Normal Saline

There are no magic pills in medicine, but if there's one thing that comes close, it's IV normal saline. I'm still amazed at how many people improve by just getting a little bit of extra fluids in their veins. Lives are saved by normal saline. Otherwise intractable medical conditions are effectively treated with IV normal saline.

There are limits, of course - it's just salt water, it can't cure cancer, reverse dementia, or treat depression. Still, I've seen a couple people improve dramatically over the last few weeks when given nothing but a bit of extra fluid. It's a helpful reminder that good medicine doesn't always require technical or sophisticated interventions. Heck, most good medicine doesn't require technical or sophisticated interventions. Sometimes salt water works just fine.