I.V. fail

[izzyscout21]

I chose to share this video both as a means of amusement and as a learning tool.

This vid was taken back in 2008 while I was delpoyed. Location is Sadr City in Baghdad, Iraq.

points I wanted to make are:

1.) Get proper training. Even though you have the supplies, doesn't mean you are qualified with the procedure. Look at us in the vid. We are all trained in use and insertion of IV fluids, but that doesn't mean it's easy. Unless you are a lab tech or nurse and do dozens of these on a daily basis, chances are you are not getting it done on first stick.


2.) Stress plays a big role in this. Even though we seem at ease in the vid, we are in fact getting shot at. Just goes to show that under fire or under stress, things get harder to do.


3.) I am not volunteering to let anyone use my are for training....LOL..... seriously the only reason I am getting the IV is because I dysentery. What you don't see is the vomit all over the floor of the Stryker. Dysentery sucks. That's another lesson we have covered elsewhere on the forum




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkT8UqFlBaE

[izzyscout21]

let me try that again....

[izzyscout21]

fixed

[The Stig]

Video embed fail....

(now it's saying it's private)

[izzyscout21]

try it now

[The Stig]

Success!

:cool:

ETA: I'll watch it in length later but you can clearly hear the gunfire in the background.

[Sniper-T]

My wife is a lab tech, and when we first started dating, she was the sole worker in the lab at a local hospital on the night shift, I used to go down, bring her lunch, or cofee, and visit... and play with things like this. With a little coaching from her, I was able to stick myself and her quite regularlyand easily. In a combat zone... I could see that success rate decreasing exponentially! lol

[Stormfeather]

The gang here where I am, we practice monthly giving IV's, as Izzy said, its a perishable skill, so we try to maintain it as much as possible. If you dont know what you are doing, you could actually end up hurting someone you want to help by improperly giving an IV.

[IDTANDY]

Good video.I keep Butterflys in my I.V.Kit.For a quick couple liters of fluid they are fine.Long term and large bore then the IV Cath.Though I have used large bore
Butterflys when nothing else worked short of Venous cutdown.

[Twitchy]

god izzy... that must have been a fun experience...

IV's are my least favorite part of the upcoming medical training, as i believe we learn via practicing on each other :mad:

[ak474u]

I'd rather be shot at then get another I.V. I almost puked watching you get one... Lol

[ladyhk13]

So that guy actually got trained???? Let me guess...OJT??? He stayed at a Holiday Inn?

[izzyscout21]

So that guy actually got trained???? Let me guess...OJT??? He stayed at a Holiday Inn?

One word.......INFANTRY......

[Stormfeather]

god izzy... that must have been a fun experience...

IV's are my least favorite part of the upcoming medical training, as i believe we learn via practicing on each other :mad:


Learning to do IV's is probably one of the most "interesting" tasks a infantryman can learn! (next to the nasal pharyngeal!)


One word.......INFANTRY......

Like you dont love sporting that CIB! Started out in the Marine Infantry back in 1986. . . rejoined the Infantry in the Army, somehow all roads lead me back to the boots on the ground!

[ladyhk13]

One word.......INFANTRY......

HA! Say no more..... poor Izzy. Next time ask for a Combat Medic, will ya? You are making everyone here sick with your vid.

[IDTANDY]

god izzy... that must have been a fun experience...

IV's are my least favorite part of the upcoming medical training, as i believe we learn via practicing on each other :mad:

If you are going to start an I.V. you should know how it feels,whether it's a good stick the first time or not..I've been stuck countless times training young Medics.
and they got stuck too.It's part of the passage.

[Twitchy]

If you are going to start an I.V. you should know how it feels,whether it's a good stick the first time or not..I've been stuck countless times training young Medics.
and they got stuck too.It's part of the passage.

Good point... kind of correlates to why cops get OC'd and tazed before they can use the specific weapon...

[izzyscout21]

HA! Say no more..... poor Izzy. Next time ask for a Combat Medic, will ya? You are making everyone here sick with your vid.

our medic was in another vehicle 100m away in a sandstorm and was also getting shot at. He was a tad occupado.

[apssbc]

I know its been a while since ive been on here, but medical is my forte. I start a ton of iv's in all different sizes. It is a perishable skill, and some days just really suck for hitting veins on old ladies and the such. I have on occasion started an IV on myself for dehydration secondary to a stomach bug. I have also been the subject of helping many newer medics learn. The three things I will suggest are three of the most common mistakes I see in the field.

Heres what I see wrong with the IV attempts:

1. When starting an IV come in on a shallower angle, the steep angle this guys is using can lead to failure. You see how he goes in and then moves the needle shallower, you tend to create a lot of torsion on the vein causing it to get all jacked up. Come in with no more than a 20 degree or so angle and you will do better.

2. When you get a flash in the catheter you have just barley broke through the vein. The tip of the bevel is just barley in. You need to push just a hair further before you advance the actual plastic cath all the way in.

3. Do not pull the needle part way out and try to reinsert it, that will lead to the kink at the end of the cath like we saw.

Izzys veins are plenty ample for the 18 gauge cath they were using, I have put 14 gauge caths in arms like that many times. Just take practice and not making these small errors which will ruin a IV attempt instantly.