collapsed vein from givin blood, how to treat?

okay, a week and a half ago i went with my gf to give blood, ever since i had a bruise on my arm that kept getting darker and bigger. now it runs the lenght of my arm and the whole under side and is tender to the touch, i think it is a collapsed vein, i am going to the doc. tomorrow but am curious as to how to treat it and how to prevent it next time i give blood, im also going to try to find a better person to stick me, that lady was a bee with an itch, she didnt even clean off my arm after they sucked the blood outta me, then told me i had to leave the little rehabilitation corner because she thought i was drinking too much and tryin to cut class (i brought my own 2 liters of gatorade for the day lol)

any advise on how help with it?

 

not exactly sure.. but that happens alot in the navy.. usually get them missing the vein, hope it gets better

 

yeah, i have a freaking pipeline in my right arm, thats the arm that everyone sticks, but she chose the freakin left, i just aint ever had it react like this before, they usually heal in a few days

 

They blew your vein, not much to do besides wait it out. Compression would have helped a bit at the time, but theres nothing you can do at this point.

 

If it is you could have Phlebitis... Might just want to get it checked to be safe. A bruise should not spread the lenght of the arm from an IV stick. Unless you have low iron count, or are are sickle cell amemic.

 

my iron was decent, they require i think either 12 or 12.5, i had almost 15.5 and im not anemic, so idk, no real temp differance though

 

Yup- I'e had a few collapse on me- Just gotta let it heal.

 

Go to the doctor....or the hospital to see a doctor....

 

You don't need a doc. Just like a previous person said, they blew your vein. Probably when they started the actual IV they went through both walls of the vein at least once (probably multiple times if it took her several tries). "Normally" only minimal bruising will occur but with donation you are actively pumping your muscles in the forearm to express the blood at a faster rate. Thus, if you had a "leaky" vein, for lack of a better term, during the donation process you would have accumulated a lot more extracellular or interstitial blood than normal in and around the IV site. So now you have a bunch of pooled blood under the skin and since gravity works, it pulls that blood down your arm which is why you are seeing that bruising pattern develop. Unfortunately you have to just wait it out. So make up a cool story and enjoy your bruise!

 

take a salt pill and walk it off.

 

It sounds more like a hematoma where some blood has spilled out of your vein and migrated around. It should go away after a few weeks if not a month. A collapsing vein is something else and is caused by chronic needle injections, so unless you give blood fanatically, or you are a junkie, i wouldnt worry about it. just tell people its a bruise from a fight and forgo the doctor visit unless you are in lots of pain.