Vein Care?

[bogumil]

Are there things that can be done to support the veins a little, for people, who regularly pinch them?

Besides the rotation-thing I was thinking of hot-cold-bathes and massages and so on to make the blood circulate better. Or does this disturb the vein, when it wants to heal?

And are there things that can be taken orally, that are known to speed up the healing / building up of blood vessels? Like certain vitamins, minerals and so?

I was thinking that also a little aspirin-cure might help? It keeps the blood from clogging in most people and it counteracts any inflammatory (voc.?) of tissue, too. Regularly use of aspirin might not be the best idea cause it isnt good for the stomach but maybe a 2-week cure every 2 months with the 100mg doses that people get after heart-infarcts?

[jab]

One thing that helps a lot is exercise. The more you work out, the more blood will flow through the veins, the bigger and stronger they will become. Also some of the stuff you mention above, like warm baths and compresses, rotation, etc. Neutrition is also important; eat well and take vitamins regularly.

I'm not sure about the asperin question. I have a bad stomach so that's not an option for me though.

Hope this helps a bit. Unfortunately, no matter how much you take care of them, constant use will take a toll.

Good luck!

[antigonemuse]

SWIM has found several items that help...

Bioflavonoid is a good vitamin to take everyday if you are gonna be messing about with your veins. SWIM has also been lightly massaging comfrey salve, arnica oil and arinca cream to the areas that have been used help heal the brusing/swelling/tracks of/on/or around veins ALOT faster then nothing at all. Vitamin K is good for ya too.

Nothing for nothing, the comfrey salve works quite nice, is cheap and can be found at most health food type stores. Definatly look into the Bioflavonoid.

Peace

[bogumil]

Thank you. I will try this. Especially the bioflavinoid sounds interesting. And I need exercise anyway, so this will be another thing I will do.

[candy]

Vein care is especially important for those who inject.

Rotating sites is important and as someone mentioned exercise.

For those who have a harder time with finding veins(women especially), warm bath or shower helps and some exercise in the am will make that morning shot easier.

Arnica gel or cream is great for bruising and muscle aches. Not sure how it helps with actual vein care, but maybe it does. Good technique also helps. Using a tourniquet is important and using a new needle each injection is best. Although this is not always possible, a dull needle is one of the biggest culprits in causing not only scarring, but collapsed veins as well.

Try to avoid veins in the feet and legs. They don't last long and you increase the risk of phlebitis and blood clots, due to decreased circulation.

Women as I said tend to have a more difficult time.

One of the most important factors is increasing the amount of water you drink daily. Unless you have a medical condition that limits the amount of fluid you can drink, get to drinking. Blood volume directly effects the ability to get those veins up and popping out. Increasing your fluid volume, increases the blood volume and makes for better veins. It is something that most people just don't think about and I know drinking large volumes of water can be difficult. And not just any fluid like soda or tea. Your body does not use those fluids in the same way and they are just urinated out instead.

Below is a site that has some great info on vein care and safer injection.

http://www.anypositivechange.org/bvcsi.html

Take a look and if you have any other questions, feel free to post or contact by PM.