Intravenous therapy, commonly known as IV therapy, involves injecting liquid substances directly into the veins. It is usually intermittent or continuous.
Types Of Iv Fluids
1. Normal saline
It is a nonpyrogenic, sterile, isotonic, crystalloid solution that doctors mostly use for rehydration in cases of diarrhea, vomiting, hemorrhage, or shock. It is also effective for increasing plasma volume if the patient has enough red blood cells. Doctors also use it for the following purposes.
• Fluid replacement for patients with diabetic ketoacidosis
• Blood transfusion
• Hypercalcemia
• Metabolic alkalosis
• Hyponatremia
2. Half normal saline
This is a crystalloid, hypotonic solution of sterile water and sodium chloride. It is made for patients with cellular dehydration, and doctors use it for the following things.
• Water replacement
• Increasing overall fluid volume
• Gastric fluid loss
• Sodium chloride depletion
• DKA before dextrose infusions and after normal saline
3. Lactated ringers
This is a normal saline solution with a buffer and additional electrolyte, making it isotonic. It is mainly used for fluid resuscitation and can treat the following.
• Burns
• Dehydration
• Lower gastrointestinal tract fluid loss
• Hypovolemia from third-space fluid shifts
• Acute blood loss
• Fluid and pH buffer replacements
4. Dextrose
Depending on your condition, the doctor can administer dextrose in water, dextrose in saline, or dextrose in lactated ringers.
How Iv Fluids Work
Understanding how IV fluids work requires understanding their structure. IV fluids can be crystalloids, meaning they have small molecules, or colloids, with larger molecules. The molecule sizes determine how easily they penetrate semi-permeable membranes.
Colloid and crystalloid solutions can be hypotonic, isotonic, or hypertonic. Hypotonic solutions’ concentration is usually lower than your cells, meaning water from the solution gets into your cells.
Hypertonic solutions have concentrations higher than your cells, meaning water leaves your cells and into the solution. Finally, isotonic solutions have concentrations different than those in the cells, meaning they don’t cause water exchange.
360 Medical Centers is a top-ranking clinic offering IV therapy in Fort Myers, FL. Learn more about their services and book a consultation.