Do you have trouble finding veins when drawing blood, starting IVs, or other venipuncture procedures? If so, you're not alone. Many professionals (working in phlebotomy or nursing) struggle with finding veins in many patients or can't find veins at all. This video is mainly geared towards how to find hard veins for IV ACCESS. Some of these techniques can be applied for drawing blood too. HOWEVER, it is best practice NOT to have the patient pump the fist for BLOOD DRAWS because it can alter results. Veins can be especially hard to find when patients are obese, dehydrated, or suffering from advanced cardiac or renal disease. Luckily, there are some solutions that can help you find those difficult veins. First, you have to learn to palpate the arm to learn what a vein feels like. Oftentimes, I will find a vein by touch, not sight. I'd recommend practicing on your own arm (or someone with great veins) to learn how this feels. Second, you have to take advantage of tourniquets and hand pumping. Apply the tourniquet and instruct the patient to hold their arm to the side while pumping their fist. This helps those hidden veins become engorged. Sometimes you can't use this technique, though, especially in cases where blood is being drawn for sensitive lab work, but it can help in other cases. Those two tips above have helped me find veins in most patients who don't have visible veins. Nevertheless, even those tips don't work in all cases. If you still can't find a vein, you have a few other solutions. You might be able to use a vein finder or vein light tool. Some use bright lights to illuminate the skin, whereas others will use infrared to display vein locations. In addition, I've consulted with the ultrasound techs, and I've been able to find veins that way. And finally, you always have a central line option if nothing else works. Full article: http://www.registerednursern.com/hard-find-veins/ Follow Us: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RegisteredNurseRNs/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/registerednursern_com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/nursesrn #phlebotomy #nursing #nurse #venipuncture #veins Subscribe: null Nursing School Supplies: http://www.registerednursern.com/the-ultimate-list-of-nursing-medical-supplies-and-items-a-new-nurse-student-nurse-needs-to-buy/ Visit our website RegisteredNurseRN.com for free quizzes, nursing care plans, salary information, job search, and much more: http://www.registerednursern.com/ Check out other Videos: null All of our videos in a playlist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAhHxt663pU Popular Playlists: NCLEX Reviews:    • NCLEX Study Strategies   Fluid & Electrolytes:    • Fluid and Electrolytes Nursing   Nursing Skills:    • Nursing Skills Videos   Nursing School Study Tips:    • Nursing School Study Tips   Nursing School Tips & Questions"    • Nursing School Tips & Questions   Teaching Tutorials:    • Teaching Tutorials   Types of Nursing Specialties:    • Types of Nursing Specialties   Healthcare Salary Information:    • Healthcare Salary Information   New Nurse Tips:    • New Nurse Tips   Nursing Career Help:    • Nursing Career Help   EKG Teaching Tutorials:    • EKG/ECG Interpretation   Dosage & Calculations for Nurses:    • Dosage Calculations Nursing   Diabetes Health Managment:    • Diabetes Health Managment