What is serum? Application of serum

The article was professionally consulted by Specialist Doctor II Ho Viet Le Diem - General Internal Medicine - Department of Examination & Internal Medicine - Vinmec Central Park International General Hospital.

Serum is plasma that has had anticoagulants removed. People use serum to refer to solutions that can be infused into the blood to make up for some deficiency.

Serum is an aqueous solution in our blood, made from red blood cells, white blood cells, and proteins during the accumulation of blood. Serum can also be called plasma with discarded clotting cells and proteins and electrolytes remaining.
The composition of serum includes trace and macro elements such as: Potassium, Sodium, Calcium, Chloride, Phosphor, Magnesium, Enzyme, uric acid, glucose, bilirubin, creatinine,...
How to make serum is to let the blood coagulate for a certain time, then heat the tube with a test strip, after a while the clotted blood will be removed, then centrifuge the tube. After doing these steps we will get the serum.

In medicine, serum is used to diagnose many diseases such as: Brucellosis caused by bacteria Amebiasis caused by parasites Measles, Rubella, Hepatitis B, HIV/AIDS, Syphilis, fungal infections, warts Genital herpes caused by HPV, genital herpes caused by HSV,...

What does serum transfusion do? Serum contains many ingredients that have very good effects on the body. People use serum to supplement the body when the body has signs of immune deficiency, allergies. In addition, using serum in the prevention and treatment of infections is very effective.
Besides, the prepared sera are effective against many diseases such as whooping cough, measles, tetanus,... some other types have the effect of preventing hepatitis B, mumps,....

Before serum transfusion, it is necessary to ask the patient if the patient has ever had a history of serum transfusion to be able to choose the appropriate dose so as not to cause a reaction.
Do a reaction test before serum infusion by diluting a small amount of serum with Nacl solution for injection into the body. If the skin under the injection site becomes red after 15-20 minutes, it should be stopped immediately because the body has shown signs of a reaction. In cases where injection is required, it is advisable to introduce small amounts gradually into the body and monitor the absorption of serum for any abnormality or not.
When choosing the method of serum transfusion, it is necessary to go to reputable medical facilities to perform. Avoid going to unreputable places because the quality of the serum is difficult to control and the serum is easy to infect. If put into the body, it will cause the body to contract dangerous diseases such as sepsis,...