How to Take Care of Your IV at Home
A plain-language patient guide to taking care of your IV at home — keeping the site clean and dry, protecting the line, recognizing problems like swelling or redness, and knowing when to call for help.
Evidence-based · Vascular Access Governance Committee; Home Infusion; Patient Education Department
If you are going home with an IV (intravenous line) in your arm or hand, a little daily care keeps it working safely until your treatment is done. This guide walks through exactly what to do — and the warning signs that mean you should call for help.
This page is about a standard peripheral IV (a short IV in the arm or hand). If you have a PICC line, port, or tunneled (Hickman/Broviac) catheter, follow the guide for that specific device — they are cared for differently.
What your IV is
A peripheral IV is a small, soft tube placed in a vein in your arm or hand so you can get fluids or medicine without a new needle stick each time. It is held in place by a clear dressing and is meant to stay in for a short time.
Your daily IV care routine
- Keep the dressing clean and dry. Keep it stuck down on all edges. Cover it for showers and don’t let it get wet.
- Protect the line. Don’t bump, pull, or kink the tubing, and keep sharp objects away from it.
- Wash your hands before touching the IV or its connections.
- Flush only as instructed, with the saline syringes you were given, and never force it.
- Check the site every day for anything that looks or feels different.
Keeping the site clean and dry
The clear dressing is your protection against infection — keep it intact. When you shower, cover the area with plastic or a waterproof cover and keep that arm away from the water spray. Don’t take baths, swim, or soak the site. If water gets under the dressing or it peels up, contact your care team for a fresh dressing.
Bathing and activity
Showers are usually fine with the site covered. Use your arm normally for light activities, but avoid heavy lifting or hard gripping with that arm if you were told to, and avoid anything that tugs on the line.
Warning signs — when to call your care team
Call your care team if you notice any of these at or near the IV:
- Redness, swelling, warmth, or pain
- Coolness, puffiness, or leaking of fluid at the site
- A hard, tender, cord-like feeling along the vein
- Fever or chills
- The IV is pulled partway out, fell out, or is bleeding
- The IV won’t flush or feels blocked
Call emergency services for trouble breathing or chest pain.
If your IV comes out
Press a clean gauze or cloth firmly over the site for a few minutes until bleeding stops, then cover it with a clean bandage. Don’t try to reinsert it. Let your care team know so they can arrange a new one if you still need it.