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Ask if the person drawing the lab can use a butterfly needle (small 21ga needle) instead of the vacutainer huge needle used generally. Dangle to hand lower and apply a light tourniquet to help engorge the veins via gravity.
Start low on the arm just in case the vein blows. Then they can try above that site.
It can be very difficult to draw labs on an elderly person due to small veins & not cooperating.
I did this a lot in homecare nursing. I know it’s hard but try to get an experienced phlebotomist.
Someone should be there to assist in the procedure to sooth the patient and in some cases help hold the arm in place.
When my grandmother's red cell count was low, the treatment was a transfusion; however, the doctor still wanted to redo a painful test to "find" the bleeding from her colon he was sure was the cause of the low red cell count. I asked how the test results would impact her treatment and what he would want to do if the test came back negative again. Treatment would not change and he would accept that Grandma was probably not making enough blood cells anymore because of her advanced osteoporosis. The femur makes the most blood and a hip replacement years prior had reduced the amount of femur available. We refused the repeat test because it had no impact on Grandma's care, just might have allowed the doctor to check off a box. For the rest of her life, the blood cell count was monitored and she received a transfusion when it fell too low. Her PCP told us she was grateful we refused the test the specialist wanted.
Funny story: Before I got the stuffed kitty idea, when Mom was still able to travel to the doc's office for her tests, I decided to sing to her while she was getting blood drawn. This was a spur-of-the-moment idea, and the only song I could think of was "Show Me the Way to Go Home." Mom joined me in the chorus and we got a little rowdy, but they got the blood they needed, and the folks in the waiting room got some entertainment.