Gravity NS boluses for pediatric patients?

Nurses General Nursing

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Do they ever do gravity NS boluses in peds? What if no pumps are available? Is a rapid infusion (per gravity) to fast for a ped patient to absorb or will it blow a vein?

Also what sizes do they generally use for say a 10 year old and 3 year old NS bolus? I'm guessing around 24 and 25 gauge?

haha gravitational pull of the patient...

THAT MUST BE ONE FAT KID!

wait sorry, that sounds mean...

THAT MUST BE ONE OBESE KID!

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oh, now I feel stupid. Pookafert, you must be a troll, no one could be that obtuse. Sorry I didn't realize this sooner in the discussion.

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the factors we were looking for were...

*drumroll please*

the height of the IV bag, size of IV and tubing (dripset- not length), and size/location of vein all affect the rate when on a gravity drip

Nothing about gravitational pull of the patient, although maybe we should get some of our BSN's and MSN's to do some research on this...

:hhmth:

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Actually pookafert (of what ever his name was) is partially correct. A according to the universal law of gravity, all objects exert gravity on other and the closer they are the more gravitational pull there is. Issac newton first explained it. But the caveat is if there is a larger mass near by ( the earth) that will trump the smaller masses gravitational pull.

Lets not even start to discuss einstiens theory of gravity as expressed in his theory of relativity, where gravity is part of the space time continuim wherr gravity is like a weight on a piece of cloth anb objects will be sucked in faster the closer to the middle they get....which is pfoven by gyroscopes and those coin collection things in the mall where they spinn faster towards the bottom

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Specializes in Peds/Neo CCT,Flight, ER, Hem/Onc.

However, we all know that IV fluid isn't "sucked" into the blood vessel so even if a human exerts some miniscule amount of gravitational pull her/his premise is still absolutely incorrect.

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Specializes in ER.

I used to line my kids up next to a big filing cabinet so the fluid would go in faster, back in the days before pumps. Unfortunately, once they went to Xray the fluid would ionize, and be repelled by the metal. If you didn't notice the kids could be sucked dry in seconds. Now I just have their parents hold them to ensure a proper flow.

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Specializes in Peds/Neo CCT,Flight, ER, Hem/Onc.

The problem with the parents holding the kid is you can't ever get them to roll straight. One of the wheels always seems to stick.

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@canoehead: LOL!! too funny. thanks for giving us a good chuckle.

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Specializes in ER.
The problem with the parents holding the kid is you can't ever get them to roll straight. One of the wheels always seems to stick.

See? The gravity becomes lopsided, and the stretcher gets pulled towards walls/doors/people in wheelchairs. But just try to explain that to your boss on an incident report.

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Specializes in Emergency, ICU, PACU, Hospice.

That was fun and I was pleasantly surprised. I have to apologize to the OP for asking a complex question and giving a not serious answer and spiraling this thread away from the question. I just had a long day and took the opportunity to make myself laugh. I do sincerely apologize to the OP for that though...I hope someone is able to legitimately answer your question. What really surprised me though was that with all the responses only one person stooped to name calling! I was wondering who would actually take themselves a little too seriously. Asked and answered. Thank you to the rest of you for providing a break from my day.

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Specializes in Peds/Neo CCT,Flight, ER, Hem/Onc.

OP...you asked a legitimate and well thought out question. I checked your profile and saw that you are a student. I admire your ability to "see the big picture" in questioning different aspects of pediatric fluid boluses. This is a big part of the critical thinking you hear so much about and will serve you well as you start your career. I truly hope you were able to wade through the nonsense answers you received and got your question answered...the answers were actually there. Please do not let what happened here cause you to think twice about coming to AN to ask questions (unless they're homework, we really don't like that). I also assure you that the vast majority of nurses will take your question seriously and will give you the correct answer...not some psuedo-scientific BS because they need a laugh. When in doubt about an answer look at the poster's profile to see where their expertise lies. Good luck in your schooling!

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FlyingScot: Very well said. Seems very irresponsible to prank on a sincere student poster.

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