Chronic conditions are those that last for more than a year and they are more common than you might expect, so it only makes sense that there are more treatment options for these different conditions than ever before.

In the past, most types of medication used to be administered orally, but infusion therapy is becoming more popular. Infusion therapy is a more direct way to deliver certain medications to your body, and AO Multispecialty Clinic offers many of these infusion therapy treatments at our facilities.

As it turns out, different types of infusion therapy are very beneficial for treating chronic conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, other types of arthritis, and so on.

Keep reading and learn more about infusion therapy and how it can help with certain types of health conditions.

What You Need to Know About Infusion Therapy

Infusion therapy is not complicated. In fact, it is just as simple as oral medication. It’s just the administration method that happens to be different.

Infusion therapy is sometimes known as IV therapy. As the name suggests, it involves administering medication intravenously.

Why shouldn’t you keep taking your medication by mouth? Isn’t it easier and more efficient? Not necessarily.

In fact, when you swallow pills, the efficiency of those pills actually goes down. This is because of how your stomach acid breaks down oral medication. Over time, your stomach acid will dissolve the pill and allow your body to absorb the medication inside.

However, at the same time, your stomach acid will accidentally break down some of the drug itself. So, the overall effect of the drug is weaker than it would be if you took it in another way. Also, digesting a drug this way takes a long time before the drug takes effect, sometimes between 30 minutes and an hour.

The Details

You won’t have to deal with these problems when you opt for infusion therapy. This is because IV therapy bypasses your stomach and goes straight into your blood vessels. That way, you will benefit from the effects of the medication instantly and you don’t need to wait around for a pill to kick in and provide you with relief from your arthritis or other chronic health condition.

Many people may already be familiar with IV therapy in terms of chemotherapy. However, IV therapy is now being used to deliver all sorts of medication, not just chemo. Some people are even using it to stay hydrated.

Some people with certain health conditions may find it difficult to consume enough liquids to keep them hydrated throughout the day. This can lead to weakness and a variety of other health problems. Using IV therapy is a good way to infuse the person with more liquids so that they can stay hydrated and as healthy as possible.

But what exactly can you expect from IV therapy and are there any side effects you should know about?

The Infusion Therapy Process and Side Effects

As with any kind of treatment, infusion therapy may come with some side effects in some cases. Keep in mind that some people who go through infusion therapy may not experience any side effects at all. If you are prone to experiencing side effects when consuming medications in general, you may also experience them when going through infusion therapy.

However, it is important to remember that the side effects of infusion therapy are usually quite minor and not serious. Most of the time, the side effects will go away on their own with time. Some of the side effects you may experience include dizziness, headaches, muscle stiffness, and slight discomfort at the site of the injection.

It is also possible for an infection to form at the site of the injection. However, this is a rare complication and it should not happen as long as the person administering your infusion therapy makes sure that everything is sterile. The infusion therapy procedure itself is actually quite simple.

What You Need to Know

It involves attaching a tube to one of your veins and administering medication through that tube from an IV bag. The IV bag will drip a certain amount of medication into your vein at a certain rate. This way, you will have the perfect amount of medication administered to you during the therapy.

The length of the therapy will depend on a variety of factors. In some cases, it may only take 20 minutes or so while in other cases, you may need to be there for several hours. This may sound inconvenient, but you can spend this free time however you like.

Some people like to bring their laptops with them so they can work while they receive their therapy. Others like to bring a book or they may take the time to nap. Also, you won’t need to worry about the infusion at all since a nurse or doctor will come in every so often and make sure that it’s doing what it’s supposed to.

You are even free to go to the bathroom in the middle of the treatment as long as you alert a nurse or doctor.

All About Infusion Therapy

Infusion therapy is a very efficient form of medication therapy. Instead of taking medication by mouth, you can get immediate relief by choosing infusion therapy. Infusion therapy is very safe and it only comes with rare and minor side effects.

You also have plenty of time to relax while you receive your therapy. To learn more, don’t hesitate to contact us here.