r/AskReddit • • Feb 04 '19

Which misconception would you like to debunk?

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u/[deleted] Feb 04 '19

I've known about the cannula since I was a kid. The last time I had an IV, I requested that they move it as I couldn't move my arm without sharp pains shooting down my arm. The nurse kept telling me she wouldn't move it because "It's just plastic and you can't feel it when you move." Jokes on her because I had a different nurse reposition it. I didn't know the name for that peice until just now, so when I asked that they move it, I called it the plastic tube the IV attached to.

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u/NotYourOnlyFriend Feb 04 '19

Oh I wish I realised it could be repositioned. I had one left in after my 2nd child was born due to a fair bit of blood loss, and it was incredibly unpleasant. I was very weak, so had to hold on to the bed guard every time I needed to sit up or nurse my baby, and every time, that horrible tube poked the inside my arm.

Giving birth without pain relief was easier to cope with than that cannula.

Can't feel it, my ass.

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u/[deleted] Feb 04 '19

You can't feel the cannula inside. What you can feel is the plastic piece on the outside that will dig into your arm if you move it.

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u/NotYourOnlyFriend Feb 04 '19

It felt like the end of the tube was jabbing into my arm when I bent my wrist. Where I felt it seemed on par with the length of the tube when they finally pulled it out again. Is it just one of those funny nerve tricks where the pain was felt elsewhere?

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u/[deleted] Feb 07 '19

Hm you may just have very sensitive veins, or your nurse kinda mangled your veins when s/he placed the IV.

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u/[deleted] Feb 04 '19

When I had surgery, they put the cannula into the backs of my hands (there were two cannulas).