I gave blood in July (the 12th, I think), and am eligible to donate again in early September.
The thing is, I still have a mark from the last time I donated. It’s not an open wound, of course, it’s more scarring than anything, but it’s quite distinct, and people can see it fairly easily when I mention it.
As far as I recall, I actually had this happen the last time I gave blood (back in January). I had a mark on my arm that persisted for quite some time, before finally fading. In fact, it seemed like it disappeared JUST before I donated in July (though I don’t recall exactly when it went away).
So…I almost hesitate to ask this, but is this, er, normal? Should I donate again that soon even if the mark still hasn’t gone away? If I keep donating regularly (which I plan on doing) will I have permanent scarring on my arm? I don’t want to defer myself from donating because of a silly aesthetic issue, but I don’t necessarily WANT scars on my arm, and…well, it’s just kind of weird.
Any thoughts?
(Yes, yes, you are not my doctor, I should see an actual doctor if I’m really concerned, medical advice on the internet, all that jazz.)
ETA: I’m in the United States (Minnesota, specifically), if that matters any.
Some people scar more easily as they get older. You may not be healing as well or as fast as you used to, hon. It’s normal.
As for having permanent scars from it, yes, that is also a possibility. I’ve spent a ridiculous amount of my life in the hospital and both arms are thoroughly scarred. The crooks of both elbows are full of tiny dark dots from IVs and blood draws and there are 8 or 9 visible on my wrists. Nobody else has ever noticed them unless they’re trying to jab me with a needle.
You may not have the issues I do, though. I have always scarred very badly no matter what size the wound. Since this seems to be a new problem for you, I would advise just being patient. The marks will probably continue to fade until they’re gone. Beyond that, if you’re really worried, ask the nurse about it.
I used to donate blood plasma twice a week when I was in college. As a result, I now have two or three distinct pock marks in the crooks of my arms. If you didn’t know what they were, you’d probably just assume they were freckles or whatever unless you looked up close.
This was some mild concern for me when I was enlisting, because one of the things they screen you for at your medical screening is needle marks on your arms. Evidently they can tell professional needle marks from druggie ones, because they looked at mine, asked “Donate blood?” and sent me on my way.
Mmkay, I’m sort of glad to see that I’m not the only one who gets marks from donation. I just thought I was a weirdo.
And actually, now that I think about it, I DO scar rather easily on the insides of my arms. The marks will stay there for months, even very light scratches, and then they just disappear, quite suddenly and without a trace. I got a second degree burn on the underside of my right arm, and the wound/scar was quite hideous. I had long resigned myself to the fact that, well, I’m just gonna have a burn scar there for the rest of my life, no biggie…and then it disappeared. It’s still there, technically, but I have a very hard time finding it. And forget showing it to others, no one else can see it.
So I guess this might factor into why I still have the needle mark. I might ask if there’s a way to minimize these things, but if there isn’t, I’ll probably just say “fuck it” and stick my arm out anyway.
I work in a lab that uses T cells and monocytes, which means every two weeks, I give a bit of myself to the lab. I have tiny scars from donating frequently. I don’t look like a junkie.
While being unable to donate blood (they don’t think I have enough to spare) I have great veins.
Thus, being a giving sort of person, I would let medical students practice putting in IV lines and doing blood draws on me before letting them loose on patients.
I have one big scar where someone put in a 12G cannula when I had my daughter, and a few little ones where the med students had a go.
I seem to scar more over joints (elbow, wrist), which I assume is due to skin movement during healing.
You can spot the kids who spent weeks in the NICU as infants- they often have scars all over the backs of their hands from the blood draws and IV lines.
Scarring is a perfectly healthy response to trauma, and having a large needle shoved in a vein is somewhat traumatic!
I get lots of hyperpigmentation, rather than proper scarring (which to me implies scar tissue). I can never tell when it will happen or what it will be from, but some small injuries to my skin leave light brown marks for up to years… they usually clear eventually though and leave no sign behind.
But I’ve gotten fairly bad smaller burns, cuts, and scrapes that healed up without any pigmentation at all. It’s mysterious.
Right now I have some pigmentation going on from a small dog bite (my mostly blind and somewhat senile 14-year-old dog was trying to bite the jerk that stole her rawhide, got me by accident instead, about 7 months ago). It was 3 small puncture wounds with a colorful bruise, but very little damage to the surface of the skin and it healed quickly without getting infected. However the whole area where the bruise was has been cafe au lait ever since and doesn’t show signs of going away.
I also still have a tiny brown mark over my best vein from an incompetent nurse (my veins are so excellent anyone should be able to stick me effortlessly) when I was 16 or so. She basically ripped the needle through the skin and the vein though.
Add me to the list of those with scarring from plasma donations. And they’re pretty obvious. It’s not doctors thinking I’m a druggie that bugs me, though, but everyone else.
