IVg in back of hand, yay or nay?

[TexUSA]

Hey y'all. Still a newbie that's been at this just over a week now. On Dilaudid 8mg & have mainly been using arm veins but in an attempt to move around to more than 2 places I thought about trying to IV in the back of my hands. I've gotten alot of GR8 tips from people in these forums in guiding & directing me getting off to a good start in a HR manner. But when it comes to this topic I was getting conflicting results. Not sure where the veins, arteries & tendons are but what looked like veins were quite visible. So a few days ago I tied off @ the wrist & fixed my rig. Inserted into what I was sure was a vein, registered & got blood so I slowly pushed less than .1ml & immediately saw a bubble forming so pulled it out, swabbed it all down & inserted into the old faithful arm vein. Several days later (today) that 1 li'l stick has resulted in a big ass bruise about the size of 2 silver dollars side-by-side. Today I thought I'd try again in the other hand. The exact same thing happened again. The bruise is only the size of a quarter but I'm sure it has room for growth.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts on this topic whether yay or nay. ??

PS. I'm a large guy, 6' tall @ around 285lbs so many of my veins are what they call a hard stick. I need help with this as well. I tried the heating pad thing w/o any luck. Veins like in Real Estate is Location, Location, Location!

 

[falsifiedhypothesi]

I don't IV but from what i've heard the hand veins are easy to collapse and/or ruin so it's best not to use them if you have accessible veins in the arms. Hopefully someone will come along with more knowledge than me.

 

[Abject]

It depends on the person, I've not used them myself but I've had my hand canula'd in hospital many times

 

[VerbalTruist]

If it keeps you rotating sites, shoot into your hands. Be careful though. Those veins can collapse fast.

 

[TexUSA]

Thank

 

[TexUSA]

Oops, pressed wrong button. Premature post-u-lation, lol ? Anyway, thanks for the replies, the most important thing in my post is my difficulties finding another vein. I only have2, (1 in each arm), and need to find a 3rd. ?

 

[F.U.B.A.R.]

No, don't go in your hands. The veins collapse quickly leading to circulation problems. Even 10 years later, my hands still go purple in winter (but at least they're no longer swollen like balloons)...

 

[TexUSA]

No, don't go in your hands. The veins collapse quickly leading to circulation problems. Even 10 years later, my hands still go purple in winter (but at least they're no longer swollen like balloons)...

Yikes! Thanks F.U.B.A.R. Dooley noted. About a half hour ago I tried an area on forearm that showed a prominent vein. Tied off between elbow and wrist (just below elbow). Could see/touch/feel it but couldn't register. Wished I knew why. Frustrating!

 

[Spiffy216]

The hand/wrist is hard. A lot of people say not to. I personally preferred it. They were the easiest veins to find. It depends on the size of the needle and if you have large or small veins. I got pretty good at it but it can be tricky for sure. There's a few in the thumb (opposite of palm side) I was able to regularly hit but they sure are tiny. And you can't push hard or you will get the bubble and/or blow the vein. And you may just end up that way if you take your time too, the hands aren't easy. Of course you can only go for the ones you can see. Sometimes they pop near the knuckles You've got to be gentle, steady and slow. And use a very small gauge rig. But, it is possible and had worked well 5 for me when I was IV'ing. I hope I helped some.

 

[Spiffy216]

Also, the biggest tip that I can give is HYDRATE! A lot of people don't realize that they just haven't had enough liquids in their system so their veins aren't popping as they would like. The more the better. Something else I would do is Google vein charts to get a general idea of the location of where I should be looking. That was a big help. Another place you could go is the foot if you're having trouble locating a decent vein. They can be a bit bigger than the hand but it depends on the person. I've also heard the groin area but never tried that. Ouch! Best of luck to you. But, if you do start going into the hands, be prepared to answer questions about the marks and bruises as that is the hardest place to hide them. Cheers!

 

[VerbalTruist]

Also, the biggest tip that I can give is HYDRATE! A lot of people don't realize that they just haven't had enough liquids in their system so their veins aren't popping as they would like. The more the better. Something else I would do is Google vein charts to get a general idea of the location of where I should be looking. That was a big help. Another place you could go is the foot if you're having trouble locating a decent vein. They can be a bit bigger than the hand but it depends on the person. I've also heard the groin area but never tried that. Ouch! Best of luck to you. But, if you do start going into the hands, be prepared to answer questions about the marks and bruises as that is the hardest place to hide them. Cheers!

Don't shoot into your groin. There are great veins left all over your arms if you stay hydrated, lift some weights, take a hot shower ( that really makes em pop)... Lots of good veins in your arms that should allow you to rotate sites.

 

[AllAroundGoodGuy]

Hey y'all. Still a newbie that's been at this just over a week now. On Dilaudid 8mg & have mainly been using arm veins but in an attempt to move around to more than 2 places I thought about trying to IV in the back of my hands. I've gotten alot of GR8 tips from people in these forums in guiding & directing me getting off to a good start in a HR manner. But when it comes to this topic I was getting conflicting results. Not sure where the veins, arteries & tendons are but what looked like veins were quite visible. So a few days ago I tied off @ the wrist & fixed my rig. Inserted into what I was sure was a vein, registered & got blood so I slowly pushed less than .1ml & immediately saw a bubble forming so pulled it out, swabbed it all down & inserted into the old faithful arm vein. Several days later (today) that 1 li'l stick has resulted in a big ass bruise about the size of 2 silver dollars side-by-side. Today I thought I'd try again in the other hand. The exact same thing happened again. The bruise is only the size of a quarter but I'm sure it has room for growth. Thanks in advance for your thoughts on this topic whether yay or nay. ??PS. I'm a large guy, 6' tall @ around 285lbs so many of my veins are what they call a hard stick. I need help with this as well. I tried the heating pad thing w/o any luck. Veins like in Real Estate is Location, Location, Location!

As many people will say it isn't the most ideal location to IV. Though there are some nice ones that people often use. My advice would be to use very small guage short needles. This will make it less likely for your small veins to "explode" or whatever the fuck you call it. I wouldn't make a habit of using the back of your hand though if you have proper gear like some good #4 I don't see it having significant damage to the veins over a short period of time at least. I wish you luck in keeping those veins healthy as long as you can. It takes many years for them to recover and even then of course it won't be 100%. God bless, be safe.