How long to use IV Bag of Sub q Fluids?

[Dee]

Hi Everyone,

BunBun is doing well- off his antibiotics/pain meds, but he must get 150ml of sub q fluids daily still. I think that sounds like a LOT- I’m gonna see what he looks like with 100ml in him- if he’s looking like a basketball at that point, I think I will stop- lol. What I was wondering is, how long do you guys use a bag of sodium chloride solution after it’ been opened/used? The vet said I can use it indefinitely but I thought I heard 7-10 days. I’m always one to err on the side of caution with my Bunbun, but I don’t want to waste sub q fluid. I put a new needle on immediately after each use, so no bacteria gets up the line. Thanks for any advice

[Beka27]

I’m not sure but I’ll send an alert for the other forum leaders (who have had to do SubQs) and/or Katnip who will know.

[Dee]

Thanks Beka

[Sarita]

Well, they do have an expiration date on them. I don’t truly know how long they are good for once they are opened but I’ve used mine for months once it’s opened. I’ve never had a problem however I’ve read it’s 7 to 10 days once it’s opened. I would call the vet and just double confirm with him that it is indefinitely. I think though that you will only have 10 treatments at 100 ml’s anyway so as long as you use it in a reasonable time you should be fine. Of course with 150ml’s it will be less time.

[RabbitPam]

Thanks, Sarita.

[Dee]

Thank you- as always- for your good advice, Sarita! If you have used yours for months, I’m sure it’s fine. My vet says he will sometimes put a bag away for a few weeks, then take it out and use it with no problems. He’s a great vet- but I still have to doublecheck with you guys ! I figure since people on here only have a few bunnies at most, you would definitely notice if an open bag of IV fluid caused problems… whereas at a vet practice with so many animals going in/out, would it really become apparent if a particular bag of IV fluids caused a problem in the animal/animals that got it? Hmmm… I think I think too much.

Btw, BunBun is back to his old self- he’s so happy to be off the oral meds! He really hates them, even the ones that don’t taste too bad. He still postures a bit when peeing, so I don’t think his bladder sludge is gone, but I’m hoping it can be managed with sub q fluids and low calcium diet. I guess the next step would be a bladder flush, but hopefully we won’t have to go there. With 150 mls of fluid every day, maybe it will dilute his sludge enough to be peed out. Poor little guy, I wish we could just let him be and stop poking him with needles… but if this is what it takes to keep him healthy, this is what we’ll do.

[KatnipCrzy]

You should be fine using 150mls per day as there are 1000mls per bag.  And the fluids are going SQ which makes a huge difference and it sounds like you are keeping it clean as possible and lessening any chance of contamination by changing the needle.  If you were using it IV I would be more cautious as it is going directly into the bloodstream- but SQ is less risky for bacteria, etc.  I give my cats insulin twice a day and don’t wipe his fur with alcohol as it is shown not to do anything anyway- but he gets a new syringe each time as they dull quickly and can spoil his insulin. 

So it is fine for SQ- when an IV gets up in the area is usually shaved and scrubbed to prevent bacteria from entering and if a dog/cat is hospitalized for more than 3-4 days we move the IV to a different leg to try to keep the site clean and less chance of infection entering.

150mls probably feels like a lot- but if you can do it, I would give the whole 150mls.  I ams ure your vet based it on size and what will flush his baldder the best- or at least keep it from getting too concentrated.

[Dee]

Thanks, KatnpCrzy- Yeah, 150 mls does feel like quite a bit- especially on my little 4 1/2 lb BunBun! He does look cute all puffed up though… I found some really thick bladder sludge in the litterbox this morning, and he’s peeing without posturing today- so I’m hoping it’s working.

Last night was a disaster with the sub q’s though- just when I was getting confident too . My husband was holding him in a way that tightened Bun’s skin, so it was hard to tent, then when I did get it, I must’ve stabbed too hard cuz I went right through his skin, out the other end and into my finger. Wow, those needles are sharp- my finger was dripping blood everywhere! BunBun was in no mood to be held- he started nipping as soon as Rick (hubby) held him. After I got the needle in (just pulled back and it started flowing fine, but I only got maybe 20 mls into him when he started squirming and fighting again, so I had to pull the needle out. Rick says he thinks I was hurting him somehow or else he wouldn’t have been struggling like that, so now I’m all worried that I did something wrong. But short of going into his flesh which I know I didn’t do, what could I have done to hurt him more than usual? Rick hates the whole process, as do I, so I think he projects his fear onto BunBun a bit, but I don’t wanna discount it if I really am hurting Bunbun with my lack of expertise.

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