Subscribe to receive headlines by e-mail. 'Tags' display subject-specific news. Under each story, you'll see a comments button. Please do!
This idea is something another nurse has posted on a thread a few months ago, can't remember who it was. I tried it the other day and everyone was impressed, so thought i'd put it here for anyone who hasn't seen it before!
Get an open drip bag and inject food dye into it. Microwave it and use instead of hot hands! Stays warm for a good while and less likely to burst than gloves. The food dye is so that people know it's purpose and don't use it to flush a wound or something! I wouldn't put it in with an awake animal, but good during surgery.
I was told this tip by a South African Vet.. Not sure if it has been scientifically researched, but seems to work!
When judging what size of E.T tube to select for a canine patient, take the tube and measure it's width against the gap between the dog's nostrils. (hold the end that attaches to anaesthetic machine and rest the soft end against dog's nose).
Some dogs are easy to guess the tube size on, but others can be deceiving, this trick strangely works, try it and see! I normally select one size up and one size down to have on hand just in case..
Especially the vetergesic ones, as I have known vets and nurses to open them with their bare hands (ouch!) and the vial shatters in their hand
If you dont have one of those special vial openers, ALWAYS used a piece of tissue, or similar to protect your hands, should the vial shatter. Better safe than sorry!
At our practice, to stop patients from developing mid/post op hypothermia, in addition to covering the patient in a blanket (apart from where the VS wants to operate on), we put baby socks onto their paws to help keep them warm.
The socks are just the cheapest toweling ones from the local supermarket, or few pairs donated from staff members who have had children...............but they work a treat! Our rates of post op hypothermia have dropped considerably since using them, even in dental surgery patients.
Ever had a sparrow hawk in desperate need of some warm fluids but it's stressed out and moving, and restaining would cause more harm to inject SC?
In practice we have found that placing a mug of boiling water (obviously not so close the bird could get to it) works really well, the steam from the water is inhaled and generally is just enough to give the bird the basic fluids it needs so it can function normally and then eat. Doing this two or three times per day for a couple of days is generally all thats needed.
This tip was passed to me years ago by the late Mr M Corner MRCVS.
So you're preparing a patient for foot surgery.
Remove the hair from the foot either using standard clippers or those mini ones you get in the barbers.
Now grab a large latex glove, fill it with the scrub solution, place over the foot.
Now with one hand hold the glove on the foot by the cuff and with the other hand squeeze the hand of the glove this makes for better coverage of the scrub solution on the foot.
Whilst trying to get a HR from your feline patients, it can be quite difficult to hear when they are purring away! A good tip I got from a vet student was to put a small amount of surgical spirit on a swab and rub it on there nose, works wonders and doesn't cause a huge amount of stress
We all know the state Dogs' head, neck and ears get into during dental work esp with paste, blood and water. A cheap way to keep clean is to use the arm cut off a water proof jacket. Poke the dogs muzzle through the elasticated cuff and pull the rest of the arm over the dogs face, head and neck. It keeps the mess to a minimum by only exposing the mouth and also keeps the head dry and warm yet still allows easy access for monitoring. Saving Ga+nurse time from washing, drying and combing out dental mess!
We don't do alot of bunny anaesthetics in our practice (as mainly referral), so many of you might already do this... but for people who don't...
Instead of trying to dive under drapes during a spay/castrate and/or your pulse ox is not working its best, place the doppler blood pressure probe onto bunny limb to get a nice pulse. Secure with micropore... and you can either wear headphones or have the volume cranked up!
Works a treat!
Hi someone sent an earlier mail regarding attaching old used drip bags with new giving sets to urinary catheters - not a well known fact but make sure each drip bag has had suction applied with extracting at least 40mls (may need more in Dgs) of air (use syringe & needle in injection port of drip bag to do this) before leaving bags to collect urine - this will create instant vacuum pressure & will prevent retrograde hydronephritis & allow urine to drain faster & therefore your patient much more comfortable!!! Male cats also benefit from having the giving set taped to their tails to prevent potential drag on their prepuce!!!
If the cuff no longer works on your ET tube - cut if off! I know that sounds drastic but it will stop other staff members from trying to inflate it!
I find often that the stoppers on the cuff come undone, so after you have inflated it - use the cover of a needle to place over and that ensure it stays done!
When clipping a dog with short hair, that takes ages to get rid of all the little hairs that seem to stick like glue and no matter how much you clean they still seem to be there. Use a lint roller on the area before scrubbing it gets rid of almost all the hair!
In an emergency situation, either post extubation or a patient coming in with respiratory distress and are unable to intubate the patient.
Grab a 10F Dog Urinary Catheter and a 3.5mm ET tube blue connector. The connector fits perfectly in the end of the catheter.
The catheter can then be introduced into the patients trachea. A breathing system can then be attached to the blue connector and oxygen can be supplied to your patient!
During a dental on a cat or dog the wow bandage tied to the et tube gets all minging,
Why dont you try a used drip line to tie in the et tube. It's easily washed down during the dental, it does not catch.
No it's not hot hands and it is Bouncyfi idea, but I am putting it up as it is a brilliant idea.
any fluids that have been used for flush , instead of binning them, inject food dye into them and use them as heat pads for your patients.
It is well known in human medicine that rest promotes healing and well being. If possible once your morning rounds are finished on the ward, and all pets have been medicated, fed and toileted, switch off the lights and make it a quiet place, even for an hour or so. I have been doing this for a while and I think the patients appreciate it, rather than the noise and glaring light all day. I think the less stimulation the better, although I do have the radio on very low in the background. I think it lulls them to sleep
When animals are breathing in GA gasses via a face mask, gasses may leak out and cause harm to the staff. Place the mask on the animals face + attach it to the circuit. Tie some WOW bandage around the base of the mask, push the knot around so that it is in line with the animals chin. Then tie the WOW bandage up and around the animals head, securing the knot underneath the ears.
When moving the animal (to theatre etc..) the mask stay's on the face, just disconnect the circuit and transport them through. This makes the anaesthetic so much smoother, easier, quicker!!
Rabbit anaesthetics!
Although the pedal reflex always disappears in animals under anaesthetic, this stays in the rabbit!
This is a very affective way of monitoring the depth of a rabbit's anaesthetic. When a rabbit is in a medium plane of anaesthesia, the pedal reflex will be present! If this reflex is ever not present, the rabbit may be too deep! Even during anaesthetics such as a rabbit spay, this reflex should still be present!
The general charts that are published for rabbit anaesthesic drugs actually show the highest dose date's available (but they do not state this). In our practice we use TDK, we always reduce the domitor what ison the chart to allow the rabbit into a nice plane of anaesthesia and it works very well!
Also, TDK acts just as quickly and effective when given subcutaneously instead of given intramuscular in a rabbit. IM injections can be very stressful for rabbits, all of these little tips work well together to provide a stress free anaesthetic for your rabbit!!
Try it! It helps!
Attach a giving set (which is attached to an empty drip bag) to the end of the catheter and ensure the giving set is 'open'. This will ensure the patient stays clean and dry from urine as all bladder contents will go into the drip bag.
I know what it's like in practice, trying to find the scissors, thermometer, nail clippers, stitch removers etc all those little bits and pieces we use everyday, well, after a discussion here on the forum, some good tips were mentioned - Sal the 1st said about using a bumbag - one of those your wear around your waist. Thats a fab idea! I hope Sal doesnt feel I stole her idea lol but it's too good to keep to ourselves!
Use betadine to clean the blood stained coat rather than hibi, it gets it out in seconds! no need for scrubbing either.
Dogs hate them, and the bed usually ends up bundled in a corner after the dog has had a total hissy fit getting into the kennel due to it beiong slippery.
Use rubber car mats to stop the beds slipping, the dogs walk in no problems and no stress, and they are easily washed too.
Bunnies aren't always the easiest creatures to intubate, so when the tube is in place you want it to stay there!
Using WOW bandage or string to tie the tubes in often slips and the tube doesn't remain secure.
Using a thin strip of Micropore/Duropore or similar to tie around the tube and then wrap around the back of the ears keeps the tube secure and easy to untie when you want to extubate.
I stole this from the VetSurgeon site, cos i thought it was useful to know, apologise to the person i stole it from
You know those small metal circles at the centre of the tops of bottles of injectables? Those ones that are attached by just two connections? And that you stick your fingernail under to try and twist off when you start the bottle?
Push them inwards with the tip of something hard - syringe nub, end of a forceps, and they pop off.
When patients are recovering from a GA with a RJ dressing/splint on which you have taken special care to apply under the GA, to prevent the dressing from becoming soiled from urine/diarrhoea, then lightly tape a buster op cover around the dressing, they will protect the dressing from becoming wet and need that time-consuming redress (sometimes under another GA!!!!). it's temporary and can be removed very easily and replaced if necessary.