A collapsed vein is an injury that develops over time from consistently injecting drugs. It is caused by repeated injections to the same area of a vein, and:
- Using blunt/old syringes
- Using needles that are too big
- Poor technique when injecting
- The drug or contaminants irritate the inside of the vein
Page Topics
Collapsed Veins: Identifying a Collapse | Consequences | Treatment | Healing Veins | Timeline | Collapsed Vein in Feet | Dehydration and Collapsed Veins
What do collapsed veins look like?
You can’t determine if a vein has collapsed just by looking at your skin. The collapse happens underneath the skin, inside the vein.
A vein that has collapsed has no blood going through it, and sometimes the vein itself disappears into the skin, blending into the surrounding area.
Do collapsed veins create bruising?
Not always. Bruising can happen around the injection area, but a vein can collapse without any visible bruising.
Collapsed veins are different from blown veins, which almost always cause heavy bruising.
Blown veins happen when a needle fully punctures the vein, going through both sides, allowing blood to exit the vein. Blown veins are bruised or discolored at the injection site, and are often red and swollen from irritation.
How do you know if your vein has collapsed?
The tell-tale sign that a vein has collapsed is that there is no longer blood flow to the area. If you try to shoot up into a collapsed vein, you won’t be able to draw blood.
Collapsed veins cause circulation issues in the arms and legs, including:
- Itching
- Tingling
- Cold feeling
- Numbness
If you are having trouble locating a vein that you usually use to shoot up, and you are experiencing these symptoms, it’s likely that you have a collapsed vein.
While collapsed veins are not deadly, they are a sign that it’s time to get help. You only get one set of veins, and circulation issues usually get worse as you age.
What happens when a vein collapses?
Collapsed veins occur when the exterior walls of a vein become irritated and swollen, which creates clotting inside the walls of the vein. Over time, the clots harden into scar tissue and the vein caves inward, restricting blood flow until the vein eventually heals shut.
Vein collapses are a result of consistent damage to the inside walls of the vein. They do not happen suddenly from one bad injection, but by persistent injury to the vein without giving it time to heal.
When a vein collapses, the body must find another way to pump the blood. The circulatory system automatically compensates for the blockage by pumping more blood through surrounding smaller veins. These are known as new veins because they only appear under the skin when a normal vein has been blocked.
Although new veins help to circulate your blood, they are a sign you have permanent damage to your veins. Blood flow is essential to healing, and the long term impacts of collapsed veins include:
- Long term numbness, swelling, and discoloration
- Increased risk for infection
- Sores that do not heal
- Ulcers
- Necrosis (skin dies due to blood loss)
How do you know if your vein has collapsed?
The tell-tale sign that a vein has collapsed is that there is no longer blood flow to the area. If you try to shoot up into a collapsed vein, you won’t be able to draw blood.
Collapsed veins cause circulation issues in the arms and legs, including:
- Itching
- Tingling
- Cold feeling
- Numbness
If you are having trouble locating a vein that you usually use to shoot up, and you are experiencing these symptoms, it’s likely that you have a collapsed vein.
While collapsed veins are not deadly, they are a sign that it’s time to get help. You only get one set of veins, and circulation issues usually get worse as you age.
What is the treatment for a collapsed vein?
Collapsed veins are permanent. Besides allowing the area to heal and preventing infection, there are no treatments that restore blood flow through the vein.
Scarring inside of the vein is permanent, but there are a few ways that you can speed up the healing process of the vein and the surrounding skin:
- Stop injecting in the area, move to a different vein.
- Keep the area clean, especially while the skin is healing.
- Use anti-inflammatory medications, like ibuprofen, to reduce pain and swelling.
- If the area remains red or swollen, see a doctor for antibiotics to prevent infection.
How do you heal a collapsed vein in your arm?
The best thing you can do to prevent further damage to your veins is to address your addiction now. Having a collapsed vein isn’t life-threatening, but over time vein damage accumulates and causes serious health problems.
In the most severe cases, vein damage from drug use leads to life-threatening infections and loss of the limb.
How long does it take a collapsed vein to heal?
Collapsed veins that heal shut never recover blood flow. Instead, the body compensates by pumping blood through other veins.
Bruising, swelling, and scabbing around the injection site will heal if the individual stops using that area to shoot up. However, the scar tissues that build up inside the vein are permanent, and blood flow may never fully return to what it was before the damage.
Can you get a collapsed vein in your foot?
Yes, veins can collapse anywhere that people inject drugs, including the foot.
Injecting into the foot is dangerous because the veins are smaller and more fragile, plus feet are sweaty and harbor bacteria that could lead to infection. Shooting up in your feet is more difficult and more painful, but many addicts do it because they can more easily hide the marks left behind.
Can you get a collapsed vein from dehydration?
No, being dehydrated does not cause veins to collapse – they are only caused by injections. However, being dehydrated thickens your blood, which can exacerbate vein damage and problems with circulation.
How do I get help for a collapsed vein?
You need to get help from a Suboxone clinic or rehab like JourneyPure. People come from all over the U.S. to our centers in Tennessee and Kentucky. Even if you don’t come here, injecting drugs is a serious problem.
JourneyPure.com doctors follow rigorous sourcing guidelines and cite only trustworthy sources of information, including peer-reviewed journals, count records, academic organizations, highly regarded nonprofit organizations, government reports and their own expertise with decades in the fields and their own personal recovery.
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Ciccarone, D., & Harris, M. (2015). Fire in the vein: Heroin acidity and its proximal effect on users’ health. The International journal on drug policy, 26(11), 1103–1110. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2015.04.009
Getting Off Right: A Safety Manual for Injection Drug Users. Harmreduction.Org; National Harm Reduction Coalition. https://harmreduction.org/issues/safer-drug-use/injection-safety-manual/potential-health-injections/
Staying Hydrated – Staying Healthy. American Heart Association. Retrieved June 1, 2021, from https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/fitness/fitness-basics/staying-hydrated-staying-healthy
Pieper, B., Kirsner, R. S., Templin, T. N., & Birk, T. J. (2007). Chronic Venous Disease and Injection Drug Use. Arch Intern Med., 167(16). https://doi.org/doi:10.1001/archinte.167.16.1807-a
Pieper, B., Templin, T. N., Kirsner, R. S., & Birk, T. J. (2009). Impact of injection drug use on distribution and severity of chronic venous disorders. Wound repair and regeneration : official publication of the Wound Healing Society [and] the European Tissue Repair Society, 17(4), 485–491. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1524-475X.2009.00513.x
Preston, A., & Derricott, J. (n.d.). The Safer Injecting Handbook. Exchange Supplies. Retrieved June 1, 2021, from https://www.exchangesupplies.org/pdf/P303_9.pdf
Roberts, J. R. (2018). A Day in the Life of a Classic Opioid Abuser. Emergency Medicine News, 12–14.
Disclaimer
All content is for informational purposes only. No material on this site, whether from our doctors or the community, is a substitute for seeking personalized professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Never disregard advice from a qualified healthcare professional or delay seeking advice because of something you read on this website.
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Marylen says: I do treat for thyphoid fever by IV overtime I noticed that some veins when pierced do not return blood especially those around my inner elbows and my arm. And recently while I was treating for thyphoid each site the nurse pierced got swollen immediately that I could not continue with my treatment and this is the second day of my treatment I am afraid that I might not be able to continue with my treatment. And I only use IV for treatment of thyphoid fever.
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Richard Ledford says:
My collapsed vein occurred while taking blood. Is there any way to fix it. Not from intravenous drug use
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Dr. David Zoeller M.D. says: Hi Richard, great question! Vein collapses that are not from IV drug use are temporary because they are caused by swelling rather than the vein healing itself shut. Blood flow will return to that area once the swelling goes down.
Fully collapsed veins occur when the inflammation doesn’t get a chance to heal, but that doesn’t happen unless you receive repeated injections or blood draws in the same area.
The best thing you can do is stay hydrated and avoid any further injections or blood draws in the area.
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Dr. David Zoeller M.D.
My collapsed vein occurred while taking blood. Is there any way to fix it. Not from intravenous drug use
Hi Richard, great question! Vein collapses that are not from IV drug use are temporary because they are caused by swelling rather than the vein healing itself shut. Blood flow will return to that area once the swelling goes down.
Fully collapsed veins occur when the inflammation doesn’t get a chance to heal, but that doesn’t happen unless you receive repeated injections or blood draws in the same area.
The best thing you can do is stay hydrated and avoid any further injections or blood draws in the area.
No blood in needle when I’m pulling for a blood return
This means you are missing your vein.
I do treat for thyphoid fever by IV overtime I noticed that some veins when pierced do not return blood especially those around my inner elbows and my arm. And recently while I was treating for thyphoid each site the nurse pierced got swollen immediately that I could not continue with my treatment and this is the second day of my treatment I am afraid that I might not be able to continue with my treatment. And I only use IV for treatment of thyphoid fever.
No