What is serum, what does it do? What is in the serum, in what situations is it used?
What is Serum?
It is a type of saline solution that contains salt in the serum and is used to contribute to the fluid-electrolyte balance in the blood in the veins when needed. Today it is widely used in hospitals. Contrary to popular belief, serum is not a special medicinal mixture that affects people’s recovery in case of illness.
What does the serum do?
The serum is actually a kind of salt water mixture. It does not have a magical healing effect in case of illness, as many people think. The main and only purpose of using serum is; It contributes to the fluid-electrolyte balance in the blood in the veins. In this context, 1 liter of serum contains 0.9% salt. This means that there are 154 millimoles of sodium (Na) and 154 millimoles of chlorine (Cl) per litre. Basically, serum; It is a kind of salt water that consists of 99.1% water.
What’s in the serum?
It is a kind of salt water with 0.9% salt in the serum content, that is, 154 millimoles of sodium (Na) and 154 millimoles of chlorine (Cl) per liter, and 99.1% of it is water. The most commonly used type of serum in hospitals is a type of salt water with 0.9% and 9 grams of salt per liter of serum. This mixture, which is a type of salt water, is called “isotonic saline” or “physiological saline”.
In what situations?
The human body is made up of millions of units called cells. Inside each cell is an intracellular fluid, which generally consists of water and minerals called electrolytes. Outside the cells is a fluid called extracellular fluid (extracellular fluid), which is also composed of water and some electrolytes.
Extracellular fluid is divided in two as the intermediate fluid between the cells and plasma, which makes up the liquid part of the blood in the vessels. To be healthy, the water and electrolytes that make up these fluids must be in a certain balance. In cases where fluid-electrolyte losses are at stake, serum is applied to patients as an accelerator of treatment or in cases where medication or food cannot be taken via the gastrointestinal (gastrointestinal) system or orally.
How is serum prepared?
Serums in the form of parenteral solutions, which are widely used in hospitals, are packaged in bottles or in a bag. In accordance with the doctor’s decision, the serum can be given to the patient alone or by mixing the drug. In both cases, it is necessary to prepare it in accordance with aseptic technique.
To protect sterilization, never touch the portion of the opening of the serum bottle or pouch where the kit is installed by hand. In cases where it is necessary to mix the drug into the serum, the drug is injected into the serum from the special section with the needle of the injector and the liquid is slightly turned upside down to ensure that the given drug is thoroughly mixed with the liquid.
Why is serum put in before surgery?
Before surgery, serum is infused into the patient through a plastic cannula placed in the vein. Anesthetics are administered to the patient through this vein. This ensures that the patient’s fluid and electrolyte requirements are met before and during surgery.
Again, the drugs used in treating differences in vital signs that occur during surgery are given to the body by mixing them with serum. After surgery, analgesics, drugs that prevent vomiting and nausea, are given intravenously in the serum until the patient can take oral food.