Is your blood really blue inside your veins until it touches oxygen?

It is not. Blood is NEVER blue. You just see the color of the veins, but actually, veins are more beige-ish.
Proof: Ever had blood drawn? There's no air in those IV bags.

	Guest -  0 pts -  (8 months ago)
	i agree that the blood inside is not blue but redish now that i have read ur comment i agree with u plus alot of other people seem to agree to since this comment has 6015 points

Blood is mostly plasma so technically it isn't blue but it is a clearish, almost transparent color. The only reason it appears red is because of red blood cells and red blood cells are only red because of the hemoglobin they contain.

	Little Miss Curious -  956 pts -  (3 years ago)
	yeah, cause if you ever hold a flashlight to your hand you can see red.

	Guest -  0 pts -  (7 months ago)
	hemoglobin isn't red. It does reflect red when bound to Oxygen though...basic stuff Junior!

Okay, let's put all of this conjecture to rest. Some of you are, at least, half-right. Red blood cells do indeed contain hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is an iron compound that binds with oxygen and carries it (via the red blood cells) to the tissues of the body. When hemoglobin-carrying red blood cells are oxygenated in the lungs, they become bright red in color, thus imparting the bright red color of arterial blood. After leaving the lungs, the blood is then transported through the arterial system to the various tissues throughout the body, where it exchanges the oxygen for the waste product of cellular metabolism, carbon dioxide. It then carries the carbon dioxide laden blood cells back to the lungs, through the venous system, to be re-oxygenated. Venous blood is not really blue. It actually looks a very dark and dirty brownish-red. When you cut yourself, however, you do not see this brownish-red color. Instead you see bright red blood. That is because as soon as the venous blood comes into contact with oxygen (i.e., the air) as it pours out of the cut, the hemoglobin immediately exchanges its carbon dioxide for oxygen, thereby becoming bright red again. This happens so instantaneously, the process is imperceivable to the eye. The idea that venous blood laden with carbon dioxide is blue, has actually been perpetuated by anatomy textbooks, which in their graphic depictions of the circulatory system, differentiate between arterial blood systems and venous blood systems by coloring them red and blue, respectively.

Also, the point of blood is to carry oxygen to the organs. That means the blood already has oxygen in it, so it never would be blue in the first place.

No! I understand but to be honest with you, it's not true. My dad has taken out blood streight from your vains (were people think your blood is blue) and it was a vacume tube, nothing in it! And it was RED.

	Guest -  0 pts -  (2 months ago)
	WRONG! your Vains do have something in it and that was a horrible discrpition of your vains " VACCUMM Tube" Really....AND YOU SPELLED VACCUMM WRONG AS WELL

You have got to be kidding. Cyanosis anyone? We'll say for a correction that it is more of a deep purple color when co2 is bound to the hb molecule within the red blood cells. This is actually hardly more co2 than arterial blood but it enough to replace the oxygen...though not the same binding sites (unlike carbon monoxide). Blood normally contains both oxygen and carbon dioxide...that's right folks, your veins do still have oxygen! Anyway back to the point which is hemoglobin reflects bright red when bound to oxygen, brighter red with carbon monoxide, and deep purple when bound to carbon dioxide. For some interesting reading pick up your medical physiology textbook and flip to the pulmonary unit. One more interesting fact: low oxygen levels do not normally make you breath, it's carbon dioxide...more specifically it's the hydrogen produced from converting that co2 after it has crossed the blood brain barrier.... Have a good day.