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The one thing I am very surprised so few people bring up is that finger sticks hurt like heck compared to a venous puncture. I give blood all the time, so much

The one thing I am very surprised so few people bring up is that finger sticks hurt like heck compared to a venous puncture. I give blood all the time, so much that I have scars from giving blood (and donating plasma in my youth). The only thing about giving blood that hurts is that darn finger prick to check your hematocrit. Sometimes I can't type the whole rest of the day. I would never choose a finger prick over a regular sample.

peteretep 8y ago
Your experience is not mine, and I'm not sure it generalizes.
- thaumasiotes 8y ago
  In my experience, getting shots or blood draws does not hurt. A finger prick might or might not. But I'd prefer the finger prick anyway because it's much less creepy than having a long needle stuck into your vein. Antivaccination movements historically pop up in all kinds of different places and contexts for different nominal reasons, and I'm pretty sure a big part of what gives them steam is that people just aren't comfortable with the physical logistics.
  - anyfoo 8y ago
    Interesting. I’d echo the original commenters sentiment. I have given blood a few times and was never really bothered about the long needle sticking in my arm, nor the process in which it got there, but the two times or so where I got the finger prick for a small amount of blood were a painful and inconvenient experience.
    - nojvek 8y ago
      Finger pricking and typing don’t go well together. One is a really annoying experience. One is like, “ooooh that didn’t hurt as much as I expected”
      - deleted 8y ago
        [deleted]
    - VectorLock 8y ago
      I'd like to see the results of a "Finger Prick Vs. Veinous Blood Draw" poll.
deleted 8y ago
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stplsd 8y ago
I have exactly the same thought, I remember then I was a kid blood was taken by fingerstick and it hurt so much, I have bad memories even now. It might look less scary for children, but it hurts much more.
linker3000 8y ago
Do the pricking on the side of your fingertip, not the pad.
- onemoresoop 8y ago
  Good point. The almost always do it on the pad..
goldenkey 8y ago
It depends on who is doing it...how much pressure is applied and how deep the puncture tool goes. There are puncture tools for diabetics that are extremely precise in that they only puncture as little skin as possible. These don't hurt. I had various nurses as a child and the pressure/closeness the puncture tool was applied with, matters more than anything. With any puncture tool, if its already being pushed into flesh, ie. skin is forming a valley, its more likely to cut through deeper layers due to the compression.
ghaff 8y ago
Not my experience. Further, while it doesn't happen routinely, it's definitely not uncommon for me to end up with a nice big bruise at the site of the blood draw. I know which one I'd pick given the choice.
simias 8y ago
I don't donate blood nearly as much as you do but I never had the issues you've described. Maybe you're particularly sensitive to it for some reason? Or maybe you've done it so much that you've developed some form of intolerance, if that's even possible?
Shivetya 8y ago
just be the type of person whose veins are not easily detected. You want pain, just have them miss a few times trying to find a vein. I would say that the finger pricks can hurt more depending on which finger and the position of the hole made. then again I am a big chicken when it comes to shots
- LeftTurnSignal 8y ago
  /not relevant to the article, but sort of relevant to your comment. When I was 11 I was in the hospital. A nurse was going to replace my IV. She spent 45 minutes trying to find a vein in either arm. She got another nurse and within 5 minutes, it was done. The new nurse said that the previous one just got done trying to put an IV in an infant so she was "a little stressed" and "should have known better" about not stabbing a child for 45 minutes straight. That experience was pure hell. It hurt so much. I was so sick that I could barely move or talk to ask for someone new. All I could do was lay there screaming in my mind and sort of move every once in a while.
EnderMB 8y ago
Yes! I give blood regularly, and the only painful part of the procedure is having the side of my finger pricked to test my iron levels. Since it's on the side it doesn't affect me that much, but I feel it for much longer than I feel the needle that's been in my arm for 10+ minutes.
vmchale 8y ago
Not having scars on my arm from so many blood samples would be nice tbqh.
onemoresoop 8y ago
It makes sense, there are more nerve endings on the finger tip. Though, when I was a child I had a phobia of needles that i only escaped from in my 20s.. I would've preferred the prick and the pain that comes with it than the needle.

peteretep 8y ago

Your experience is not mine, and I'm not sure it generalizes.

thaumasiotes 8y ago
In my experience, getting shots or blood draws does not hurt. A finger prick might or might not. But I'd prefer the finger prick anyway because it's much less creepy than having a long needle stuck into your vein. Antivaccination movements historically pop up in all kinds of different places and contexts for different nominal reasons, and I'm pretty sure a big part of what gives them steam is that people just aren't comfortable with the physical logistics.
- anyfoo 8y ago
  Interesting. I’d echo the original commenters sentiment. I have given blood a few times and was never really bothered about the long needle sticking in my arm, nor the process in which it got there, but the two times or so where I got the finger prick for a small amount of blood were a painful and inconvenient experience.
  - nojvek 8y ago
    Finger pricking and typing don’t go well together. One is a really annoying experience. One is like, “ooooh that didn’t hurt as much as I expected”
    - deleted 8y ago
      [deleted]
  - VectorLock 8y ago
    I'd like to see the results of a "Finger Prick Vs. Veinous Blood Draw" poll.

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]

stplsd 8y ago

I have exactly the same thought, I remember then I was a kid blood was taken by fingerstick and it hurt so much, I have bad memories even now. It might look less scary for children, but it hurts much more.

linker3000 8y ago

Do the pricking on the side of your fingertip, not the pad.

onemoresoop 8y ago
Good point. The almost always do it on the pad..

goldenkey 8y ago

It depends on who is doing it...how much pressure is applied and how deep the puncture tool goes. There are puncture tools for diabetics that are extremely precise in that they only puncture as little skin as possible. These don't hurt. I had various nurses as a child and the pressure/closeness the puncture tool was applied with, matters more than anything. With any puncture tool, if its already being pushed into flesh, ie. skin is forming a valley, its more likely to cut through deeper layers due to the compression.

ghaff 8y ago

Not my experience. Further, while it doesn't happen routinely, it's definitely not uncommon for me to end up with a nice big bruise at the site of the blood draw. I know which one I'd pick given the choice.

simias 8y ago

I don't donate blood nearly as much as you do but I never had the issues you've described. Maybe you're particularly sensitive to it for some reason? Or maybe you've done it so much that you've developed some form of intolerance, if that's even possible?

Shivetya 8y ago

just be the type of person whose veins are not easily detected. You want pain, just have them miss a few times trying to find a vein. I would say that the finger pricks can hurt more depending on which finger and the position of the hole made. then again I am a big chicken when it comes to shots

LeftTurnSignal 8y ago
/not relevant to the article, but sort of relevant to your comment. When I was 11 I was in the hospital. A nurse was going to replace my IV. She spent 45 minutes trying to find a vein in either arm. She got another nurse and within 5 minutes, it was done. The new nurse said that the previous one just got done trying to put an IV in an infant so she was "a little stressed" and "should have known better" about not stabbing a child for 45 minutes straight. That experience was pure hell. It hurt so much. I was so sick that I could barely move or talk to ask for someone new. All I could do was lay there screaming in my mind and sort of move every once in a while.

EnderMB 8y ago

Yes! I give blood regularly, and the only painful part of the procedure is having the side of my finger pricked to test my iron levels. Since it's on the side it doesn't affect me that much, but I feel it for much longer than I feel the needle that's been in my arm for 10+ minutes.

vmchale 8y ago

Not having scars on my arm from so many blood samples would be nice tbqh.

onemoresoop 8y ago

It makes sense, there are more nerve endings on the finger tip. Though, when I was a child I had a phobia of needles that i only escaped from in my 20s.. I would've preferred the prick and the pain that comes with it than the needle.