gave blood last week. weird issue.

[Palo Alto Labs]

So i gave blood last tuesday after i worked out. they were doing a blood drive at my gym. anyways, i havent lifted heavy since then, due to the holidays, i have only done cardio.

Last night i was helping my dad move some boxes out of his apartment. 25 or so boxes, none more than 30lbs.. i was taking 2 at a time down 2 flights of stairs.. nothing strenuous. after about 20 minutes, the spot where they stuck me on tuesday is sore and blew up about the size of a grape. it also turned black and blue. its my inner elbow on my right arm.. the typical spot where they draw blood from.

so im guessing that the vein hasnt totally healed, and carrying the boxes caused it to rupture? this is all my assumption.. but whats my game plan for the next few days? i want this to heal so i dont keep causing it stress.

i was planning on a pretty strenuous workout tonight after work.. but would appreciate opinions from people with true medical knowledge. I dont want to have to do cardio/light weights for the next few days, but i dont want to aggravate this too much.

it just weirded me out because usually i lift heavy within 24 hours of giving blood without any issues.

 

[youngandfree]

I donate regularly and haven't had any issues. Maybe some ice, go easy on it for a few more days. If you are taking ECA or aspirin in general, it thins the blood and causes me to bruise like a 90 y/o. Not really sure.

 

[CopyCat]

Sounds like you just blew the clot is all. I wouldn't be too worried about it and would carry on with life as usual. If you want to do something just to appease your mind even though it's not necessary, you can go down to CVS, Rite-aid, Walgreens etc and buy some coban wrap. It's the stuff that looks like an ace wrap except it isn't elastic and sticks to itself and just wrap that part of your arm (the anticubital space). As mentioned above if you are taking any aspirin products or other blood thinners, lay off for a day or two. You can expect bruising for sure if you did blow the clot. If things begin to look like puss, warm to the touch, red streaking leading up the arm then I would see a physician because those are signs of infection.