These treatments are made from your own blood on the day of your visit. How well they work depends partly on you — how hydrated you are, and what you have taken in the days beforehand. This is not a formality.
The Most Important Thing: Hydrate
- Drink at least 64 ounces of water the day before your appointment, and again on the day.
- A dehydrated vein is a difficult draw, and a difficult draw sometimes means no usable sample and a rescheduled appointment.
- Coffee and alcohol do not count — both work against you.
One Week Before
- Avoid anti-inflammatory pain relievers. This matters more here than for other treatments. Anti-inflammatory medications interfere with how platelets work, and platelets are the active ingredient. Taking them in the week beforehand can genuinely weaken your result, not just increase bruising. Plain acetaminophen is fine.
- Stop supplements that thin the blood, if it is medically safe for you to do so. A number of common vitamins, herbal remedies, and dietary supplements do. Bring your full list to your visit, or call ahead, and we will go through it with you and tell you exactly what to stop and when.
- Never stop a prescribed blood thinner on your own. If a physician has prescribed a medication to thin your blood or prevent clots, keep taking it and tell us. Some of these treatments may not be appropriate for you, and that is a conversation to have before your appointment rather than on the day.
- Tell us if you have taken any oral steroid in the past two weeks. This rules treatment out.
- Avoid new skin treatments in the area — peels, laser, waxing, aggressive facials — unless we have planned them together.
- If you are prone to cold sores and we will be treating near your mouth, tell us. We can prescribe an antiviral to start before your visit.
Twenty-Four Hours Before
- No alcohol. It dehydrates you, which makes the draw harder, and it widens blood vessels, which makes bruising worse.
- Keep drinking water.
- Skip strenuous exercise on the morning of your appointment if you can.
The Day of Your Treatment
- Eat a proper meal beforehand. Arriving hungry is the most common reason people feel faint during a blood draw.
- Keep drinking water right up until your appointment.
- Come with clean skin and, if possible, no makeup on the areas being treated. If you are coming from work, that is fine — we will remove it.
- Wear a top with sleeves that push up easily above the elbow.
- Bring a current list of your medications and supplements.
- Allow extra time. The blood draw and processing take place while you wait, so these visits run longer than an injectable appointment.
Tell Us Before We Begin If Any of These Apply
- You are pregnant, think you may be pregnant, or are breastfeeding.
- You have a bleeding or platelet disorder, or a low platelet count.
- You have active cancer, a blood cancer, or a condition that suppresses your immune system.
- You have anemia, liver disease, or another significant medical condition.
- You have an infection, rash, or open area near the site to be treated.
- You have difficult veins, or have ever fainted during a blood draw. Tell us — we will lie you down for it.
- You are unwell today. If you are ill, call us and we will move your appointment. There is no charge for that.