was in ER lots of times due to variou stuff (gallstones, excessive gas, GERD) and got an IV everytime
mom always got anxious when IV was about to end
2-3 times I was alone in ER and nurses were busy (car crash victims etc were brought in) so IVs got empty with plenty of air bubbles
only thing happened to me was in 1 of those my blood got up to the IV after 10 minutes or so but nothing else happened
why air bubbles in IVs are not an emergency or looked after instantly? When called on a empty IV (not dripping anymore) nurses act cool and cut the drip valve as if everything is normal
In: 73
As an RN that has worked in the ED, when the bag runs out, there is only air for about an inch at the very top. Due to the water seal, the bubble cannot travel down on its own if it’s just hung to gravity, if it’s attacked to a pump, the pump will automatically stop it as well. If a new bag is hung, we will “back prime” the tube to eject the inch at the top. It is a very fast process and you probably didn’t even notice. All that being said, air bubbles killing you is extremely difficult to do. I think it was found that it takes pretty much several feet of just air to actually do any damage. Little bubbles are absolutely harmless
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