[walkswithspiritbear]

Went for an MRI the other day and when the tech was putting in my IV he said I had extremely tough skin. What in the world did he mean as he would say no more than that, darn techs. Oh well as silly as this question probably sounds I am totally confused as to what the issue may be, and with all my health issues I don't know if one of them is the cause or what? Any ideas out here?????

[Sujin]

Hmmm, the only thing I can think of that he may have meant is that you have firm, dense skin that the needle would not push into easily? I'm not sure, but this would be my guess.

As a Massage Therapist / Student,I have found people to have all sorts of skin textures. Some people have very thin, translucent skin, while others may have thicker, more dense skin like I mentioned above.

I'm not sure if this is what the tech meant or not, but in my opinion that is what I would guess. Hope this helps somewhat!

Best Wishes,
Zen

Whenever my doctors office says this to me and I asked her what they mean she said the pain of getting the needles inserted didn't seem to bother me. Kind of like when you experience a problem and you just bounce back you're said to have tough skin everything you experience just bounces off. instead of tearing into you.I can sit there and not have any reaction to pain where as alot of people experience anxiety before getting needles and during it squeeze the eyes shut and look away and so on. me I can sit there and watch from my tunnel area as the needles press against my skin and then go it, draw the bloodwork needed and then watch the taking the needle out with no emotional pain, panic and no physical reactions.

[walkswithspiritbear]

Thanks myself but the issue was a physical issue. Needles don't bother me in most cases as long as I can see them. But this was an issue where the tech had a hard time getting through my skin.

I see. I have one spot where I always get my blood work and IV's so now that spot has a build up of scar tissue underneath that sometimes makes it hard for those that are not used to taking my bloodwork and hooking my IV's up. So sometimes after a couple pokes they have to switch to a different area and is goes through. Maybe that will work for you - try getting the needles in another area then you normally do and see if they still have a problem.?

[(JD)]

IDK for sure, of course... but I would consider two things to try and change it, both encompass rehydration of your skin: drink more water, and use lotions. Another is to exfoliate.. remove the dead top skin cells.. scrub with a washcloth at least? I think that must have hurt and felt awkward!!! TC

[January]

Hi,

If you have had to have a lot of sticks, your skin scars and it makes it hard to get the needle to push through it.

Hugs,

Jan