From:
katharine
Date: 2001-03-10 19:32:00 UTC
Subject: Re: More on dehydration
Meg wrote:
<I keep 15cc, 20cc and 35cc syringes on hand and
usually use a 1 inch
20 guage needle. <
I use a 22 gauge needle and have no problem
administering fluids.
<Pull back and fill syringe with air as you must
inject the same amount of air
first into the Ringer's as you plan to pull out in
fluid. <
Are you saying to inject air into the bag? What
is the reasoning behind this? I pull straight
fluids into the syringe, no air involved in any
way.
<I usually do my fluids without help so it can be
done with just one person.<
I do too. A little serving of soup works great.
Keeps them occupied for a while.
<You can use one hand to help guide and guage how
much fluid is being injected
while your other hand does the push.<
I think this would be for a very experienced
person who knows what it should feel like. Isn't
it better to actually calculate fluid need based
on weight and degree of dehydration (if
possible)? It's not difficult to do.
<You can re-use the syringe but Must use a fresh
and sterile needle!<
I use a needle twice. By the third time, it is
dulled and difficult to insert. The second time
it goes in just fine. Sterility is not critical
since you're just injecting under the skin, not
into the bloodstream, or, at least that's how I
understand it. Maybe one of our vets could
comment on this. My vet says it's OK to use a
needle more than once for sub-q fluids.
I guess this goes to show you that everyone has
their own way of administering fluids and there is
no one right way. But, for those of you who don't
know how, you should learn. Don't wait until it's
an emergency. Learn ahead of time. As Meg said,
it could be the difference between life and death.
Katharine