#PICC lines

[macgyvermedical]

Okay so, if you've watched Knives Out, the scene where Marta's giving Harlan his medicine, she's not giving him the shots directly but putting them through a tube thing around his arm. What is that? How does it work? Can/ should I give my recovering from big injuries blorbo one of those?

I have seen Knives Out!

In fact, I did a whole post about it you can read here.

The thing in Harlan's arm was called a PICC, or Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter.

See, unlike in TV and most movies, when someone needs a medication given in a vein (called an intravenous medication), we don't just stick a needle into a vein- it has to go through some type of IV catheter.

An IV catheter (AKA a "peripheral venous catheter") is a thin plastic tube that goes through the skin and into a vein. The part sticking out of the skin can attach to a syringe to "push" medication into a vein, or be hooked up to a set of tubing and a bag of fluids or medication that has to go into the person over time.

The kind of these you'd get in a typical hospital setting only last about 7 days max, though. So if you need an IV for longer periods (like, say, you need IV antibiotics or chemotherapy infusions over weeks or months), or you need medications that are really irritating to a vein (like total parenteral nutrition or a medication to raise blood pressure), or you have such bad veins that no one can put an IV in you and you're critically ill, you need what is called a central line instead.

There are several types of central lines. The kind Harlan has is a PICC- meaning a central line that is inserted into a peripheral part of the body (usually the upper arm) and goes into a really deep vein. The catheter (thin plastic tube) is much longer than a typical IV catheter, and actually goes all the way to the heart. It is then secured to the skin by stitches and a plastic film that is changed every 5 days or so.

If your blorbo is in an ICU and can't keep his blood pressure up, or needs IV antibiotics to go home on, he might get a PICC or other central line. They do everything a regular IV does, plus they can take more irritating medications that would ruin peripheral IV catheters.

[apnourry]

animal approved, grade a girlie

[weirdstrangeandawful]

‘Can you not put him under?’ B suggests as Whumpee clings to A in a rising panic.

‘No!’ Whumpee wails, clinging as tight as their poison-wracked limbs will allow.

A hushes him softly, rocking him gently back and forth before laying him down on the bed to have the PICC line inserted.

‘Can you hold him down?’

A nods reluctantly as they gently lean their weight onto Whumpee's frail body.

[anjukaji]

🦋 P I C C L I N E S 🦋

[katkalis-the-fanartist]

A neat thing about homecare IV meds is that it can possibly be these...pressurized orbs! The pressure empties them as opposed to machines, and they're also portable! So overall this is much better a situation than I thought it can be! Also found these medical "orb things" in general to just be super neat and worth sharing about. Also picc lines aren't a horrible option besides staying in the hospital. Much cheaper apparently.

Also apparently your insurance comes into play when deciding which version of iv bag/orb you get according to the nurse that did my lab work today.

[redvinylkitty]

"From childhood’s hour I have not been

As others were—I have not seen

As others saw—I could not bring

My passions from a common spring—

From the same source I have not taken

My sorrow—I could not awaken

My heart to joy at the same tone—

And all I lov’d—I lov’d alone—"

-Excerpt from "Alone" by Edgar Allan Poe

--Please do not delete my caption--

Happy Birthday: to Edgar Allan Poe!

❤️🐉🐦‍⬛❤️ EXTRA special thanks to my Dragon for the shirt and socks! ❤️🐦‍⬛🐉❤️

| More HERE | Spoil Me Here |

[moriparty413]

fear and horror on planet earth (<- is being mildly inconvenienced)

[cowboybuckleys]

don't get me wrong, the hospital has been great to my dad and they've been doing their damn best to try and figure out how to treat everything that's been happening with him. he's a complicated, frustrating, one step forward three steps back case.

but sometimes i genuinely question the logic and sanity of the ICU team for not realizing that with him it's always been delirium worse = fever spike = something is wrong. "oh no he's just tired. hospitalization can do that to some patients." sure, and yeah that's part of it. but also because he has pneumonia. again. for the thousandth time in 2 months. "yep, he's got another bout of pneumonia" nooooo shit... he fully thought he was sitting in the bed of a truck and not a hospital bed. and not his nurse, not us, not the guy who did a blood draw could convince him otherwise.

[supercantaloupe]

was thinking about this in my lesson this morning, how it’s really common for woodwind players to have multiple instruments. like i have two oboes in addition to my english horn but not even including other instruments like EH or d’amore, most oboists i know (especially professionals) will have two or three or more. i know flute and clarinets who’re the same way but i have no idea if it’s A Thing for string or brass players too

[pelipper]

I wanted to share my new morning routine with you all since getting my PICC Line inserted. I was admitted to the hospital for a bowel obstruction a few weeks ago and am awaiting my scheduled bowel resection surgery. Just another day in the life of a gal with Crohn's Disease.

This is going to be my first bowel surgery, so I'm a bit nervous. I wanted to make a vlog like this with the hope that it reaches someone else in a similar position as me because I wanted to let them know that they're not alone. We are IBD warriors. 💪❤️

[wheelie-sick]

infusions are becoming unavoidable. I have never been so scared in my fucking life. my heart rate is too high to sleep I'm going days without sleep before inevitably ending up in the ER hallucinating from sleep deprivation this isn't sustainable long term and I'm so so scared but there's nothing else to do I've tried every trick and medication and therapy and none of it did enough I'm maxed out on beta blockers with resting heart rates that other people call ambulances for and either way I fucking die. I either die from sleep deprivation or I die slightly later from sepsis. this is what kills me, I've been handed a death sentence. in 3 months my whole life has been turned upside down and I don't know what to do I've always been able to cope with becoming more disabled and just roll with the punches but I don't know what to do when rolling with this punch is rolling into a coffin.

[zackmartin]

.

[myriad--starlings]

playing do I have a blood clot this fast OR am I experiencing normal and regular pain that I frequently have anyway

[xviruserrorx]

Random fevers my belothed

[redvinylkitty]

🎉 Ohhh my gawd! I finally have two arms again! PICC Line is gone at last. 🎉

[aworldmadeforsomeoneelse]

My doctor talked to me about an NJ tube today. Im gonna start getting ivs 2x weekly too.

To be fair, it’s been 24 days since I could eat. Im exhausted. And the past few days I’ve been in bed for a lot of. Im starving but physically cannot eat bc it hurts so bad. I don’t want a tube but if this doesn’t improve within the next week I’ll need one. Im terrified. I also don’t want to need a picc line if I need infusions regularly but I’m scared it might go that way. I use mobility aids but I’ve never had at home medical devices placed. It really makes me nervous but I’m quite literally starving and so far it isn’t improving.

Any advice for someone who might have an NJ soon? Im reaching into the void here but please.