How to give fluid through a vein
6. Tie a piece of cloth or a rubber tourniquet around the woman’s upper arm.
This will make the veins in her lower arm fill up with blood and be easier
to find.
7. Look at her lower arm to find the largest vein you can see.
8. If you cannot find a large enough vein in her lower arm, re-tie the cloth or
tourniquet in the middle of her lower arm and look for a vein in the back of
her hand, or just above her thumb at the wrist.
9. When you have picked a vein, clean the skin with soap and
clean water or with alcohol.
10. Hold the vein steady between the first finger and
thumb of one hand. Hold the needle in the
other hand and carefully insert it into the
vein. Do not try to go very deep or very far
inside the vein. When the needle is inside
the vein, a little blood should appear in
the hub of the needle.
Lay the needle almost against the skin and slide it into the vein.
11. Take the tourniquet off the woman’s arm.
12. Untie the tube of fluid and attach it to the needle.
13. Quickly start the flow of the fluid. There should be a flow control on the
IV tube. Let the fluid run in as fast as possible until you have replaced
about 2 times the amount of blood that the woman lost. If you
think she lost 5 cups of blood, she should
get 10 cups of IV fluid. After you have
replaced the fluid, continue to give the
woman 150 cc every hour until she does
not need the fluid anymore.
14. To keep the needle in place, use tape to
hold the tube on the woman’s arm.
WARNING! Do not delay getting medical help. Inserting an
IV can take a long time, especially when you are first learning.
Trying to insert an IV before transporting someone to medical
help can waste time — this is dangerous. When a woman is
bleeding heavily, it is more important to get medical help fast
than to insert an IV.
To remove an IV, take off the tape, press a sterile or clean cloth against the place
where the needle inserts into the skin, and then quickly remove the needle. Keep
pressure on the spot for a few minutes to prevent bleeding.
A Book for Midwives (2010)
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