Saline by vein for cholera
Latta of Leith treated cholera with intravenous saline during the 1832 epidemic in Leith and Edinburgh. IV fluids first gained medical importance in cholera in the 1830s.[1][2]
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History
From saline for cholera in 1832 to FDA and CDC alerts in 2026: the steps that shaped IV therapy.
Timeline
Latta of Leith treated cholera with intravenous saline during the 1832 epidemic in Leith and Edinburgh. IV fluids first gained medical importance in cholera in the 1830s.[1][2]
From the 1880s IV fluids were given around surgery. The work of Ringer and Hartmann on fluid composition laid the base for the balanced solutions in use today.[1][2]
Matas introduced the intravenous drip in 1924.[1]
Cameron and Pauling reported that 100 terminal cancer patients given vitamin C lived more than 4.2 times as long as 1,000 controls, in a study without randomization.[1]
Two randomized, double-blind trials of 10 g vitamin C a day by mouth, in 150 and 100 patients with advanced cancer, found no benefit over placebo.[1][2]
An NIH study of 7 volunteers found blood levels saturate at 1000 mg a day by mouth and that the body excretes the absorbed excess of larger doses.[1]
Gaby published the modified Myers' cocktail of magnesium, calcium, B vitamins and vitamin C, building on the work of the late John Myers.[1]
A study of 17 volunteers showed IV vitamin C reaches blood levels oral doses cannot: 885 against 134.8 micromol/L at 1.25 g.[1]
A Yale pilot in 34 adults with fibromyalgia found no significant difference between the Myers' cocktail and placebo.[1]
FDA approved Ascor on October 2, 2017, for short-term treatment of scurvy, and asked makers of other ascorbic acid injections to stop distribution.[1][2]
FDA warned compounders not to use dietary supplement grade glutathione powder after 7 patients reacted to a 1,400 mg IV dose and another was admitted for a possible bloodstream infection. Samples had up to 5 times the endotoxin limit.[1]
The LOVIT trial of 872 ICU patients found a higher risk of death or organ dysfunction with IV vitamin C than with placebo.[1]
SB 672, the Stephanie Balais Act, would have required Florida medical and nursing boards to set rules and emergency protocols for IV vitamin treatment. It died in committee on March 8, 2024.[1]
Texas notified CDC in July 2026 of patients ill after IV glutathione at a wellness clinic. CDC counted more than 25 ill in 4 states including Florida, at least 3 hospitalized.[1][2]
People
Their published work and trials are the record behind the drips sold today.
Physician of Leith who treated cholera with intravenous saline.[1]
His work on the make-up of IV fluids led toward today's balanced solutions.[1][2]
His work on fluid composition, with Ringer's, laid the base for balanced IV solutions.[1][2]
Introduced the intravenous drip.[1]
Reported longer survival in terminal cancer with vitamin C.[1]
Led Mayo Clinic randomized trials that found no benefit from 10 g a day of oral vitamin C in advanced cancer.[1][2]
NIH researcher who measured vitamin C absorption by mouth and by vein.[1][2][3]
Showed IV vitamin C reaches far higher blood levels than oral doses and surveyed its use and side effects.[1][2][3]
Physician whose IV vitamin-and-mineral formula gave the Myers' cocktail its name.[1]
Published the modified Myers' cocktail and its uses.[1]
Led the first placebo-controlled trial of the Myers' cocktail, in fibromyalgia.[1]
Led the first study of blood and urine NAD+ during an IV NAD+ infusion.[1]