5 tips if you don't like taking blood samples

Ellen van Gijsel
September 13, 2016

Are you not afraid of the blood draw, or are you one of the 20% of the population who get nervous about needles and injections?

Below you will find 5 tips to make your blood sampling a lot more pleasant.

  1. Drink plenty of fluids before and after the test

Water is essential for healthy organ function.Dehydration is detrimental to your health because your body needs water to get rid of waste products in the blood. In fact, your kidneys can only filter blood when there is enough water to replace it.

  1. Warn the blood collection staff if you have a tendency to faint during the blood collection

Although the person taking the blood is trained to find the best vein for you, it is good to indicate where your previous blood collection was most successful. Also tell them if you have fainted before. These people have been through these situations before and are trained to deal with them.

  1. Make sure you are in a sitting or lying down, stable position so you cannot fall

The body tends to react to physical and/or emotional pain during the blood draw. This could cause you to faint.

  1. Close your eyes and relax during (or even before) the blood collection, using breathing techniques

Exhale completely through your mouth. Close your mouth and breathe quietly through your nose for 4 counts. Breathe out completely through your mouth for 8 counts. Repeat this a few times and you will notice that you feel more relaxed.

  1. It's all over! Make sure you take something to eat and drink afterwards to replenish your strength.

Blood collection is an indispensable procedure within the healthcare sector. Some examples are:

  • Preventive care: preventive examination for your work or a test to improve your sports performance.
  • Monitoring for chronic diseases: e.g. type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, thyroid gland
  • Health checks: regular testing of high-risk parameters, such as blood sugar, cholesterol, vitamin D, magnesium and hs-CRP (inflammation).

You only need to be pricked once to fill multiple tubes. The tubes are vacuum and fill themselves to the desired amount. Some tubes contain an additive, either an anticoagulant or a substance to make the blood clot quickly. The tubes are special tubes to keep the blood stable during transport, at room temperature, without centrifugation. Bloodtesting.nl has sent you in advance the exact tubes you need for your test. Several parameters can be determined from one tube.