What is IV?

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IV is the short cut for the term intravenous which means “into the vein”. As such, an IV medication starts through the insertion of a needle into a vein. The medication goes through the needle and into the veins.
IV is used for patients who need to receive the medication immediately as taking medications orally may take some time before the medicines take effect. IV is used for emergency cases as well since the patient’s body may need to receive the medication as quickly as possible.

The needle used in IVs is, usually, attached in a vein that is near the wrist or the elbow or at the back of the patient’s hand.

Types of IV

IV medication administration comes in two types—IV push and IV infusion. The IV push is when the patient receives the medication immediately in a single push. On the other hand, the IV infusion is when the medication slowly drips into the needle for a specified time.

Complications of IV

There are some risks when giving out medications intravenously. For one, the patient could get some infection on where the medication was injected. Medical practitioners who have to administer IV to their patients must ensure that they are using sterile technique as well as sterile equipment.

Only trained medical professionals should administer the IV to patients since there is a risk of getting an infection for the patients.

Patients who receive the drip IV may also experience some inflammation of their veins or what is referred to as phlebitis due to the length of time that the veins receive the medication.

Patients may also face the risk of “infiltration” or when the medication enters the nearby tissue instead of proceeding to the blood stream. Infiltration happens when damage is sustained from the utilization of an IV catheter line.

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