Common questions / 06/05/2020

Why is saline instead of water given to someone suffering from dehydration?

When a person receives fluids intravenously (through an IV bag, for example), a saline solution is sometime used. Giving large amounts of pure water directly into a vein would cause your blood cells to become hypotonic, possibly leading to death.

Why are IV fluids not pure water?

One never finds pure water in nature because all drinkable water has dissolved minerals in it. In medicine though, while pure water exists, you cannot inject it directly into IV lines. If you did, the water would rush into red blood cells because of osmosis.

What is the difference between normal water and saline water?

Water is absorbed more rapidly by the lung than is saline (17,18). Water is hypotonic, whereas normal saline is isotonic, which may be why water moves more quickly from the alveoli into the intravascular space (18).

Can I use normal saline instead of distilled water?

When prepared correctly, homemade saline solution is similar to distilled water. For this reason, it is safe to use in the nose as a sinus rinse and as an eye rinse. A person can also use saline solution to rinse contact lenses, piercings, and cuts or scrapes, but this will not sterilize them.

Why is saline used instead of pure water?

Saline is a solution of salt & water. Why not just pure water? To give patients an IV with just water would throw the ionic balance in the plasma out of homeostasis. What is solution?

Why do IV’s consist of saline and not pure water?

Why do IV’s consist of saline & not pure water? What is saline? Saline is a solution of salt & water. Why not just pure water? To give patients an IV with just water would throw the ionic balance in the plasma out of homeostasis. What is solution?

What kind of solution is a saline drip?

It is a clear solution of Sodium Chloride and sterile water. It is an intravenous solution (A.k.a IV) that has many uses depending on the presentation of a patient. Most commonly it is used in situations where a rapid replenishment of fluids is needed such as trauma.

What’s the difference between sterile water and saline water?

Distilled water is created by a process of steaming and condensation, and does not contain any minerals like salt, calcium or iron. A distinction should further be made between sterile water and saline solution. Sterile Saline solution has 0.9% Sodium Chloride and is used for wound irrigation and cleaning.

What happens if pure water was used instead of saline?

What would happen if pure water was used as IV fluid instead of saline solution? Additional Info. When a person receives fluids intravenously (through an IV bag, for example), a saline solution is sometime used. Giving large amounts of pure water directly into a vein would cause your blood cells to become hypotonic, possibly leading to death.

What’s the difference between sterile saline and saline solution?

A distinction should further be made between sterile water and saline solution. Sterile Saline solution has 0.9% Sodium Chloride and is used for wound irrigation and cleaning. What would happen if pure water was used as IV fluid instead of saline solution?

What kind of saline is used for resuscitation?

9% Normal Saline ( also known as NS, 0.9NaCl, or NSS) It’s the fluid of choice for resuscitation efforts as well. NS is also the only fluid used in conjunction with blood product administration. It is an isotonic crystalloid that contains 0.9% sodium chloride (salt) that is dissolved in sterile water.