“Drawing blood?”
This isn't really about me at all, but I was wondering what exactly would happen if a doctor didn't apply pressure to an arm after drawing blood? Also, what might the complications of using a needle not properly sanitized (i.e. only cleaned with soap or hydrogen peroxide)?
1 Answer
To answer your first question, assuming that the person is not on any blood thinners, it would bleed more, but eventually, the blood naturally (because of normal clotting factors) would begin to clot and stop the bleeding. There is more of a chance of bruising, depending on how much bleeding occurred beneath the skin. As for your second question, there are several techniques used to cleanse the skin, including using only soap and water or hydrogen peroxide, as these techniques are usually done when a blood alcohol level is required by an officer of the law and alcohol wipes cannot be used to prevent any skewing of the results. As for improper sanitization of any area where the skin barrier is broken due to any cause, an infection can be a concern.
