So I ran across some pictures of an old friend on Facebook. He was sitting in his living room with an IV in his arm after (presumably) a hard work-out (or a hard night drinking - who knows… (he’s an triathlete, EMT & college student). Looking online at http://www.buyemp.com/ it appears you can get a 1,000ml bag and IV kit for a total of about $4.50 a set - not much more than a sports drink.
I’m assuming you would need a prescription to order bags and needles based on the website, but has anyone here ever done this on a regular basis as a way to rehydrate and recover faster?
No, never done it. Don’t see the need to under regular conditions (ie. if you planned to use the IV you didn’t really need it).
I suppose since he’s an EMT doing it himself didn’t seem like a big deal.
And don’t assume you need a prescription to buy the IV bag/needle. They aren’t controlled.
“Has anyone here ever done this on a regular basis as a way to rehydrate and recover faster?”
Yes. They’re called heroin addicts. And they’re recovering from sobriety.
As a nurse… I plead for you: DO THIS! That way when you’re 60 years old, and all your veins are shot to hell… I can poke you a good 15 times just to start a single IV.
Or… as the old nursing adage goes: “When a heroin addict points out a good vein… trust’em.”
Is there something wrong with just drinking more fluids?
No, and I fail to see the true point in going to such lengths to rehydrate. Why? Because my best friend, an an RN and he once give me an IV after a hard night in Vegas. Did it cure my hangover? Nope. Did it help? Maybe. I did nap with it in, which would’ve helped IV or not. In all seriousness, unless your health is in danger, going to the extent of an IV lacks any sense.
“Has anyone here ever done this on a regular basis as a way to rehydrate and recover faster?”
Yes. They’re called heroin addicts. And they’re recovering from sobriety.
As a nurse… I plead for you: DO THIS! That way when you’re 60 years old, and all your veins are shot to hell… I can poke you a good 15 times just to start a single IV.
Or… as the old nursing adage goes: “When a heroin addict points out a good vein… trust’em.”
I am going to be one of those 60 year olds that you have to poke 10 times to get an IV in. And not from being a heroin addict, but from living in the hospital for 3 months. I’ve had so many iv’s that most of my veins are shot, and I am only 26. I wish more nurses would listen to your advice about if someone points out a good vein to trust them.
So I ran across some pictures of an old friend on Facebook. He was sitting in his living room with an IV in his arm after (presumably) a hard work-out (or a hard night drinking - who knows… (he’s an triathlete, EMT & college student). Looking online at http://www.buyemp.com/ it appears you can get a 1,000ml bag and IV kit for a total of about $4.50 a set - not much more than a sports drink.
I’m assuming you would need a prescription to order bags and needles based on the website, but has anyone here ever done this on a regular basis as a way to rehydrate and recover faster?
And what would you use? LR? Saline? What concentration? Rate of infusion? What if you think you’re in the vein and you end up running it into tissue around the vein instead? I’d love to be there when you miss the vein in the elbow bend and stab your tendon instead.
Also, if your friend is an EMT (Actually he would need to be at least an EMT-I to be able to do anything IV), and he is found doing this (Such as his absurdly stupid ass posting a pic on facebook), he risks his license being permanently pulled, and depending on the circumstances, if he is taking this stuff from his work to do this, the overseeing doc’s license as well.
When in the field, the medics that can do IV’s are covered under the doctors license that oversees the medical part of the company that he works for. They make sure that standards of practice are being upheld, etc. If the paramedic pulls some dumbassery and they feel that the doc overseeing had some responsibility, they can go after his license too.
All it takes is your EMT friend sitting at home, a friend of his comes over for a “hangover” treatment and it goes horribly wrong, and your friend loses his license, gets sued for medical malpractice, and/or charged with any number of criminal offenses all the way up to involuntary manslaughter.
What is it with morons and their need to post their stupidity out where half the world can see it??
No, never done it. Don’t see the need to under regular conditions (ie. if you planned to use the IV you didn’t really need it).
I suppose since he’s an EMT doing it himself didn’t seem like a big deal.
And don’t assume you need a prescription to buy the IV bag/needle. They aren’t controlled.
Uhm…yeah, they are. You have to have a prescription to buy fluids.
Actually, this is an effective remedy to a hangover, along with a little O2 by nasal cannula. I can’t say I’ve ever self started an IV, but I know of a few who have. This includes medics and ER nurses. Usually it’s done on each other, not on one’s self though. Personally, I drink water instead of an IV, but hey, the stories are great! Don’t worry my veins will be good up til my dying day the way they look.
Thanks for filling me in. I was guessing that a scrip wouldn’t be needed since it’s not a drug…I suppose it’s simply not just drugs that are controlled.
So I ran across some pictures of an old friend on Facebook. He was sitting in his living room with an IV in his arm after (presumably) a hard work-out (or a hard night drinking - who knows… (he’s an triathlete, EMT & college student). Looking online at http://www.buyemp.com/ it appears you can get a 1,000ml bag and IV kit for a total of about $4.50 a set - not much more than a sports drink.
I’m assuming you would need a prescription to order bags and needles based on the website, but has anyone here ever done this on a regular basis as a way to rehydrate and recover faster?
Oral hydration is just as effective and substantially less risky for this purpose. God gave people brains but can’t make them use them.
Actually, this is an effective remedy to a hangover, along with a little O2 by nasal cannula. I can’t say I’ve ever self started an IV, but I know of a few who have. This includes medics and ER nurses. Usually it’s done on each other, not on one’s self though. Personally, I drink water instead of an IV, but hey, the stories are great! Don’t worry my veins will be good up til my dying day the way they look.
Your evidence that this is an effective remedy to a hangover, along with the O2.
Once, after a marathon, I was throwing up and having “trouble” getting rehydrated (I was also very cold, it was a February marathon) so I went by the ER at the hospital where I was interning and asked for an IV. The doc who was there thought I looked awful and thought I would do well to get a glucose so he ordered some 50% glucose. Like an idiot I just sat there and watched him do it. In about 10 seconds when the hand started burning I knew what was happening. Sclerosed pretty much every vein in the back of my hand. Still don’t have any veins there. Anyone going to start an IV on me better look at the left hand, the right would be a challenge.
If someone were to do this, what stops them from reversing it and storing some of that blood for awhile in the fridge? Just a different attachment. I think it’s just a bad idea all around. If an IV is really needed, some medical care should go with it–I think.
If someone were to do this, what stops them from reversing it and storing some of that blood for awhile in the fridge? Just a different attachment. I think it’s just a bad idea all around. If an IV is really needed, some medical care should go with it–I think.
Because you can’t just drain out a pint and stick it in the fridge. There is a preparation process to be able to store whole blood that pretty much invalidates all the clotting factors and platelets, otherwise you end up with a big blood clot. Rarely is whole blood available for transfusion, they pretty much use PRBC’s and serum facsimiles.
The whole “hangover” cure thing is a myth, based on faulty post hoc reasoning. Nobody really knows what causes a hangover.
I have often wondered about the effectiveness of riding with an IV. You can put in the IV port before a race (only plastic remains as the needle is removed). Then just wear the IV bag like a camelback. Would you be able to take in more calories during an IM bike? The risk of infection would certainly outweigh the potential benefits. I don’t think this is against USAT but I think it would be cheating just the same. Then again even when drafting is against the rules, there are a lot of jerk offs who don’t seem to care.