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Nursing vocabulary · IV Therapy and Fluids

Drip

Meaning in nursing, with examples

/drɪp/nounCore term

In nursing, drip means: An everyday word for a bag of fluid or medicine that flows slowly into a patient's vein through a tube, or for the whole set-up.

In Turkish: serum, damla, infüzyon

How it is used

Very common in UK and Australian speech and with patients: 'He's on a drip', 'put up a drip', 'the drip has finished'. In notes and in the US, staff more often write 'IV fluids' or 'IV infusion'. Patients might ask 'When can this drip come down?'

Example sentences

  1. She's still on a drip because she can't keep any fluids down.

  2. Your drip has finished, so I'll flush the cannula and disconnect the line.

Common collocations

  • on a drip
  • put up a drip
  • take down a drip
  • saline drip
  • the drip has run through
  • IVShort for intravenous: into a vein. As a noun it also means the line or drip that puts fluid or medicine straight into a vein.
  • cannulaA thin plastic tube put into a vein, usually in the hand or arm, so that fluids, medicines or blood can be given through it.
  • infusion pumpA machine that pushes fluid or medicine into a patient's vein at an exact, set rate and sounds an alarm if the line is blocked or the bag is empty.
  • dehydratedHaving lost more water than the body has taken in, so that it does not have enough fluid to work normally.
  • fluid balanceThe difference between all the fluid a patient takes in (drinks, drips, feeds) and all the fluid they lose (urine, vomit, drains) over a set time.

More terms: IV Therapy and Fluids

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This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not medical advice.