about blood gasses

[minkymoo]

hi all lm having my blood gasses done on Tuesday and it says in the letter it will be taken from my hear lobe and the test takes 20 minutes to a hour and that my results wont be ready there and then .but my doctor will get my result so can you tell me is this all correct cos my carer says its taken from the wrist and l don't know what to believe please help

[Hidden]

My husband had his test done in A & E a few years ago and it was done in his wrist. However I have been told my his respiratory nurse that it can be done in the ear lobe and I have noticed a couple of people on this site saying they have had it done in the ear lobe. My husband had his results immediately probably because he was in A & E - don't worry I am sure it will be fine. Good luck TAD xx

[pollyjj]

Hi I have had mine done twice from my earlobe once at home and once in the clinic and I had the results immediately. Nothing to worry about.

polly xx

[billl]

hi absolutely nothing to worry about . they put some cream stuff on your ear lobe wait about 5 mins then take a small blood test you don't feel a thing . had one at home yesterday and one ages ago in hospital I got results straight away .

[happyfeet59]

have had several earlobe tests done to check o2 and co2 levels. They heat your earlobe with a cream like Deep Heat, then they prick it to release blood (like in INR test), put it on a strip and take it off to a special machine which reads the results. They have to wait after creaming and may do it a couple of times to double check results. This is why timescale. A very easy and relatively painless proceedure compared to the arterial bloods from wrist.

[dall05]

Hi MM, I've had many blood gases done from the wrist and the ear. The ear option is by far the best from the patients point of view, virtually painless. The wrist check seems to vary on the skills of the person who is doing it as the artery can be difficult to find. The one respiratory nurse took at least half an hour finding the artery before she went for it and luckily she was spot on.

When I was in ICU they always used the wrist to get blood gases and I still have the scars to prove it. You'll be just fine if, as the letter say's, their doing the test from the ear.

Tony.

[minkymoo in reply to dall05]

hi tony thankyou for the advice l feel a bit better now l just wasn't aware of what to expect but now you have helped me to know l will be ok so thankyou marie

[sallyannsheridan]

Ive had blood gasses taken both ways and the ear method is much quicker procedure. In every case I was given results within the hour and using the ear method I was told immediately. If procedure not carried out by someone who can interpret results maybe this is why you' are not told there and then and have to wait. If you are given choice I would opt for ear method as much quicker and more comfortable. Both however provide result you need and only health authorities with the latest equipment have the necessary equipment to do it by the ear method. Hope this helps.