After the infusion of hands appeared swollen, what was the cause?

Some conditions sometimes require you to have an IV while you are hospitalized. Well, usually after the hand is infused, it will hurt and appear swollen. Is this normal?

Why are the hands being infused?

You need to be put on an IV to receive fluids in the form of electrolyte solutions, nutritional and vitamin intake, or medicinal substances that can enter the blood vessels directly.

Infusion therapy aka intravenous is useful to prevent you from becoming dehydrated and to keep receiving medication when your body condition does not allow you to eat and drink directly from your mouth.

This procedure is also used as a way to control the administration of drug doses with the right dose. In addition, in some situations, there are patients who have to receive medication very quickly to treat their illness. Examples include patients who are vomiting severely, fainting, patients with heart attacks, strokes, or poisoning.

In these cases, tablets, pills, or liquids given by mouth may be absorbed by the bloodstream more slowly because they have to be digested in the stomach first. Therefore, giving drugs directly into the vessels can more quickly deliver substances to the parts of the body that are needed.

Many types of drugs can be given via intravenous or intravenous therapy. Some of the commonly administered drugs include:

Chemotherapy drugs such as doxorubicin, vincristine, cisplatin, and paclitaxel
Antibiotic drugs such as vancomycin, meropenem, and gentamicin
Antifungal drugs such as micafungin and amphotericin
Pain relievers such as hydromorphone and morphine
Medicines for low blood pressure such as dopamine, epinephrine, norepinephrine, and dobutamine
Immunoglobulin drugs (IVIG)

There are several types of infusions that are most common

Infusion pump feeding IV drip into patients arm focus on needle

Infusion therapy is usually done for the short term. Maximum 4 days. The process of intravenous infusion, as a standard, only uses a needle that is inserted into a vein in the wrist, elbow, or back of the hand.

At the same time as the needle is inserted, there is a catheter that will enter the blood vessel to replace the needle. Standard infusion catheters are usually used for the following types of infusion methods:

1. Infusion push

This infusion is a device that encourages rapid injection of drugs. To do this, a syringe is inserted into a catheter filled with medicine and sends a dose of the drug into your bloodstream quickly.

2. Usual intravenous infusion

The usual intravenous infusion is the administration of controlled drugs into your bloodstream over time. There are two types of intravenous lines, some using gravity and some using a pump to deliver medication to your catheter to get into the bloodstream.

Infusion pump

The infusion pump method is the most commonly used infusion treatment. The pump will connect to your IV line and deliver medicines and solutions, such as saline for example, into your catheter in a slow but steady dose of the drug. The pump can only be used when the dosage of the drug is correct and controlled.

Drip infusion

This drip infusion method uses the force of gravity to deliver a fixed (unchanged) amount of drug over a period of time. Along with the dripping liquid, the drug or solution will also drip from the bag through the tube and into the catheter that is connected to your vein.

Why did it become swollen after the infusion?

Swelling after the infusion of the hand can be caused by several things. The most common cause is because the IV needle failed or was difficult to insert, so it had to be done many times. This can lead to swelling of the blood vessels during needle puncture.

This condition can cause damage to the surrounding tissue that is affected. One of them is swelling around the area where the infusion was injected so that it feels sore and warm. Some even had red bruises.

Watch Out. When blood vessels are damaged, the drug can actually leak into the surrounding tissue. Instead of getting into the bloodstream.

Other side effects that can occur due to intravenous hands

The infusion procedure in a clinic or hospital is safe under the supervision of a trained nurse. In most cases, the side effects that appear after the hand is infused come from the patient's allergic reaction to the drug itself. Drugs that are given intravenously work very quickly in the body, so it is possible to cause side effects or new reactions. Generally, doctors and nurses will observe your condition during and after the hand is infused.

Some of the other possible side effects after the infusion include:

Infection

Infection can occur at the site where the IV needle was injected. The infection from the injection site can also travel throughout the body via a lift in the bloodstream.

Symptoms of injection-induced infection include fever, chills, and redness, pain and swelling at the injection site.

To prevent infection, the process of inserting needles and infusion catheters must be done carefully using sterile equipment (free of germs and bacteria). If you experience symptoms of infection, contact your doctor immediately.

Air embolism

Apart from infection, the risk of embolism can also occur due to syringes or infusion bags. When the IV bag dries, air bubbles can enter your blood vessels.

These air bubbles can then travel towards your heart or lungs so that blood flow can be obstructed. Air embolism can cause severe problems such as a heart attack or stroke.