Why do hospitals inject saline into your bloodstream instead of just water?

Question

Why do hospitals inject saline into your bloodstream instead of just water?

In: 110

Answer 1

Basically, think of the liquids in your body like a soup. If you add extra water, but no seasonings (like salt) the soup is gonna get watered down and flavorless

Throw in the fact that “flavourless” in this example means “your heart stops working because it needs sodium to beat”, and suddenly that becomes very important to avoid.

They don’t wanna rinse out all your electrolytes when you go to pee, and dehydration tends to make eating problematic. So they use saline to keep those salt levels relatively stable while they get water in you.