I.V. Question...Post Stomach Flu

[Indianamom2]

I woke up about 2 am Thursday with the most horrific case of vomiting/diarrhea I think I've ever had. In about 3-4 hours' time, I was severely dehydrated and on the verge of passing out...so off to the ER we went.

I ended up needing two liters of fluids and two different types of anti-nausea meds, via I.V. to stop the vomiting. The I.V. was in my hand and all day yesterday, both hands were INCREDIBLY tingly. So much so, that I couldn't get comfortable. Today, they feel pretty much back to normal, but the hand where my I.V. was is now very sore to the touch all the way down into my wrist. It hurts to gently wash my hands. Is this normal and will it just go away on it's own? I don't think I've ever had an I.V. site hurt so much the next day. (no visible bruising by the way)

Oh, and now DD has it...I had to go to school and pick her up about an hour and a half after taking her to school. Fantastic!

[KLD313]

IDK if it's normal but when I had soreness for a long time after my c-section. I did have bruising. It hurt for over a week after it came out if not longer to get totally back to normal. Hope you're feeling better, what you went through sounds awful.

[TwoBees]

I have had huge bruises after IVs, but I don't recall any soreness. I'm sure it is possible, but you might want to have it checked. Do you have a follow-up of your ER visit with your regular doctor?

I'm glad you're feeling better!

[megs4413]

Did they give you zofran via IV push? It can irritate tissue, especially if they didn't push it in slowly. I've had soreness at IV locations before and I think it's worst when they have to use your hand. I also had them hit a nerve once in my hand, but that was so painful that she took it out right away and tried again. It hurt for days .

[waitingforgrace]

I think it's pretty normal, especially if they were pushing meds through to help with the nausea. I've always had terrible soreness after an IV in my hand and once when I went to the ER for a migraine and they pushed anti-nausea meds I had burning in my arm for a few days.

We've had that same flu floating through our house and it's no fun at all - hope you all get better fast!

[Rainbows&Roses]

Yes I think it is normal. My hand will still hurt from time to time at the site where the paramedics put in the IV. I don't think they did a great job of it and it was in place for 4 days so I think it kind of messed up the vein.

[Indianamom2]

Did they give you zofran via IV push? It can irritate tissue, especially if they didn't push it in slowly. I've had soreness at IV locations before and I think it's worst when they have to use your hand. I also had them hit a nerve once in my hand, but that was so painful that she took it out right away and tried again. It hurt for days .

I bet that's it. I had phenergan and zofran through I.V. and also morphine (no idea why, but at that point I didn't care!)

[lhafer]

Yes it's pretty typical, especially for hand IVs. Not only were they pushing meds and a large amount of fluid through your veins, the veins were already irritated/dehydrated because of the vomitting and diarrhea. I'm suprised they were able to get an IV in your hand!! You don't have to have bruising to have soreness at in IV site. Bruising means they infultrated the vein or the vein *leaked*. Soreness means they were stretching the vein out. Give it a few days, and be gentle with them.

Hope you are feeling better.

[elephantmeg]

it's the phenergan. It will go away eventually! You can try warm or cold compresses on the areas that hurt-either one is fine, do whatever feels better. I hope your DD gets better soon!