Blood draw from the elderly or those with tiny veins?

Question

A lot of people have very small veins making it next to impossible to draw blood. Would a nitroglycerin tablet (or some other vasodilator) before drawing blood help to enlarge veins?

Answer 1

Agree with use of smaller gauge needle as suggested above, perhaps with ultrasound guidance if available

I do want to touch on the nitroglycerin suggestion as well because I think it's important; Nitroglycerin is a strong venodilator and health professionals are generally recommended to wear gloves when contacting this substance. Why is that? Dilating out veins quickly in this way can cause a drop in your arterial blood pressure, which could cause someone to pass out. As above, risks would be far outweighed by the benefits.

Answer 2

Maybe, but carries risks. Better to use a 25 gauge butterfly.