A nurse may never have given them an IV, or a dropper as they are popularly called, but surely you know what I am talking about. And it is that this more than well-known element is one of the most common treatments in hospitals around the world, either to hydrate the patient, to provide blood volume or to administer medications. It is so common because, by injecting it directly into the bloodstream, we get that drug to start acting in a few seconds.
Make yourself comfortable and get ready to learn everything about this world of bottles that give us life.
In the hospital pharmacy service we can find about twenty different types of intravenous fluids that are divided into two large groups, crystalloids and colloids. But those that are used regularly on a day-to-day basis are only five: physiological, glucose, glucose, lactated ringer and albumin are among the most in demand in this hospital open bar.
This is something that will depend on the type of serum that we are being administered. To provide us with water and mineral salts in case we are dehydrated, to inject ourselves with a little glucose and salts when we cannot eat or drink, to ensure that we have more volume of blood circulating through our blood vessels in the event of a haemorrhage, to regulate our sodium levels within the body…
Whey is not a food, it cannot be considered as such, and it is lacking, for example, proteins or lipids. What it does achieve is keep the patient hydrated and even provide a certain amount of calories.