain test today and they took a vial, which made me flush and white and feel really lousy. First time Ive not fainted - nearly did though... And that was one small vial... I hear it takes a half hour to donate a unit of blood.

So how do you prevent fainting???? Im not good at mind over matter in this case.


You have to eat properly before donating blood. I usually have a large liverwurst sandwich and a glass of warm milk with a raw egg yolk in it before I donate.

What I don't like about donating blood is the sensation of the cold needle against my bare skin. When the needle is slowly pushed, the skin at first stretches until the needle finally penetrates the epidermis and hopefully swiftly hits a vein. The faster this process the better. When the needle slips and goes through the vein instead of into it, it's pretty uncomfortable, but not as bad as when the needle tip slowly scrapes along and tears the interior vein lining. The resulting intramuscular bleeding can be very painful.

I have always a few pints of my own blood in my fridge, right behind the yogurt and the sour cream. I don't know when I might need a lion blood transfusion.

 

[Colt45ws]

I do the same thing. I can work on myself, no problem; but get a shot or someone else working on me, I drop quick. Usually I catch my self overthinking it, what they are doing to me, right before I pass out.

 

[Brons2]

I can understand fainting from giving a pint, but just from getting a vial drawn for testing? Surely that must be mental.

 

[Volvo_ST1]

I once had a pop-off while giving blood. Luckily venial blood doesn't really gush out like arterial blood does. It's messy enough, though. Also had problems with a collapsed vein once. During the fourth attempt of getting the needle in I got a little lightheaded. Nowadays I pop a Demerol before donating.

 

[The_Jeff]

Originally Posted By: Volvo_ST1


You have to eat properly before donating blood. I usually have a large liverwurst sandwich and a glass of warm milk with a raw egg yolk in it before I donate.


You forgot the Vegemite!

 

[Volvo_ST1]

That's disgusting.

 

[wavinwayne]

I don't prepare. I just do it. Grunt.

 

[Herz]

I got a shot of antibiotics in the [censored] after a spider bite once, didnt eat all day almosed passed out in the lobby.

Make sure you have something in your stomach, I can take a blade and cut a chunk out of my arm and have blood taken for testing.

 

[crazyoildude]

I dont know the answer to your question i do know it's usually in our head...
You are a good person to donate blood...

 

[Burt]

having something to read helps me a lot. Last thing you want to do is sit there and dwell on it. They used to have "possible fainter, watch this guy" on my electronic records, but I got over it. Donate regularly now.

 

[Burt]

Also, try imagining that what you are really doing is draining worn out, dirty oil.

 

[Herz]

Originally Posted By: Burt
Also, try imagining that what you are really doing is draining worn out, dirty oil.

 

[The_Jeff]

Originally Posted By: Burt
Also, try imagining that what you are really doing is draining worn out, dirty oil.


Or in the words of Dr Nick Riviera, "I can see dat you have toooo much blooood"...

 

[Falcon_LS]

Wow, didn't realize there was another thread about this. I just donated this morning, and was quite dizzy for the first hour. It was a first for me, so I didn't really know what to expect. But after some food and a good nap, I'm up and running.

The next time I do this though, I'm going to be sure to ask the nurse to recline the chair so that my head is at a lower position than the rest of my body. I felt really dizzy after the donation, and about a minute in that position quite helped.

 

[GROUCHO MARX]

It's just anxiety. There's probably a relaxation technique that you could use and after the first donation, there would probably be no problem going forward.

 

[crw]

Originally Posted By: Burt
Also, try imagining that what you are really doing is draining worn out, dirty oil.


There is some truth to that!!

Our blood, particularly among men, can become to laiden with iron (ferritin). It doesn't just go away. Donating blood can be healthy!