IVs or intravenous infusions are used to treat a variety of conditions. A dropper is a more comfortable way of administering a drug to a patient than intravenous or intramuscular injections.
In addition, this method allows the drug to be administered at a low speed, which is necessary for the uniform distribution of some drugs. Not everyone can install an IV on their own at home.
However, many clinics currently provide their patients with the service of placing IVs in the treatment room.
In what cases is a dropper necessary?
The content of the article
Indications for the use of IVs include many diseases and conditions, among which are the following:
- Bronchial asthma;
- Diabetes;
- Stroke;
- Heart attack;
- anemia;
- Osteochondrosis;
- Flu, ARVI;
- Impaired liver and kidney function;
- Poisoning;
- To support the body after surgery;
- To relieve pain;
- Lack of vitamins and microelements.
Administration of medications via a dropper is necessary in cases where the concentration of the drug in the body must be high for a long time. In addition, some medications are available only in the form of intravenous solutions, because... other methods of use do not have the desired effect.
How to properly place an IV at home
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It's time to get down to the most important thing - putting in an IV. A table on which everything you need lies should be placed next to the sofa or armchair. So that the person on the drip can reach everything. Now you need to find a comfortable position - sit or lie down.
- Go. The tourniquet should be applied 10 centimeters above the bend in the elbow. The brush must be clenched into a fist. When the veins appear a little, you need to choose the most full and protruding one.
- Now apply alcohol to the cotton wool and thoroughly wipe the bend of the elbow.
- Now you will need to fix the venous vessel. You will have to press it with your finger just below the place where you will place the injection.
- Turn the needle at the second end of the dropper with the tip up and remove the cap. It's time to insert the needle. The skin must be pierced and it must be inserted first parallel to the vein, and then at an angle of 45 degrees.
- You can understand that the wall of the vessel has already been punctured and the needle has been inserted correctly when, upon insertion, you feel a “fall into the void.” At the same time, dark blood will appear in the needle cannula.
- Now the needle can be fixed with a plaster, the tourniquet can be untied.
The hardest part is over. All that remains is to administer the medicine. The regulator wheel needs to be raised again and adjusted how fast the solution will flow. You need to check the speed with your doctor. He will be guided by the diagnosis and condition of the patient. So, during dehydration, high speed is prohibited. This will disrupt the functioning of the heart and blood vessels.
Done. Congratulations! Now you need to relax and wait. Wait exactly as long as the doctor said. On average, the drip is kept in place for about 40 minutes. But the procedure can take up to three hours. It all depends on the problem.
After the time has expired, the wheel must be lowered again. Carefully remove the needle from the vein. Wipe the area again with alcohol.
How is an IV placed?
Before placing an IV, the nurse examines the patient's condition and finds out if he has any contraindications. During the procedure, the patient lies on his back. The treatment room has a couch where the patient can sit while the IV is being applied. The nurse puts on disposable gloves and prepares the solution for administration.
A tourniquet is applied over the patient's elbow, and the puncture site is treated with an antiseptic solution or an alcohol wipe. The nurse then inserts a needle into the vein and adjusts the rate at which the medication flows through the tube.
During the procedure, the nurse stays with the patient in case the patient's health worsens. In addition, it monitors pulse, blood pressure, and the accumulation of air bubbles in the tube.
After completion of the procedure, the patient remains in a lying position for some time. Some drugs require a half-hour rest after the drip.
How to properly install an IV at home: tips, recommendations
So, count it: do you have the entire dozen for self-installation of the IV at hand? Then you can start:
First thing you need to do is assemble the IV
and put it on. At home, this is most conveniently done on the elbow bend. Attach a tripod or hook there. Wearing gloves, open the bottle containing the solution and thoroughly clean the cap with ethyl alcohol, and then:
- Then unpack the system, find the adjustment wheel on it, and twist it until it pinches the tube. Insert a needle at the end of the tube into the lid of the solution, and a second one next to it.
- After a few firm squeezes, the solution will fill the system about halfway. Tilt the tip of the dropper so that the solution drains into the tube, and when it starts to pour out, lock the regulator in the non-working position.
- Now it is important to make sure that there are no air bubbles in the system. If you find any, use the wheel again to eliminate them.
- Are there any bubbles? Hurray, your system is now usable! All you need to do is insert the tube into the needle sticking out of the cap.
- For the final stage of setting up the dropper, place the container containing the solution on a tripod or attach it to a hook (this can be done with regular tape). Use a medical tourniquet to tighten your arm, insert the catheter directly into the vein and connect the catheter to the system.
- Using the wheel, set the optimal rate of penetration of the solution, then loosen the medical tourniquet and wait until the required amount of solution penetrates inside.
Dropper for binge drinking: the correct composition of the dropper and effective help
The final algorithm: you need to tighten the regulator, disassemble the entire system, and carefully remove the catheter from the vein. Wash the place of its penetration with ethyl alcohol, protect with a band-aid and... that's it, you can rest! Doctors recommend that a person who has been given an IV drip lie down for half an hour.
To administer an IV for a hangover at home
, where everything is not as sterile as in a hospital, it is important to follow a few rules. Firstly, act exclusively with gloves. Secondly, be especially careful when inserting the catheter.
Advantages of placing IVs in the clinic
Most people do not have sufficient experience and knowledge to perform IVs at home, so they turn to paid clinics. Placing IVs in the clinic has a number of advantages:
- An experienced nurse administers the IV;
- The procedure is carried out in accordance with sanitary and hygienic standards;
- The placement of IVs is performed in a specially equipped treatment room, where there is everything necessary for the patient’s comfort;
- Safety of the procedure;
- The ability to receive the necessary medical care if an allergy to a drug occurs;
- High-quality modern equipment;
- Possibility to choose a convenient time for the procedure.
The placement of IVs should only be performed by a medical professional who has experience in carrying out such procedures and is familiar with the use of various drugs. In addition, the healthcare worker must be able to provide first aid if the patient experiences an allergic reaction.
To receive the service of placing IVs in a paid clinic, the patient must have a doctor’s prescription. The drug can be purchased at the pharmacy yourself or paid for at the clinic.
Preparing for IV infusion
To place an IV in a medical center, no special preparation is needed. When prescribing an IV and a specific drug, the doctor collects the patient’s medical history, including determining the presence of an allergic reaction to individual components and finding out whether there is experience with intravenous administration of solutions. Based on the collected information, the doctor gives the patient a prescription, which indicates the dosage and rate of administration of the drug.
In some cases, the doctor may provide specific preparation recommendations and create a meal schedule. Some solutions cannot be administered using a dropper on an empty stomach, and vice versa; before some injections, it is not recommended to eat heavily or have snacks.
Conclusion
Placing IVs in a medical facility allows the procedure to be safe and the patient’s discomfort to be minimal. The clinic has created all the conditions for a comfortable stay for the patient during the procedure, and monitoring the condition by a medical professional makes it possible to exclude the development of complications.
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Basic Tips
Doctors recommend following the basic rules when installing an IV yourself.
- everything must be done strictly with sterile gloves;
- if there are ulcers near the vein, inserting a needle is strictly forbidden;
- During the procedure you need to lie down, but you cannot sleep. It is necessary to control the supply of solution;
- You cannot get up immediately after the procedure. You need to lie down for about half an hour.
It is important to remember that the procedure cannot harm the human body. However, only if it is placed correctly. To do this, you need to strictly follow the doctor’s recommendations and follow clear instructions.
Main photo: 1000sovetov.ru
Causes of swelling
The body’s unpleasant reaction to a drip has several causes, depending both on the professionalism of the health workers and on the physiological characteristics of the patient. Even by the speed of development of edema at the site of needle insertion, an experienced doctor can quickly determine the causes of its occurrence and immediately provide assistance.
Hitting the vein
Most often, swelling is caused by the injected drug getting into soft tissue. It happens that the needle passes right through the vein or does not enter it at all, then instead of blood, the medicine penetrates into the peripheral tissues, causing instant swelling. The hand swells literally before our eyes, increasing in size two to three times, pain, burning sensations, and numbness of the limb occur.
On the one hand, the inexperience of the health worker may be to blame: in order to find a vein and accurately hit it, certain skills are required. However, it happens that, by nature or from constant injections, the patient’s veins are difficult to palpate, then the introduction of an IV becomes a real test for all participants in the procedure. Swelling if the medicine gets under the skin is eliminated quickly enough and does not pose a serious threat.
Abscess
The situation is much worse with abscesses that arise as a result of violation of the basic rules of asepsis. Any little thing can cause the formation of a purulent cavity under the skin: poor treatment of the skin at the site of needle insertion, insufficient sterility of consumables, non-compliance with the sanitary and anti-epidemiological regime in the treatment room.
Subcutaneous inflammation does not occur as rapidly as edema, so it will not be detected earlier than a few hours after the intravenous injection. Symptoms of an abscess include redness and swelling of the arm in the area of the injection, accompanied by pain, as well as an increase in body temperature. The inflammatory process threatens serious complications, so at the first signs it is necessary to urgently consult a surgeon.
Allergy
When using a dropper, swelling of the arm can also be caused by an allergy to the drugs used for injection. Externally, an allergic reaction manifests itself in the form of pinpoint redness like “urticaria” or tension and itching of tissues, as with Quincke’s edema. The first symptoms appear within half an hour and intensify progressively, which in itself is an alarming “bell”.
Most often, allergies are observed with the administration of certain types of antibiotics, analgesics, and sulfonamide drugs. Typically, patients warn doctors about contraindications for medications known to them, but there are situations when the patient is not aware of individual intolerance to a particular drug.
Who is prescribed an IV?
In medical practice, doctors prescribe a procedure when it is necessary to introduce a large amount of fluid into the patient’s body without causing overload of the cardiovascular system. This may be necessary to normalize blood volume, water-electrolyte and acid-base balance. The method is also used when it is necessary to administer nutrients intravenously.
The installation is practiced for the following diseases and conditions:
- intoxication syndrome;
- diseases of the cardiovascular system;
- liver diseases;
- kidney diseases;
- blood diseases;
- diseases of the joints and spine;
- postoperative period.
