Why baby Jesus! Fats in the hospital a mini-rant. As a phleb... I can tell you horror stories of fats in hospitals :/ lets just say they are some of the biggest (pun intended) wimps when it comes to getting blood drawn. I pride myself on painless sticks. It NEVER fails when we get a fat they ALWAYS ask for a butterfly needle. They also demand we stick them only in certain places because they are a "hard" stick. Now, I don't take being told what to do by patients. I will accomadate them if I cant find suitable veins read elderly, infirm, or super sick. A fat im like... Ill look first, also having to push through adipose to find veins is like hitting a needle in a haystack, however I manage... So ill get my supplies ready, perform my puncture and get putta dodge. They always have a look of amazement when I get them first stick in an area they say cant be drawn. Their retort is along the lines... the nurses can never seem to get it. listen tubby. I work in the lab, this is all I do, its what Im trained to do. Good day! Some of these nurses I see the patients referencing themselves are tubs of lard! Im like AHA, no wonder... Their fat fingers have no tactile sensation. All their pacinian corpuscles are buried in FAT. as a side note to everyone interested a butterfly needle is the EXACT same gauge needle as the needle we use to perform a standard stick. 21 gauge. We are only allowed three per shift. They are more precious then gold to us. edit if you think fats smell bad on the regular... Try being next to one who hasnt gotten a shower in three days... Thank god for peppermint oil. Also fats with C. Diff... Holy shit! Literally.