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Does dehydration make it harder to find a vein?

I’ve had bloodwork several times in the last year. For most of them, they’ve had to stick me more than once. The nurse at my apartment building thinks that it was because I was dehydrated. On this past Saturday, I had bloodwork done again. Before I went, I drank 3 1/2 40-ounce glasses of water, and they still had to stick me 3 times. So, does dehydration affect that, or do I just have crappy veins?

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Answer #1

Dehydration is often a factor, but you could just be an unlucky person … some people are difficult.

Answer #2

No, it’s actually the opposite. When you dehydrate yourself the glycogen stores in your muscles aren’t filled with water, so the veins look more prominent. Bodybuilders dehydrate themselves before a competition to make themselves look as vascular as possible.

Answer #3

So try dehydrating yourself a bit before a needle, maybe no water for 12 hours before, and before you get it done, do some push ups, or some form of weight exercise using your arms to get blood flowing and the veins pop out more. You could even just hold your arm in a fist position and flex for a few minutes.

Answer #4

Yeah, well, I’ve been stuck so many times over the last 27 years, that there might be scar tissue where they normally draw blood. This last time, they went up a vew inches on my left arm.

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