Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

IV Bags May Not Be Necessary to Rehydrate Patients

slate.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

31–40 of 145 posts

Re: IV Bags May Not Be Necessary to Rehydrate Patients

#31

Post by chopin »

albertgoeswoof wrote: post #16
mabbo wrote: post #9

> You can also make good oral rehydration solutions yourself at home for pennies: Just take 32 ounces of water and add 6 teaspoons of sugar and a half-teaspoon of salt. > resist the temptation to drink at a normal rate... An ounce at a time every few minutes This should be something everyone learns. Many common headaches are just dehydration. When you've got a cold or flu, dehydration is common and makes you feel eve…

what does the sugar and salt do in this case? edit: it's in the article: > for rehydration, glucose is basically as important as sodium. The two compounds work together to pull water into shriveled cells that have been deprived of ample water.

That explains my appetite in sweet beverages (which I normally do not drink) when having a hangover.

Re: IV Bags May Not Be Necessary to Rehydrate Patients

#32

Post by chopin »

teslabox wrote: post #3

> Better yet, we’ve learned since that you can still get most of the benefit without WHO-approved stockpiles of ORS. You can use a number of widely available commercial products that essentially replicate ORS, from sports drinks to Pedialyte. You can also make good oral rehydration solutions yourself at home for pennies: Just take 32 ounces of water and add 6 teaspoons of sugar and a half-teaspoon of salt. There are…

How much is a teaspoon in gram?

Edit: Nevermind, I should have read the entire thread first...

Re: IV Bags May Not Be Necessary to Rehydrate Patients

#33

Post by ChrisRR »

chopin wrote: post #31
albertgoeswoof wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

what does the sugar and salt do in this case? edit: it's in the article: > for rehydration, glucose is basically as important as sodium. The two compounds work together to pull water into shriveled cells that have been deprived of ample water.

That explains my appetite in sweet beverages (which I normally do not drink) when having a hangover.

Same. I'm always really in the mood for orange juice when I'm hungover.

Re: IV Bags May Not Be Necessary to Rehydrate Patients

#35

Post by chillydawg »

tomp wrote: post #30
mabbo wrote: post #9

> You can also make good oral rehydration solutions yourself at home for pennies: Just take 32 ounces of water and add 6 teaspoons of sugar and a half-teaspoon of salt. > resist the temptation to drink at a normal rate... An ounce at a time every few minutes This should be something everyone learns. Many common headaches are just dehydration. When you've got a cold or flu, dehydration is common and makes you feel eve…

is just salt enough? Or do we need to replenish any other minerals other than Na and Cl (K comes to mind)?

The salt isn't there because you need salt, it's there to optimise absorption of water. This is treatment for H2O deficiency, not anything else.

Re: IV Bags May Not Be Necessary to Rehydrate Patients

#37

Post by athenot »

raverbashing wrote: post #26
jinushaun wrote: post #6

True, but where IV bags shine is hydrating those that can’t drink water. (Vomiting, nausea, etc)

Yes, so save that for the really necessary cases Even if the person has nausea, they can drink a bit at a time > Second, she says, is to resist the temptation to drink at a normal rate—let alone chugging the stuff. An ounce at a time every few minutes decreases the odds that the liquid will, um, return from whence it came.

> Even if the person has nausea, they can drink a bit at a time.

Not necessarily. Sometimes the nausea is so severe that even a teaspoon of water gets sent back the way it came in… a most unpleasant feeling when the body refuses to take anything and ends up vomiting fluids beyond the stomach—e.g. bile.

Re: IV Bags May Not Be Necessary to Rehydrate Patients

#38

Post by JumpCrisscross »

bewo001 wrote: post #27
credit_guy wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And babies.

And hung-over medical personnel..

> And hung-over medical personnel

You're being down-voted, but I know a number of military medics and hospital employees who do this after heavy drinking. Seems to work like a charm.

Re: IV Bags May Not Be Necessary to Rehydrate Patients

#40

Post by mathgeek »

jcadam wrote: post #21

So that time back in my Army days when I collapsed from dehydration, I'm guessing the solution that was forced on me -- sit on this rock and chug two full canteens of plain water (no salt/sugar/electrolytes) -- was probably not the best idea?

I recall being taught (public school system) roughly 20 years ago that "we used to think salt was good for countering dehydration if you were stranded in the desert, but now we know that plain water is better." This isn't necessarily false (water is likely better than pure salt), but I wonder if we threw the baby out with the bathwater at the time as far as salt was concerned.
Post reply on HN