Need Major Help with Fluids and Electrolytes

Nursing Students General Students

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I have a test next week on fluid and electrolytes and am looking for any suggestions that can help me understand all of this (websites, books, etc)!! I need help with osmolarity, hypertonic, hypotonic solutions, etc!! Please leave me some suggestions I appreciate it!!!

I have been in your scenario before (just last week to be exact). We took an exam on Fluid and Electrolytes!

I bought these 2 books and they helped clarify the concepts and show the big picture:

1) Professional Guide to Pathophysiology 2nd Edition by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins

2) Pathophysiology Made Incredibly Easy

you can find them at the local book store. I bought Professional Guide to Patho that was slightly used online at amazon.com for 37 dollars.

please post any other questions!

Specializes in med/surg, telemetry, IV therapy, mgmt.

always check the threads on this and the nursing student assistance forum that are marked with stickys. they usually have good weblinks in them for those specific subjects. try checking the weblinks in this sticky. i know there's good stuff in it.

if these aren't posted there, you want to check them out:

my textbook is okay with explanation of osmolarity/osmolality,

hypotonic, isotonic, and hypertonic solutions:

Lewis, Heitkemper, and Dirksen Medical-Surgical Nursing in Canada

Fluids with the same osmolality as the cell interior as isotonic.

Solutions in which the solutes are less concentrated than the cells are

hypotonic (hypoosmolar) > H2O excess (in the cell so it'll swell and maybe burst).

Solutions in which the solutes are more concentrated than the cells are

hypertonic (hyperosmolar) > H2O deficit (in the cell so it'll shrink and maybe die)

And it includes examples of the IV solutions that are isotonic, hypotonic, or hypertonic

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