I have been having some issues with my PICC Line. I want to leave an update here to record what has been happening.
I woke up on Tuesday with my PICC site pretty bloody. The blood was working its way out from under the dressing and staining my mesh sleeve.
I called in to Providence Infusion (P.I.P.) and reported the problem and sent along this picture.
Once the nurse arrived, she changed the dressing, was able to get blood to flow out of the secondary hose and all was well. I was instructed to keep an eye on it and look out for signs of infection.
Later that rainy day, we went out and purchased our Christmas tree. Upon arriving home, Susan and I carried the tree from the truck to the Carriage House, where we let it sit over night to dry off. I bring this up because I am not supposed to lift heavy stuff with my PICC Line arm because it could irritate the line.
I lift heavy stuff all the time and haven’t had any problems.
Yesterday, Wednesday, I woke up with a slightly bloody PICC line dressing. Is it possible this was caused by the tree move? Don’t know, but don’t think so.
I called in to P.I.P. and sent the above picture. They decided that it wasn’t quite as bad and since I was scheduled for my regular weekly dressing change on Thursday, they would wait until then (today) to address the problem.
So Deb showed up today at 9am and changed the dressing, added some sort of anti coagulant pad and as of now, all is well.
I think the problem involves my sleep positions. I like to lay on my stomach and stretch my arms under the pillow and past my head. I think that is causing the line to move and then bleed.
Last night, I made a conscious effort to not extend my right arm past my head. This morning, the wound was no bloodier than when I went to bed last night.
I shall continue to monitor the situation.
Consider yourself updated!
