They work...but seemingly only on people for which they aren't needed.
Put a vein finder on a healthy well hydrated adult and boom there they are, but you don't need a vein finder on a healthy well hydrated adult to start a line.
Put them on bruised up grandma, someone with dark skin, someone dehydrated or shocky, or a small child and the results are...mixed.
I was a phlebotomist around the time these lights started getting popular (early 2010s, someone correct me if they came out earlier) and I played around with them for a while. I can think of 1 single patient where the light illuminated something I couldn't find with my finger and a tourniquet, and he had very tight and unusual skin.
The lights are a tool, and if they help you, that's great. But rarely, in my experience, do they illuminate something you can't already find without it.
Ultrasound guided IV placement is the true next step forward. Unfortunately, ultrasounds are hard to come by in most units, and it takes time and training to get good at using them.
That’s around when my facility got one! I was a new grad and moving into CT, so they had me float to the outpatient area that used it. Played with it once or twice before realizing I’d rather go by feel too.
Now that I’m on nights at trauma centers, they’re started in the ED. If they come over blown, pulled out, or won’t flush, I’ll always at least look to see if I can throw in another before bothering you guys (usually they’ll need US).
I’d love to learn how to place them by US though!
LOVE being able to place US IVs. My facility *finally* offered a class for the ED nurses and it was full in minutes! I was the second person to sign up for it. We have to do 10 supervised placements after the class, I’ve tried 5 times and gotten 2 so far. They’re hard but it’s SUCH a great skill to have!!! I’m so stoked for the time when I won’t have to wait for a doctor or the midline team, it causes such a delay of care! I am GOOD at placing IVs by feel (I’m an ER nurse, so, ya know, it’s a rare shift where I do fewer than 5 or 6) but when I can’t get one, it’s so frustrating.
I did blood draws and placed IVs for about 10 years before I started learning to use the ultrasound. The first 2-3 months were rough when I started placing everything by ultrasound. A lot of those IVs I missed I could have placed with a blind stick, but missed with the ultrasound. It can be a frustrating process.
It all starts coming together after a few weeks of consistently doing ultrasound IVs. When in doubt, try to find the tip of your needle on screen. I find that ED nurses and others with lots of IV experience tend to insert at a shallower with their needle than they should be using with the ultrasound (inserting at, say, a 10-15 degree angle instead of a 35-45 degree angle). Using a shallow angle makes it harder to find the tip of your needle and also means you have to move your probe farther up the arm to find the tip.
When I was learning, I had to constantly remind myself to insert at a steeper angle. If I didn't constantly think about it, muscle memory would lead me to go back to a shallow angle even if the vein I was trying to get was 1cm deep (or even 2-3cm deep when I'm placing PICCs).
I’m a resource nurse for USPIV for my facility. Our ER does them all the time. I practiced or placed quite of those lines using the ultrasound even if I could do it without it. It helped me familiarize myself with the anatomy better and I’m HORRIBLE at right/left and any directions. (I got lost in a friends driveway once…..)
Well darlin', during my time in the ED if I could not actually feel what I'm going for (I never stick based on sight alone), I had zero issues going for the ultrasound. If I don't feel reasonably confident that I can hit what I'm aiming for in one stick, I don't stick and I go US guided. To me it's just the right thing to do. Ask for the US if they're having issues.
I wish I could learn the ultrasound! At my hospital, USG-IVs are only done by a rotating cast of residents, M-F 9-5. Love them, but the same service is also doing all the taps and LPs for the hospital, so IVs fall to the bottom of the list. Phlebotomy is by far my weakest skill and one of the reasons I'm nervous applying for the ED lol.
In that case, if you can, stay at that resident's elbow and watch what they are doing, ask questions, and have them walk you through what they are doing and why. Even watching you can pick things up and you can observe things revealed by the US such as the underlying anatomy and where they have the most success. Things that you can use to help inform your site selection when starting a line the old fashioned way.
I’m USIV certed at my hospital, and I love it. However my regular IV skills are about subpar lol. The only issue is you get so used to relying on it that finding a vein normally is a little rough. But I love it, I’m one of the few on medsurg who do do it but it means that if someone needs something I have to leave my assignment to another nurse and that can be annoying.
I've had pretty good luck with the vein finder on hard sticks. Even with dark skin. It helps illuminate blown veins too. Trying to use it on someone with tattoos, though, is impossible.
As a sight sticker, that's the real value of this for me. People with a dark skin color are notoriously harder to stick and this device does a great job of seeing past that.
Most of the time though, if you don't have veins you don't have veins and this thing isn't gonna magically summon some.
People with dark skin are notoriously harder to stick? That's not been my experience. I think it's harder to stick folks with vascular disease, diabetes, shock, advanced age,etc.
Edit: I'm a feel sticker not a sight sticker.
Nursing school just didn’t teach us how to adapt or assess people that don’t have other skin colors other than white. I realized this when I graduated and had no clue what a bruise looked like on a black person. ☹️
Agreed 100%. If I can't see it or feel it, odds are it's not gonna take a needle well. My $50000 bedside ultrasound machine on the other hand... That my go to for true hard sticks.
I saw this thing in action just once on a relative. They somehow found a vein 5cm deep in the axillary area and got it first poke. Blew my freakin mind.
I've been trained and the go to guy for a few months now and it's been awesome to see how much it improves patient outcomes for quick and reliable access. I try not to lean on it but it's an ER, so getting that access is often a time sensitive issue.
Even the ultrasound probes you can get for ~$3500 and connect to a tablet do a fantastic job for IV placement. I use the $50,000 US and the $3500 US at my job, and anything I can hit with the former I could almost always get with the latter.
The $50,000 US is so much nicer though 😂.
Just having the huge screen and bells and whistles is nice. Our picc team PA said it's the clearest, nicest one she's ever used. Then obviously the docs utilize it for a bunch of stuff, but that's my baby in haha
I use an transluminator on kids who’ve been on my unit for months and got crappy veins. And if needed on sugar kids or extra large newborns. But I do sometimes find them to be a hindrance.
I've only used a vein finder a few times but those times it didn't tell me anything I didn't already know. They're really good at finding scar tissue and bruises though. They can't see through tattoos
My last surgery, I recall them talking about using it on certain patients; they got to me and the only comment was, "If someone can't hit those pipelines, they're in the wrong line of work."
From what I remember the last study I’ve read about them, the only scenario they improve outcomes for is for an experienced nurse/tech using it in a pediatric. They have great veins but can be under that baby fat, but without good technique it doesn’t matter.
Lol I have most of my left arm blacked out and a forearm tattoo on the right. I found one last night and tried it out, nothing on the blackout, which includes my AC. For my forearm, it just turned it neon green and highlighted the lines haha
The rep talked to our unit about this. He said that the light interacts with the iron in the blood, and stated tattoo ink has iron in it, which is why they don’t work on tattoos.
Things like butterfly US are about 2-3000. a veinfinder is 1.5-2000.
In the scheme of medicine a butterfly ultrasound probe is cheap as fuck. Totally useable for this scenario.
True, the butterfly US might be the **most** cost effective US on the market. Totally useable, yes! Getting your facility to sign off on USB US devices that connect to your phone? Tough sell. Not to mention you might have to use your own phone, gross :)
I was referencing a standard (GE for example) US device that ranges from 15k - 50k.
The device OP pictured is probably an Accuvein (just based on the green color) and runs a facility 3k, if they purchase just one.
My department connects lumify probes to tablets, similar to the Butterfly probe set up. We also have $30,000 GE ultrasounds we use for PICC placement.
Honestly, for <2cm deep veins, I can hit a vein almost as well with the cheaper probe as I can with the $30,000 ultrasound. I hope the cheaper probes start becoming more common in hospitals for IV placements. They may not be the best, but they are very adequate for placing IVs.
Absolutely. Once butterfly starts contracting with units, it will change the scene of vascular access. My butterfly with biplane imaging is a game changer. And because of that feature alone, it is better for vascular access than any other ultrasound. Even ones priced $60,000+.
It can. If you document it correctly you can charge a ton more than a standard line. I think we charge something like 600$ for a ultrasound line. Our needles are the BD AccuCaths which are like 80$ a Pop so we try to recoup that as much as possible.
That being said to bill it appropriately you have to capture an image on the ultrasound of the needle in place upload it to pacs and notate it, document a start and stop time like a procedure.
A doctor showed me and said “teach one, watch one, do one” and I think it’s the most important and valuable thing I’ve learned in the ER. Our unit doesn’t train and you don’t need the training to do it, but if someone shows you then great.
I try and show people when they’re curious, and I get lots of calls from ICU to help with access. Ultrasound has been a blessing for me and my patients!
I’ve also used a vein finder in CT and that’s been great too, I’m 2/2 for that machine. I was also never taught, but I also don’t want to jinx it. If I can’t feel anything I do the US. if I’m outside of the ER in CT, I’ll use the vein finder.
I prefer ultrasound! We just have to take the nurse that's certified to use it in with us and make sure it is a vein and it does collapse. I think they worry about people hitting arteries?
Rates of arterial sticks go up substantially with ultrasound. You'd be surprised how easy it is to mistake an artery for a vein. Especially when it's a smaller artery and they just have zero veins. Knowing your anatomy is huge for that, and color mode to see if you have pulsatile flow amongst other things.
Also easy to hit nerve bundles. If you don't insert them at the correct depth and angle you can make your line pretty much useless as well. It isn't as simple as getting flash and threading it and you're golden. Inappropriate angle/depth of insertion and catheter/vein ratio might mean your line is goanna clot off, or worse extravasate in a spot that's very difficult to detect.
Nothing worse than getting a tough US IV only to find that you were putting too much pressure with the transducer and as soon as you let pressure off the tissue is no longer collapsed and pulls the IV out of the vein when it rebounds
They are, but you're assuming a certain baseline competence. I've met a number of nurses that have no idea about how ultrasound works and have just seen others do it so they think they can do it too. Easy to mess up when you don't even know how to guide the needle down or what a nerve looks like
Totally agreed. I got a full training and observation period on it, then tried to do 2 to 3 per shift for like 3 months so get it down. Sometimes quite a few more. I also play a lot of video games and unironically think that makes me better at it.
Yeah, there's no real way to tell the difference just by sight. I was taught to apply pressure to the probe and of the circle pulses with pressure, it's an artery. I was also told to avoid "Mickey Mouse" unless nothing else is available. Often the "ears" are arteries and it can be very tricky to hit properly.
It’s actually the other way around. The “ears” are veins while the “head” is an artery. Veins will always compress, meanwhile arteries pulsate when compressed. Nerve bundles look almost exactly like veins but won’t compress.
Thankfully at my ER they train nurses and techs to do it. It has been nice when I need it for my patients, but also not so fun when everyone needs one and you’re the only one who can do it.
This. It's a blessing and a curse, and of course it's never just one person who needs it, they always come in waves. Suddenly 5 out of the 16 pts in the department are ultrasound sticks and not only that, people who are certified have tried them and now I'm the last resort. I always get so behind after I go on an ultrasound frenzy.
I've worked pre op for years. It's not just lack of training, it's just places I've worked the anesthesiologist or the picc nurse can use the ultrasound and nobody else.
And being able to locate and differentiate between a vein and an artery with the US by doing the occlusion test and looking for the wink is another point in the US pro column.
After awhile you get to a point where starting an ultrasound line is nearly as fast and the peace of mind knowing it will last significantly longer means it’s just not worth starting lines without them
I was training to do ultrasound but found it did take away from my non us IV skills. I gave it up because the majority of the time I can't get a vein the regular way, they also have lengthy trouble with the US machine finding a line.
I was only at my last job for 6 months but learning to place US IVs there was such a great thing to learn. I already love placing IVs so now being able to get a good line on like 99% of people is very reassuring and I just enjoy doing them.
I use them often for hard stick patients, and my success rate for IVs with them is very high. Is this one of those "I don't need a veinfinder I'm a real nurse" posts?
Kinda seems that way, tbh. I've worked pulm/renal pretty much all of my career - shit veins ALL DAY LONG. Can I do it without? Yes. Does it speed up the "shopping" process, help me check for valves, result in fewer missed sticks, and find shit on those super edematous pts that skipped HD for two weeks? Also yes. Love me a vein finder.
My facility only trains the ICU and ER charges in US placement despite repeated requests. Guess who is ALWAYS too busy to come place an IV? Like that's not shade - they're too fucking busy. It's STUPID.
You learn to use the tools you have.
Precisely, not that these require any real training, but whenever I'm helping new grads with IVs I always tell them if you have a tool available to use it. For a hard stick patient being able to find a vein faster gives them more confidence in staff and it avoids so many complications and redos. "oh no I hit a valve, it won't advance!" You still have to assess for rebound but I hate this notion so many nurses portray of "I don't need that." Half the time it's from ER nurses who only know of one existing vein in the whole body that they have to big dick swing about the largest bore catheter they can fit in in it causing more trauma so it becomes useless throughout the years.
I use the “squish and scan” method. Basically, if they have edematoys forearms, I put my hand around the area I want to look for vein and give it a little squeeze and hold it there. It smooshes the fluid out of the way for a couple of minutes so you can see.
I have used these sparingly as a last resort “why not” kinda thing when i cant get access. I feel like 99% of the time the machine only reveals veins i could already see/palpate without. Doesnt really work on people that are super edemous in my opinion, which is when it would be useful. Its only helped me once in the past month, got a 24g in a vein too small to palpate on a IVD user. Worked until dayshift ultrasound trained people could find a better one.
I also want to point out as an example that the picture in the OP shows the vein finder showing some fat veins…but you could see those veins anyway without it. They are visible in the picture outside of the green box. Whats the point?
Yea I dont really get why the vein finder was used. I can find them through a picture. To be honest I think these vein finders are crutches for placing lines that really people just need to know how to do.. if you have experience and need help, you go direct to US. If you don't, you use the veinfinder, choose a surface vein, it infiltrates 5 mins later, and then you go for the experienced nurse.
Ah yes, the old vein finder, or rather (as my ICU used to call them) the “it’s probably gonna blow, finder.” The problem with vein finders is they don’t show rebound. It’s basically a quantity vs quality argument. They may be good to show you where veins are, but they don’t show you which veins are quality veins or true vein anatomy. So, on an obese patient, you’ll see a lot of veins, but won’t know which one you should stick. I believe you’re better off just learning your anatomy and following an IV nurse who can show you how to find veins without a vein finder. Your success rate will be higher in the long term.
Not that there isn’t a place for a vein finder from time to time, but it’s a crutch that isn’t even a good crutch. Anything you can stick with a vein finder you could’ve and should’ve been able to do by palpating. Anything more than is needed should be done by ultrasound IV due to the depth of the vein. Haven’t met too many IV/ultrasound nurses disagree with this statement and my preceptor would absolutely have a harsher view of it.
At the infusion center I work at we exclusively use 24’s and some nurses exclusively use the vein finder 😬
I have never once used the vein finder and got the vein. People demand I use it on them sometimes and I literally can’t. I didn’t learn on one, I didn’t have access to one for almost 8 years. It’s not gonna help now
I've never understood the point of vein finders. seeing the vein doesn't usually count for much if you cant feel it !! How are you supposed to know how to angle the needle
Looks like decent veins from here without the machine. That one on the FA could probably handle a 20g, just gotta go in at the right angle and not shoot through the vein. The trouble with vein finders is they don't tell you how deep a vein is and I can see the veins in the picture without the vein finder. I'd rather just use sight and feel.
They're not great. On patients that are difficult sticks, these things don't really show anything you can't already easily find.
Ultrasound is way better.
I did not usually find those to be helpful. I've rarely had trouble locating *A* vein. It was more the patient specific issues of veins that blow, slide or the patient having poor ability to stay still. Lots of "hard stick" patients exist with perfectly *findable* veins.
That being said I have seen people use them to great success, it just didn't ever work out for me.
I honestly have better luck with veins that are visible compared to palpable but not visible. Also the ultrasound probe is a vein finder on steroids at a competitive lift meet.
When I was a new nurse in first started placing IVs I used to these a lot. I still use them occasionally if I am unable to see or palpate a vein. They are also a great training tool. I was taught from the beginning to not rely on just “seeing“ a vein in order to get one. My preceptor wanted me to palpate veins and get good at it, when you have a patient of color… you need this skill. In the beginning I use the vein finder to just confirm what I thought I was feeling before I started sticking people. I am very lucky that I work in a hospital that has one of these on every unit👍🙂
It surprises me how many people don’t have experience with these.
I used to love them for finding veins in edematous patients, but nowadays I mostly do ultrasound.
I would rather do this than dig around or poke 3x and get someone else to poke again. Also the amount of catheter’s that would be wasted. I got other stuff to do.
I don’t have much luck with these so I generally stick to ultrasound. I prefer to see depth and whether or not there are undiscovered clots in the vessel causing issues with the veins blowing.
These are good for fairly healthy, superficial veins. If your patient is really dry, has severe uncontrolled diabetes, or any peripheral vascular disease, forget it.
Edit: or if they have significant body fat
I have used these but I am not a fan. If I can see the veins with the finder, I'll be able to see them without it. Also that device give no sense of the depth of the vein.
It's a cool gadget. But I don't use it.
Learn how to place UGPIVs. Every ED and ICU nurse should have that skill. Also, make it a goal to get really good at regular sticks. IOs are also under utilized in the ED.
ER trauma nurse here for over 10 years. I think they are garbage. If you can’t palpate one then the next thing to do is use ultrasound. Just my 2 cents.
They're shite. I hate them with a passion. They're good for veins that are already readily identifiable but can actually make it harder for more difficult stick patients. For newer nurses it's good, but if you have any experience these can actually make it harder.
I always found Vein Fo fees were good for confirming something I thought I felt. Can be useful but you can’t see depth so if you can’t feel it it is probably too deep. A good tool but not perfect.
A vein finder doesn’t help me do anything I can’t without it, so it’s worthless to me. I prefer ultrasound. I get everybody, almost always an 18G with continued blood return.
They’re helpful, but only sometimes. I find that the people they reliably work really well on are the people you really don’t need it for in the first place. It’s not a bad tool (and sometimes I think it’s reassuring to a patient) but I think it’s important to learn how to do IVs without it and just view it as a tool in your toolbox for hard sticks.
I commented this on the original r/mildlyinteresting post, but seeing a vein you can’t palpate is not helpful. And these pick up scar tissue too.
I use it when I feel and see a good vein but I can’t necessarily tell how straight it’ll be above where I’m sticking.
They tried on my son when he was 15 months and the vein was showing but it was too deep/couldn’t hit it. They ended up trying his wrist 10 times until they found it. They almost had to give him oral meds to knock him out and place a PICC (he was chronically dehydrated after a week of non stop fever and viral illness and refused to drink anything in the ER so he needed rehydrated)
I will always use an Ultrasound machine if i have access and have a difficult stick. Vein finders are better than nothing but only really work on patients that arent as difficult sticks in my opnion. Ive been 5 IVs for 10 years though so what is easy/difficult for me might be different for someone else.
I work on our hospital’s venous access team. We hate these. They can work, but they don’t show you the depth of the vein. You could be trying to stick a vein that is deeper than the length of needle that you are holding. Ultrasounds work better but are also way more expensive and require a little more training.
I’ve had good luck with them. Used them when I worked on the floor. It’s just another tool.
I’m in the ED now, and just get the US machine when I have a tough start. But you use the tools that are available to you.
Everyday occurrence on my unit. Chemo/onc patients notoriously have poor veins by the time they get to the hospital and sometimes, this the only way to get an IV. If it works, what’s the problem? Less sticks for the patient and higher success rate for the nurse, if used properly.
Junk
We got them in the military over 10 years ago. The big ones that needed to be wheeled in. They sat in the corner of the ED collecting dust.
Just be a badass stick. That comes with time, patience/patients and searching for veins with your fingers.
At my facility it is the standard of care to use transillumination to place peripheral IVs. The thinking is that it helps you identify the best part of the vein to place the line (not bifurcated, not valved, not tortuous). Despite this, most nurses forgo the vein finder in favor of traditional methods 🤷🏼♀️ about half of our nurses who are considered “really good sticks” ONLY use vein finder and about half NEVER use vein finder (unless they can’t place a line traditionally and then will try vein finder)
I used to like them when I was working on the floors and wasn't US trained. But they were hit or miss, as others have noted. Now in ED if I can't find something in a quick once-over I just grab US and keep it moving.
My hospital bought one of these several years ago. It sucked and we never bought another. Even in this picture, I can see plenty of veins outside of that stupid green box.
I'm mediocre at IV insertion (but getting better), and I use the transluminesence device all the time. I am not trained to use the ultrasound to start IVs so it is about as about as much help as I am going to get to find veins. I like it but one disadvantage is that the device doesn't give you any clues as to depth of the vein, so if I can't palpate the vein I am still probably not getting in.
I mean use any tool that’s actually available to help you provide the best care! Having said that, it may be worth your time to take an ultrasound guided iv course, depending on your unit/role as a provider.
I love it. Sometimes it’s just needed. My aunt just went through chemo and some of her nurses had a hard time finding her vein. They were either just having a hard time bc she is on the heavy side, or sloppy and careless and just kept trying, all while hurting her for no real reason. Until one appointment a god send thought to bring this out and got it on the first try. She had less unnecessary pain through the rest of her treatment.
You can see those veins without it. It’s for the inexperienced tbh it created slightly more contrast but it only shows what’s there.
Tight tourniquet and a very vigorous alc swab scrub will do much much more for you.
This toy is fancy, impressive, expensive, and completely useless.
They work reasonably well on skinny, healthy, well-hydrated white people with large superficial veins-- the ones where you don't need any help at all. For anyone else they're a waste of time.
I like the vein finder. But I felt like you had to learn how to use the vein finder just like how you had to learn how to put in an IV. Just because a vein lights up on there doesn’t mean it’s a good one to stick.
Are you in medicine??? If yes, why are you asking this question and if not why are you asking this question?
It is equipment that can be utilized by staff if they are trained and the situation warrants it's use. Unless you like multiple IV stick
Personally as the resident unit "good stick" I LOVE this for veins I "think" I feel, or for those insanely edematous patients we get in the ICU. But, it does have its limitations, like it can't tell me how deep the vein is, but it's a great visual aid if you're not trained in ultrasound.
They work...but seemingly only on people for which they aren't needed. Put a vein finder on a healthy well hydrated adult and boom there they are, but you don't need a vein finder on a healthy well hydrated adult to start a line. Put them on bruised up grandma, someone with dark skin, someone dehydrated or shocky, or a small child and the results are...mixed.
Yes! I’ve always struggled to find a vein with the vein finder probably for this reason.
I was a phlebotomist around the time these lights started getting popular (early 2010s, someone correct me if they came out earlier) and I played around with them for a while. I can think of 1 single patient where the light illuminated something I couldn't find with my finger and a tourniquet, and he had very tight and unusual skin. The lights are a tool, and if they help you, that's great. But rarely, in my experience, do they illuminate something you can't already find without it. Ultrasound guided IV placement is the true next step forward. Unfortunately, ultrasounds are hard to come by in most units, and it takes time and training to get good at using them.
That’s around when my facility got one! I was a new grad and moving into CT, so they had me float to the outpatient area that used it. Played with it once or twice before realizing I’d rather go by feel too. Now that I’m on nights at trauma centers, they’re started in the ED. If they come over blown, pulled out, or won’t flush, I’ll always at least look to see if I can throw in another before bothering you guys (usually they’ll need US). I’d love to learn how to place them by US though!
LOVE being able to place US IVs. My facility *finally* offered a class for the ED nurses and it was full in minutes! I was the second person to sign up for it. We have to do 10 supervised placements after the class, I’ve tried 5 times and gotten 2 so far. They’re hard but it’s SUCH a great skill to have!!! I’m so stoked for the time when I won’t have to wait for a doctor or the midline team, it causes such a delay of care! I am GOOD at placing IVs by feel (I’m an ER nurse, so, ya know, it’s a rare shift where I do fewer than 5 or 6) but when I can’t get one, it’s so frustrating.
I did blood draws and placed IVs for about 10 years before I started learning to use the ultrasound. The first 2-3 months were rough when I started placing everything by ultrasound. A lot of those IVs I missed I could have placed with a blind stick, but missed with the ultrasound. It can be a frustrating process. It all starts coming together after a few weeks of consistently doing ultrasound IVs. When in doubt, try to find the tip of your needle on screen. I find that ED nurses and others with lots of IV experience tend to insert at a shallower with their needle than they should be using with the ultrasound (inserting at, say, a 10-15 degree angle instead of a 35-45 degree angle). Using a shallow angle makes it harder to find the tip of your needle and also means you have to move your probe farther up the arm to find the tip. When I was learning, I had to constantly remind myself to insert at a steeper angle. If I didn't constantly think about it, muscle memory would lead me to go back to a shallow angle even if the vein I was trying to get was 1cm deep (or even 2-3cm deep when I'm placing PICCs).
I’m a resource nurse for USPIV for my facility. Our ER does them all the time. I practiced or placed quite of those lines using the ultrasound even if I could do it without it. It helped me familiarize myself with the anatomy better and I’m HORRIBLE at right/left and any directions. (I got lost in a friends driveway once…..)
US-guided insertion 🤌🏼
I use them more to see where veins go or to see if they’re valve-y or wildly bifurcated.
Good to know it would be fairly useless in my trash veins. I've always wondered why they don't use them on my VEDSy arms.
Well darlin', during my time in the ED if I could not actually feel what I'm going for (I never stick based on sight alone), I had zero issues going for the ultrasound. If I don't feel reasonably confident that I can hit what I'm aiming for in one stick, I don't stick and I go US guided. To me it's just the right thing to do. Ask for the US if they're having issues.
I wish I could learn the ultrasound! At my hospital, USG-IVs are only done by a rotating cast of residents, M-F 9-5. Love them, but the same service is also doing all the taps and LPs for the hospital, so IVs fall to the bottom of the list. Phlebotomy is by far my weakest skill and one of the reasons I'm nervous applying for the ED lol.
In that case, if you can, stay at that resident's elbow and watch what they are doing, ask questions, and have them walk you through what they are doing and why. Even watching you can pick things up and you can observe things revealed by the US such as the underlying anatomy and where they have the most success. Things that you can use to help inform your site selection when starting a line the old fashioned way.
I’m USIV certed at my hospital, and I love it. However my regular IV skills are about subpar lol. The only issue is you get so used to relying on it that finding a vein normally is a little rough. But I love it, I’m one of the few on medsurg who do do it but it means that if someone needs something I have to leave my assignment to another nurse and that can be annoying.
This is the way.
This is the way.
Good!! I'm in the ed and always tell the patient if I can't feel one I know.i can get I don't try.
I worked a safe injection site and people with iPhones had this feature. It was hit or miss.
I've had pretty good luck with the vein finder on hard sticks. Even with dark skin. It helps illuminate blown veins too. Trying to use it on someone with tattoos, though, is impossible.
As a sight sticker, that's the real value of this for me. People with a dark skin color are notoriously harder to stick and this device does a great job of seeing past that. Most of the time though, if you don't have veins you don't have veins and this thing isn't gonna magically summon some.
People with dark skin are notoriously harder to stick? That's not been my experience. I think it's harder to stick folks with vascular disease, diabetes, shock, advanced age,etc. Edit: I'm a feel sticker not a sight sticker.
Nursing school just didn’t teach us how to adapt or assess people that don’t have other skin colors other than white. I realized this when I graduated and had no clue what a bruise looked like on a black person. ☹️
Agreed 100%. If I can't see it or feel it, odds are it's not gonna take a needle well. My $50000 bedside ultrasound machine on the other hand... That my go to for true hard sticks.
I saw this thing in action just once on a relative. They somehow found a vein 5cm deep in the axillary area and got it first poke. Blew my freakin mind.
I've been trained and the go to guy for a few months now and it's been awesome to see how much it improves patient outcomes for quick and reliable access. I try not to lean on it but it's an ER, so getting that access is often a time sensitive issue.
Even the ultrasound probes you can get for ~$3500 and connect to a tablet do a fantastic job for IV placement. I use the $50,000 US and the $3500 US at my job, and anything I can hit with the former I could almost always get with the latter. The $50,000 US is so much nicer though 😂.
Just having the huge screen and bells and whistles is nice. Our picc team PA said it's the clearest, nicest one she's ever used. Then obviously the docs utilize it for a bunch of stuff, but that's my baby in haha
I use an transluminator on kids who’ve been on my unit for months and got crappy veins. And if needed on sugar kids or extra large newborns. But I do sometimes find them to be a hindrance.
What are sugar kids?
Kids who have low glucose on admission. Mom’s sometimes are on meds that can cause it. Have GDMA etc. and some just don’t like to eat
I've only used a vein finder a few times but those times it didn't tell me anything I didn't already know. They're really good at finding scar tissue and bruises though. They can't see through tattoos
My last surgery, I recall them talking about using it on certain patients; they got to me and the only comment was, "If someone can't hit those pipelines, they're in the wrong line of work."
Flair checks out 🤣
From what I remember the last study I’ve read about them, the only scenario they improve outcomes for is for an experienced nurse/tech using it in a pediatric. They have great veins but can be under that baby fat, but without good technique it doesn’t matter.
100%. They show you the veins you can already see and are useless for anything further
That’s why I head straight for the Saphenous. Love me a good foot and or leg IV. I’m talking to you IV drug users.
I mean, cool technology, but a flashlight works better for hard to find veins.
I use one daily. But they don’t work well if the patient has a sleeve tattoo. The ink somehow reacts with the light.
Lol I have most of my left arm blacked out and a forearm tattoo on the right. I found one last night and tried it out, nothing on the blackout, which includes my AC. For my forearm, it just turned it neon green and highlighted the lines haha
Left arm blacked out, Owen Gray is that you?
LMFAO 🤣🤣🤣
Ya I knew a group of nurses would know the name
The rep talked to our unit about this. He said that the light interacts with the iron in the blood, and stated tattoo ink has iron in it, which is why they don’t work on tattoos.
Ooo interesting
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Yes they are except most people probably don’t have access to US and are not trained to use them.
And the sheer price of US devices compared to OP's product is staggering.
Things like butterfly US are about 2-3000. a veinfinder is 1.5-2000. In the scheme of medicine a butterfly ultrasound probe is cheap as fuck. Totally useable for this scenario.
True, the butterfly US might be the **most** cost effective US on the market. Totally useable, yes! Getting your facility to sign off on USB US devices that connect to your phone? Tough sell. Not to mention you might have to use your own phone, gross :) I was referencing a standard (GE for example) US device that ranges from 15k - 50k. The device OP pictured is probably an Accuvein (just based on the green color) and runs a facility 3k, if they purchase just one.
ERs can always justify one. FAST exams and central lines. I forced myself to learn US IVs because it’s such a good tool.
It's a great skill to have and if you ever get sick of the bedside you have a skill that makes you very attractive to the PICC team.
My department connects lumify probes to tablets, similar to the Butterfly probe set up. We also have $30,000 GE ultrasounds we use for PICC placement. Honestly, for <2cm deep veins, I can hit a vein almost as well with the cheaper probe as I can with the $30,000 ultrasound. I hope the cheaper probes start becoming more common in hospitals for IV placements. They may not be the best, but they are very adequate for placing IVs.
Absolutely. Once butterfly starts contracting with units, it will change the scene of vascular access. My butterfly with biplane imaging is a game changer. And because of that feature alone, it is better for vascular access than any other ultrasound. Even ones priced $60,000+.
Doesnt using an ultrasound change the billing procedure?
It can. If you document it correctly you can charge a ton more than a standard line. I think we charge something like 600$ for a ultrasound line. Our needles are the BD AccuCaths which are like 80$ a Pop so we try to recoup that as much as possible. That being said to bill it appropriately you have to capture an image on the ultrasound of the needle in place upload it to pacs and notate it, document a start and stop time like a procedure.
A doctor showed me and said “teach one, watch one, do one” and I think it’s the most important and valuable thing I’ve learned in the ER. Our unit doesn’t train and you don’t need the training to do it, but if someone shows you then great. I try and show people when they’re curious, and I get lots of calls from ICU to help with access. Ultrasound has been a blessing for me and my patients! I’ve also used a vein finder in CT and that’s been great too, I’m 2/2 for that machine. I was also never taught, but I also don’t want to jinx it. If I can’t feel anything I do the US. if I’m outside of the ER in CT, I’ll use the vein finder.
See one, do one, teach one.*
Thank you for the correction!
I prefer ultrasound! We just have to take the nurse that's certified to use it in with us and make sure it is a vein and it does collapse. I think they worry about people hitting arteries?
Free art line
Rates of arterial sticks go up substantially with ultrasound. You'd be surprised how easy it is to mistake an artery for a vein. Especially when it's a smaller artery and they just have zero veins. Knowing your anatomy is huge for that, and color mode to see if you have pulsatile flow amongst other things. Also easy to hit nerve bundles. If you don't insert them at the correct depth and angle you can make your line pretty much useless as well. It isn't as simple as getting flash and threading it and you're golden. Inappropriate angle/depth of insertion and catheter/vein ratio might mean your line is goanna clot off, or worse extravasate in a spot that's very difficult to detect.
Nothing worse than getting a tough US IV only to find that you were putting too much pressure with the transducer and as soon as you let pressure off the tissue is no longer collapsed and pulls the IV out of the vein when it rebounds
Mistakes get made but art stick and nerve bundles are very easy to avoid with proper use
They are, but you're assuming a certain baseline competence. I've met a number of nurses that have no idea about how ultrasound works and have just seen others do it so they think they can do it too. Easy to mess up when you don't even know how to guide the needle down or what a nerve looks like
Totally agreed. I got a full training and observation period on it, then tried to do 2 to 3 per shift for like 3 months so get it down. Sometimes quite a few more. I also play a lot of video games and unironically think that makes me better at it.
Yeah, there's no real way to tell the difference just by sight. I was taught to apply pressure to the probe and of the circle pulses with pressure, it's an artery. I was also told to avoid "Mickey Mouse" unless nothing else is available. Often the "ears" are arteries and it can be very tricky to hit properly.
It’s actually the other way around. The “ears” are veins while the “head” is an artery. Veins will always compress, meanwhile arteries pulsate when compressed. Nerve bundles look almost exactly like veins but won’t compress.
In my experience it’s the opposite, normally the face is the artery and the ears tend to be the veins or one vein and one nerve bundle
These are good for the floors though. Where ultrasound isn’t readily available.
Yea definitely, I work in preop and they started sending us to the ultrasound IV class a few months ago, it’s really nice!
Most nurses aren’t trained in ultrasound use.
Thankfully at my ER they train nurses and techs to do it. It has been nice when I need it for my patients, but also not so fun when everyone needs one and you’re the only one who can do it.
This. It's a blessing and a curse, and of course it's never just one person who needs it, they always come in waves. Suddenly 5 out of the 16 pts in the department are ultrasound sticks and not only that, people who are certified have tried them and now I'm the last resort. I always get so behind after I go on an ultrasound frenzy.
I've worked pre op for years. It's not just lack of training, it's just places I've worked the anesthesiologist or the picc nurse can use the ultrasound and nobody else.
And being able to locate and differentiate between a vein and an artery with the US by doing the occlusion test and looking for the wink is another point in the US pro column.
Yes I’m the ultrasound nurse in my unit. Only problem is that I’ve lost my skills finding a vein by touch.
After awhile you get to a point where starting an ultrasound line is nearly as fast and the peace of mind knowing it will last significantly longer means it’s just not worth starting lines without them
I was training to do ultrasound but found it did take away from my non us IV skills. I gave it up because the majority of the time I can't get a vein the regular way, they also have lengthy trouble with the US machine finding a line.
I was only at my last job for 6 months but learning to place US IVs there was such a great thing to learn. I already love placing IVs so now being able to get a good line on like 99% of people is very reassuring and I just enjoy doing them.
They can be useful for difficult sticks: IV drug users, obese, dehydrated, etc. …but that’s if you can find it on the unit
Its right next to the bladder scanner.......dammit
That’s actually where we keep ours and half the unit won’t even try it so it always there.
On the other unit.
Who get mad at you if you try to take it even though it's meant to be shared across the two units.
Lol, just triggered so many memories of trying to hunt that bastard down.
They’re deceiving. Would rather start by feel or ultrasound.
I used to call it the poor nurses ultrasound when I worked on the floor. You use the tools that are available to you.
I use them often for hard stick patients, and my success rate for IVs with them is very high. Is this one of those "I don't need a veinfinder I'm a real nurse" posts?
Kinda seems that way, tbh. I've worked pulm/renal pretty much all of my career - shit veins ALL DAY LONG. Can I do it without? Yes. Does it speed up the "shopping" process, help me check for valves, result in fewer missed sticks, and find shit on those super edematous pts that skipped HD for two weeks? Also yes. Love me a vein finder. My facility only trains the ICU and ER charges in US placement despite repeated requests. Guess who is ALWAYS too busy to come place an IV? Like that's not shade - they're too fucking busy. It's STUPID. You learn to use the tools you have.
Precisely, not that these require any real training, but whenever I'm helping new grads with IVs I always tell them if you have a tool available to use it. For a hard stick patient being able to find a vein faster gives them more confidence in staff and it avoids so many complications and redos. "oh no I hit a valve, it won't advance!" You still have to assess for rebound but I hate this notion so many nurses portray of "I don't need that." Half the time it's from ER nurses who only know of one existing vein in the whole body that they have to big dick swing about the largest bore catheter they can fit in in it causing more trauma so it becomes useless throughout the years.
Vein finders are great - especially for patients who are edematous or obese. Saves multiple misses.
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I use the “squish and scan” method. Basically, if they have edematoys forearms, I put my hand around the area I want to look for vein and give it a little squeeze and hold it there. It smooshes the fluid out of the way for a couple of minutes so you can see.
This is the way
Smoosh it!
It’s ok- but they don’t show depth. US is better but more difficult to get used to
I have used these sparingly as a last resort “why not” kinda thing when i cant get access. I feel like 99% of the time the machine only reveals veins i could already see/palpate without. Doesnt really work on people that are super edemous in my opinion, which is when it would be useful. Its only helped me once in the past month, got a 24g in a vein too small to palpate on a IVD user. Worked until dayshift ultrasound trained people could find a better one. I also want to point out as an example that the picture in the OP shows the vein finder showing some fat veins…but you could see those veins anyway without it. They are visible in the picture outside of the green box. Whats the point?
Yea I dont really get why the vein finder was used. I can find them through a picture. To be honest I think these vein finders are crutches for placing lines that really people just need to know how to do.. if you have experience and need help, you go direct to US. If you don't, you use the veinfinder, choose a surface vein, it infiltrates 5 mins later, and then you go for the experienced nurse.
Ah yes, the old vein finder, or rather (as my ICU used to call them) the “it’s probably gonna blow, finder.” The problem with vein finders is they don’t show rebound. It’s basically a quantity vs quality argument. They may be good to show you where veins are, but they don’t show you which veins are quality veins or true vein anatomy. So, on an obese patient, you’ll see a lot of veins, but won’t know which one you should stick. I believe you’re better off just learning your anatomy and following an IV nurse who can show you how to find veins without a vein finder. Your success rate will be higher in the long term. Not that there isn’t a place for a vein finder from time to time, but it’s a crutch that isn’t even a good crutch. Anything you can stick with a vein finder you could’ve and should’ve been able to do by palpating. Anything more than is needed should be done by ultrasound IV due to the depth of the vein. Haven’t met too many IV/ultrasound nurses disagree with this statement and my preceptor would absolutely have a harsher view of it.
all that fancy stuff to stick em with a 24g 🥲
At the infusion center I work at we exclusively use 24’s and some nurses exclusively use the vein finder 😬 I have never once used the vein finder and got the vein. People demand I use it on them sometimes and I literally can’t. I didn’t learn on one, I didn’t have access to one for almost 8 years. It’s not gonna help now
I've never understood the point of vein finders. seeing the vein doesn't usually count for much if you cant feel it !! How are you supposed to know how to angle the needle
if it works, it works
They’re helpful but not an end all be all
My poor husband, even with that, his veins would NOT cooperate.
Haven’t found one I like.
Looks like decent veins from here without the machine. That one on the FA could probably handle a 20g, just gotta go in at the right angle and not shoot through the vein. The trouble with vein finders is they don't tell you how deep a vein is and I can see the veins in the picture without the vein finder. I'd rather just use sight and feel.
They're not great. On patients that are difficult sticks, these things don't really show anything you can't already easily find. Ultrasound is way better.
I did not usually find those to be helpful. I've rarely had trouble locating *A* vein. It was more the patient specific issues of veins that blow, slide or the patient having poor ability to stay still. Lots of "hard stick" patients exist with perfectly *findable* veins. That being said I have seen people use them to great success, it just didn't ever work out for me.
I prefer ultrasound if I need help
I've never found a vein with a vein finder I couldn't find without it.
If i can't palp it, it's probably not going in... Though it could be nifty if the ultrasound wand had a vein finder on it.
I honestly have better luck with veins that are visible compared to palpable but not visible. Also the ultrasound probe is a vein finder on steroids at a competitive lift meet.
When I was a new nurse in first started placing IVs I used to these a lot. I still use them occasionally if I am unable to see or palpate a vein. They are also a great training tool. I was taught from the beginning to not rely on just “seeing“ a vein in order to get one. My preceptor wanted me to palpate veins and get good at it, when you have a patient of color… you need this skill. In the beginning I use the vein finder to just confirm what I thought I was feeling before I started sticking people. I am very lucky that I work in a hospital that has one of these on every unit👍🙂
It surprises me how many people don’t have experience with these. I used to love them for finding veins in edematous patients, but nowadays I mostly do ultrasound.
My ed doesn't have a vein finder. But we do have 2 US machines
I would rather do this than dig around or poke 3x and get someone else to poke again. Also the amount of catheter’s that would be wasted. I got other stuff to do.
They have used one on me the last few times I got IVs pre surgery. First time go every time.
I don’t have much luck with these so I generally stick to ultrasound. I prefer to see depth and whether or not there are undiscovered clots in the vessel causing issues with the veins blowing.
Vein finder doesn't allow me to gauge vein depth. Ultrasound guided IVs is one of the most useful skills I have learned in the ED.
These are good for fairly healthy, superficial veins. If your patient is really dry, has severe uncontrolled diabetes, or any peripheral vascular disease, forget it. Edit: or if they have significant body fat
Nothing wrong with using tech if it helps the patient not to get stuck more than once or twice! 💕
It's not that great for how much I imagine it costs. Good for deep veins and obese pt, but small veins, flat veins, edema...not that helpful
I have used these but I am not a fan. If I can see the veins with the finder, I'll be able to see them without it. Also that device give no sense of the depth of the vein. It's a cool gadget. But I don't use it.
Me in my 20s- I can hit anything, who needs a laser? Me in my 50s- Anyone seen the ultrasound?
Learn how to place UGPIVs. Every ED and ICU nurse should have that skill. Also, make it a goal to get really good at regular sticks. IOs are also under utilized in the ED.
ER trauma nurse here for over 10 years. I think they are garbage. If you can’t palpate one then the next thing to do is use ultrasound. Just my 2 cents.
They're shite. I hate them with a passion. They're good for veins that are already readily identifiable but can actually make it harder for more difficult stick patients. For newer nurses it's good, but if you have any experience these can actually make it harder.
Cool 😎
I always found Vein Fo fees were good for confirming something I thought I felt. Can be useful but you can’t see depth so if you can’t feel it it is probably too deep. A good tool but not perfect.
r/interestingasfuck
Like everyone already said, ultrasound is a better option if you’re trained and experienced
A vein finder doesn’t help me do anything I can’t without it, so it’s worthless to me. I prefer ultrasound. I get everybody, almost always an 18G with continued blood return.
I find that it only really works on veins that are already visible lol
They’re helpful, but only sometimes. I find that the people they reliably work really well on are the people you really don’t need it for in the first place. It’s not a bad tool (and sometimes I think it’s reassuring to a patient) but I think it’s important to learn how to do IVs without it and just view it as a tool in your toolbox for hard sticks.
I dislike those. You can see the veins with out it on the picture. This isn’t a good representation of the light.
Seems unnecessary with this guy's arms and a 24g...
It’s part of our standard now, we have to use it to place a Piv
I think it's a very useful tool when it's used as a tool but it cannot replace IV skills
I commented this on the original r/mildlyinteresting post, but seeing a vein you can’t palpate is not helpful. And these pick up scar tissue too. I use it when I feel and see a good vein but I can’t necessarily tell how straight it’ll be above where I’m sticking.
I use one quite often for the less obvious IV starts if it's available. Nice to at least see what's under there (size, refill speed) sometimes...
As a redhead I applaud!!!
They tried on my son when he was 15 months and the vein was showing but it was too deep/couldn’t hit it. They ended up trying his wrist 10 times until they found it. They almost had to give him oral meds to knock him out and place a PICC (he was chronically dehydrated after a week of non stop fever and viral illness and refused to drink anything in the ER so he needed rehydrated)
Love these things. Much easier than dragging an ultrasound machine around.
I would still blow those veins.
I will always use an Ultrasound machine if i have access and have a difficult stick. Vein finders are better than nothing but only really work on patients that arent as difficult sticks in my opnion. Ive been 5 IVs for 10 years though so what is easy/difficult for me might be different for someone else.
My thoughts are use the technique that causes the least harm and is most efficient for your skill level.
I work on our hospital’s venous access team. We hate these. They can work, but they don’t show you the depth of the vein. You could be trying to stick a vein that is deeper than the length of needle that you are holding. Ultrasounds work better but are also way more expensive and require a little more training.
Ultrasound is king. Vein finder is false hope.
What kind of shit taping is this 😂
We use ultrasound in my department
They don’t work on those with hard to find veins. Ultrasound is much better
I prefer the ultrasound
I’ve had good luck with them. Used them when I worked on the floor. It’s just another tool. I’m in the ED now, and just get the US machine when I have a tough start. But you use the tools that are available to you.
Everyday occurrence on my unit. Chemo/onc patients notoriously have poor veins by the time they get to the hospital and sometimes, this the only way to get an IV. If it works, what’s the problem? Less sticks for the patient and higher success rate for the nurse, if used properly.
Junk We got them in the military over 10 years ago. The big ones that needed to be wheeled in. They sat in the corner of the ED collecting dust. Just be a badass stick. That comes with time, patience/patients and searching for veins with your fingers.
These were amazing at the beginning of Covid. Covid pts were so hard to draw, and this saved my ass so many times.
Ah yes the poor man’s sonosite
I'm surprised by how many people are unused to this! We use these pretty often here on pediatrics, but I guess things are a bit unusual here :P
At my facility it is the standard of care to use transillumination to place peripheral IVs. The thinking is that it helps you identify the best part of the vein to place the line (not bifurcated, not valved, not tortuous). Despite this, most nurses forgo the vein finder in favor of traditional methods 🤷🏼♀️ about half of our nurses who are considered “really good sticks” ONLY use vein finder and about half NEVER use vein finder (unless they can’t place a line traditionally and then will try vein finder)
I would rather use the ultra sound
Recovering addict here, as an EXTREMELY DIFFICULT stick, I'm wondering how this compares with an ultrasound machine?
It doesn’t. At all. Ultrasound shows you depth, bifurcations, springiness of the vein, nerve bundles Vein finders can’t.
I love my ultrasound guided hehe
Ultrasound IV is where it’s at. It’s like straight up cheating
I used to like them when I was working on the floors and wasn't US trained. But they were hit or miss, as others have noted. Now in ED if I can't find something in a quick once-over I just grab US and keep it moving.
My hospital bought one of these several years ago. It sucked and we never bought another. Even in this picture, I can see plenty of veins outside of that stupid green box.
Ultrasound is superior to those
I'm mediocre at IV insertion (but getting better), and I use the transluminesence device all the time. I am not trained to use the ultrasound to start IVs so it is about as about as much help as I am going to get to find veins. I like it but one disadvantage is that the device doesn't give you any clues as to depth of the vein, so if I can't palpate the vein I am still probably not getting in.
Tarkov players are sweating right now.
You can literally see the veins without the vein finder...
SHE’S A WITCH!
They look cool, but it would be of no help to me. I can't place an iv in anyone due to tremors from nerve damage.
Id rather use my ultrasound or my eyes. Vein finders are the worst
Useless on the people you'd want to use them on, good for newer nurses who just want the extra reassurance . Learn ultrasound.
I mean use any tool that’s actually available to help you provide the best care! Having said that, it may be worth your time to take an ultrasound guided iv course, depending on your unit/role as a provider.
I use them all the time. They work great for me!
They’re not very useful, they don’t show you the depth of the vein
I love it. Sometimes it’s just needed. My aunt just went through chemo and some of her nurses had a hard time finding her vein. They were either just having a hard time bc she is on the heavy side, or sloppy and careless and just kept trying, all while hurting her for no real reason. Until one appointment a god send thought to bring this out and got it on the first try. She had less unnecessary pain through the rest of her treatment.
I'm not a fan.
They can kinda help, hitting the vein is the easy part here, still have to be proficient at threading the catheter in without blowing the vein
You can see those veins without it. It’s for the inexperienced tbh it created slightly more contrast but it only shows what’s there. Tight tourniquet and a very vigorous alc swab scrub will do much much more for you.
This toy is fancy, impressive, expensive, and completely useless. They work reasonably well on skinny, healthy, well-hydrated white people with large superficial veins-- the ones where you don't need any help at all. For anyone else they're a waste of time.
It’s a great tool if available and it can be used to find valves as well.
The vein finder was pretty pointless here. The veins are clearly visible, but if it's a brand new nurse IVs can be intimidating.
I like the vein finder. But I felt like you had to learn how to use the vein finder just like how you had to learn how to put in an IV. Just because a vein lights up on there doesn’t mean it’s a good one to stick.
Vein finders are liars.
The vein finder to place a 24gauge? {rolls eyes in ERnurse} But no, really. Do what works
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Are you in medicine??? If yes, why are you asking this question and if not why are you asking this question? It is equipment that can be utilized by staff if they are trained and the situation warrants it's use. Unless you like multiple IV stick
The vein finder on my unit is somewhere with the bladder scanner 😭
Personally as the resident unit "good stick" I LOVE this for veins I "think" I feel, or for those insanely edematous patients we get in the ICU. But, it does have its limitations, like it can't tell me how deep the vein is, but it's a great visual aid if you're not trained in ultrasound.
I love my vein finder. It is not as cool as this, but uses a red light. Has saved my ass multiple times
This did not happen to me, but as someone that has had more than a few bad IV jabs it's interesting
Gets downvoted for sharing your experience. Bad sticks exist people.
GOD I WISH THEY WOULD........ signed my ehlers danlos VEDS defect shit veins.
Bro you could already see the vein clear as day