Explaining Hypotonic, Hypertonic, and Isotonic Fluid

Hey everyone, you must have heard of the words Hypotonic, Isotonic, and hypertonic, where one refers to too much, another refers to too little and one of the three refers to moderate. We are doing body fluids, and we will be looking at hypotonic fluid, hypertonic fluid, and isotonic fluid. I was discussing with a friend today, who is a nurse, we mentioned Isotonic, Hypotonic & Hypertonic IV Fluid Solution, so I decided that I should share this particular topic with you. Join me as we break this down. Please remember to leave your comment in the comment section, I value constructive comments as they give my post values. You do not have to read and close, upvote and leave your comment, I will be sure to reply you.

wikimedia.org

Hypotonic fluid are fluids that enter into cells making them swollen, and this is as a result of a lower concentration of salt, and/or solute (lower osmolality) than the fluids inside the cells in the body. This fluids are diluted with less salt and more water compared to the fluids in the cell of the body. Hypotonic solution would have 1/3 or 1/4 of normal saline including fluids of 1/2 Normal Saline having 0.45% of NaCl, 1/3 of normal saline having 0.33% of NaCl, Dextrose 5% in water can be hypotonic and isotonic. When in the bag before getting into the body, it contains a high concentration of sugar and this is why it is Isotonic but when it gets into the body, the sugar is immediately taken up and so the fluid becomes hypotonic. These fluids are administered to patients in the hospital so as to replace intracellular fluids, as a result of cellular dehydration which can be caused by hypernatremia (too much NaCl in the the body), Hyperosmolar hyperglycemic non-ketonic state (HHNS/HHS) which is a type 2 diabetic disorder that has to do with uncontrolled high blood sugar causing the cell in the body to be dehydrated, Diabetic Ketone Acidosis, a type 1 diabetic disorder which has to do with utilizing ketone instead of sugar as source of energy thereby causing high sugar concentration in the blood, causing the cells to be dehydrated since they take fluids out of the cells. It is important not to use D5W fluids for patients with HHNS/HHS or DKA as the fluid contains sugar, and the patient is already having high sugar concentration in the blood. Hypotonic solutions are not delivered to patients with intracranial pressure as it increases intracranial pressure leading to brain damage.

Hypertonic solution on the other hands are solutions that contain a high concentration of salt, and/or solute (higher osmolality) than that of the intracellular fluids. This fluids are thick on site inside the IV bag. These fluids have less water concentration and more salt/solute in them. This fluids have higher Osmotic pressure allowing fluids to be pulled towards themselves and out of the cells in the body causing the cells to shrink or reduce by Osmosis. Hypertonic fluids are 3% Normal Saline (NS), 5% Normal Saline (NS), D10W, D5LR, D50W, and D5^1/2NS. This fluids help to extract liquids from cell into vascular spaces in the body so the cells can go back to their normal form, and it is used for patient with Heat related conditions, Patients with hypovolemia, peritoneal dialysis, and Peritonitis.

Isotopic fluids are fluids that have the same osmotic pressure both inside and outside the cell are the same.These fluids have the same osmolality as human body fluid. Fluids such as 0.9% Normal saline, Lactated Ringers are isotonic fluids.

This explained, let's touch Osmosis, Diffusion, and Filtration of body fluids. If you are asked to define Osmosis, it is the movement of fluids from an area of low solute concentration to an area of high solute concentration. Diffusion on the other hand is simply the movement of ions and molecules from a greater concentration area to a lesser concentration area which would lead to the equalization of the ions of molecules. In the body, the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide between the pulmonary capillaries and the Alveoli is an example of diffusion. Filtration is the movement of water and solute from a region of high hydrostatic pressure to a region of low hydrostatic pressure. This is usually done in the kidney where the kidney filters out waste from useful materials in the body. The jidney filters Hydrogen ions, Urea, and Creatinine.

With this I hope you understand the types of fluids available based on concentration. Not all IV bags have the same concentration of liquid in them

• https://wtcs.pressbooks.pub/nursingfundamentals/chapter/15-3-intravenous-solutions/

• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6986696/

• https://www.registerednursern.com/isotonic-hypotonic-hypertonic-iv-fluid-solution-overview-for-nursing-students-with-quiz/

• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK542194/

• https://www.statpearls.com/ArticleLibrary/viewarticle/23233

• https://www.khanacademy.org/science/ap-biology/cell-structure-and-function/mechanisms-of-transport-tonicity-and-osmoregulation/a/osmosis

• https://nurseslabs.com/iv-fluids/

• https://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/diffusion

• https://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/diffusion

Hi, I am Tobi a writer, speaker, relationship blogger, and lover of good music. I love making friends and learning from people. Want to hear me speak on relationships and general life issues, you can find my youtube channel where you can listen and watch any episode for free, do not forget to subscribe and share with friends. I sincerely appreciate every love I get from members of the community and do well to keep them coming.