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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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I Had A ‘do-it-yourself’ Biometrics Screening Kit To Earn An

I had a ‘do-it-yourself’ biometrics screening kit to earn an insurance discount. The kit required me to prick my finger and collect 4 drops of blood. Shortly after pricking my finger I began to faint; I felt dizzy, nauseas, disconnected and then blacked out sitting in my chair. I came to (maybe a minute or possibly just seconds later) still feeling quite sick and tried to make it to the bedroom to alert my husband. The movement was too much to handle and I found myself on the bathroom floor (near the bedroom) where I had passed out again. When I awoke I was so hot it felt like my skin was on fire and I was sweating through my clothes. I felt tremendously nauseous and dizzy. I was unable to move from that spot on the floor for over an hour (and was in and out of sleep during that time). Once I did get up it was just to move the couch because movement made me feel nauseous. I was pale for the rest of the night. I continued to feel ill for the next day and a half. I was well hydrated, had recently eaten a meal and was not in any unusual circumstances (like stress or heat) before the finger prick. I’ve had quite a few blood draws and a few hospital stays and have never reacted like this to pain or blood. Though my brother and father sometimes become faint at the sight of blood. I am a 37 year old female, 5’6”, 135lbs with a history of Atrial Septal Defect (repaired 20 years ago), Systemic Lupus (10 years since my last flare), and appendectomy (3 years ago). I’m wondering if this syncope was a non-threatening reaction to the blood or pain or possibly something more sinister. I’m concerned since I’ve never experienced this reaction and it seemed to take quite a while to recover. Thank you for your input!
posted on Fri, 12 Feb 2016
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