IV fluids can be classified as hypo, hyper, or isotonic… but to what? The blood cells? Or other body cells? How do IV fluids even work in the body, and under what conditions would someone need a specific IV solution?

Question

IV fluids can be classified as hypo, hyper, or isotonic… but to what? The blood cells? Or other body cells? How do IV fluids even work in the body, and under what conditions would someone need a specific IV solution?

In: Biology

Answer 1

You’re mostly made of water, but it’s not pure water, it’s a little salty. Adding pure water is generally bad, which is why you get a “saline drip.”

Isotonic is the same saltiness as the rest of you, hypertonic is more salty than you, and hypotonic is less salty than you. They can pick what to give you to change how salty you are for therapeutic reasons.