Are you confused about what isotonic, hypertonic, and hypotonic mean in nursing school?
Learning about fluids and electrolytes is one of the toughest things you’ll learn in nursing school. So if you’re struggling with understanding IV solutions, don’t worry, you’re not alone!
In this video, I’ll walk you through:
1. The 3 main types of IV fluids (hypertonic vs hypotonic vs isotonic)
2. Which type of IV fluid falls into which category
3. Easy memory tricks to remember the types of IV fluids (hypertonic vs hypotonic vs isotonic)
So if you’re struggling with learning about IV solutions, and fluids and electrolytes in nursing school, then this video is a must watch!
VIDEO TRANSCRIPT
In this video we’re going to do a super easy breakdown of the types of IV fluids that you need to know about in nursing school. Let’s do it!
Hey there friend, Christina here with nursingsos.com back with another video to help you raise your grades in nursing school. So if you remember from THIS video, there are 3 types of IV fluids that you need to know about: isotonic, HYPERtonic and HYPOtonic.
Isotonic is where the body wants to be, that’s where it’s in balance. So when you give an isotonic solution to a patient, it won’t cause fluid to shift any which way. It doesn’t cause fluid to shift inside or outside of the cell, it keeps the cells in balance.
So the IV solutions that are isotonic are 0.9% normal saline, Lactated Ringer’s, and 5 percent dextrose in water (or D 5 W). Now, D 5 W can be a little tricky to remember, because technically 5% dextrose in water IS isotonic when it’s in the bag, but when it’s in the body, it’s HYPOtonic.
D5W has a lot of glucose in it, and when it goes into the body, the body quickly uses up the glucose, which immediately takes away those particles, leaving more water than particles. So when 5% dextrose in water is given, it’s isotonic in the bag but it’s HYPOtonic in the body, because there’s more water than particles.
Now that we just talked about D5W being HYPOtonic in the body, let’s talk about what hypotonic means. When you think of HYPOtonic, I want you to think about little hippos. I like to call it “HIPPO-tonic.” HYPOtonic solutions have more water than particles, so when you give a HYPOtonic solution, the water moves into the cells and makes them big, and round and chunky, like little Hippos.
The HYPOtonic IV solutions that you need to know for nursing school are one-half Normal Saline (or 0. 4 5 percent Saline), a quarter normal saline (or 0. 2 2 5 percent saline), one-third normal saline (or 0.33 percent normal saline), and like we talked about before 5% dextrose in water (or D 5 W) when it’s in the body.
Now, the opposite of HYPOtonic IV solutions is HYPERtonic IV solutions. Hypertonic solutions are FILLED with solutes. They have so many solutes compared to the water inside of it. So when that super concentrated solution comes into contact with the cell, the cell says, “Oh man, here, have some water!” and gives all it’s water away. And when the cells give away their water, they shrink more and more. So these cells are shrived up little itty bitty cells.
There are a lot of hypertonic IV solutions, including: 5% dextrose in 0. 9 percent normal saline, 5 percent dextrose in 0. 4 5 percent normal saline, 5 percent dextrose in Lactated Ringer’s, 10 percent dextrose in water, 20 percent dextrose in water, and 50% dextrose in water, 3 percent saline, and 5 percent saline.
And that is your quick and easy breakdown of the types of IV fluids. If this video helped you understand IV solutions better, write LOVE in the comments below and of course, subscribe and hit the notification bell.
And if you’re struggling with fluids and electrolytes in nursing school, be sure to check out the fluids and electrolytes course we have for you inside the NursingSOS Membership Community. The link is down below for you to check out all the details.
Now click on the next video to keep rockin’ nursing school, and go become the nurse that God created only YOU to be. I’ll see you in the next video.
