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Craftsman -> RE: Medical Play (2/11/2007 8:23:58 PM)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: ClosetSinner
I came across a website (actually a friend showed me a medical bag/purse from there) that had "Sodium Chloride" in 500 mL bags. I'm wondering how safe that actually is. I have no interest in medical play, but I was wondering if people actually use these for IVs or is it all for show? If they do use it, is it safe to saturate your cells with the fluid? I mean I know they do it in the hospitals, but that's usually because of some kind of medical necessity. Thanks in advance for any helpful input.
That stuff comes in several versions. Normal Saline is 0.9% solution of sodiuum chloride, or table salt, in sterile water. It hashas an osmolality of about 300 mOsm/L, and that matches the osmolality of your blood, give or take 10 mOsm/L. That makes it a solution of choice to rehydrate people. Half NS is 0.45, and that is often used when there is too much salt or the blood is overloaded with electrolytes. There are other densities too, but these are the most common that I've run into.
People that do IVs without proper training are idiots. They are also seen by the legal profession as murderers, often, and at the minimum as practicing medical and nursing procedures without proper licensure and certification. It is a serious enough procedure that all nurses are required to undergo additional training to start and maintain IVs.
IVs are not the only thing NS is used for. I use it to rinse my contact lenses, and to wash wounds that I dress. Since it is isotonic (having the same osmolality as blood) it does not injure open or healing tissue.
We also use it to mix with some breathing treatments to help loosen secretions or to re-moisten the lung tissues. In each case, the doctor has made a determination that the patient needs the procedure.
Medical play can be a lot of fun, but it also has risks. All of what we do carries risk, however medical play can carry greater risks than some other activities. The skin is a first defense against microbial invasion, and with IVs, SQs, scrotal or labial infusions, and so on, we are bypassing that defense. Unless there is a great deal of training, experience, and knowledge, it can be dangerous. 'Out there' we don't have an ER downstairs, after all.
Hope this helps.
C/
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