Sub Q fluids

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Amy27

Amy27

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I have heard if you open a bag of lactated ringer, if you don't use it all in 7-10 days you should throw it away and start a new bag. Does anyone know if this is true? I have a bag I opened about 2 weeks ago but it isn't even half gone. I would like to continue to use it but I don't want to if it could cause problems. I thought the reason you couldn't keep it longer was due to bateria. Once you hook up the tubs and stuff bacteria can get inside. But after every use, I always put a new needle on. Do you think it is okay to use it longer then the 7-10 day period?

Also, when I say open. I mean putting the tubing on and breaking the seal of the sterile bag.
 
Technically you really are not supposed to go past 10 days but I know people that do use them longer ; there is always the risk of bacteria getting in the bag only because it is no longer sealed.
if a bag ever gets cloudy don't use it.
I think that it wouldn't hurt to use it over 10 days now and then but honestlyI would not do it routinely.

Some people keep the bag in the fridge in between using it but then you need to allow it to warm up to room temp before you use it.



 
Thanks Maureen. You are also so good at responding to my threads. I really appreciate it.

I think I will use the bag for a few more days so up till day like 12 and then start a new one. I just need to make the 2 bags I have last until Little Bunny's next vet visit and they charge an arm and a leg for lactated ringer bags so I hate throwing them away. But would rather throw them away then cause more problems. Then when I take her back in, I will get new bags.

This is just more of a rant. But for animals getting a low amount of sub q fluids. It would be helpful to me if they made smaller bags and I would just buy more bags. Then I wouldn't have to worry about bacteria. I could have bags that lasted longer then using a half a bag and tossing it.
 
Just an FYI, I keep lactated ringers on hand all the time because 1. I have a cat that has chronic renal failure and I never know when he will need quick fluids and 2. If you have small animals you never know when they will have issues. So I went online and found a place you can order the whole kits from. Ringers, catheters, and admin sets and you don't need a prescription and yes it's legal. The shipping can be excessive if you order a lot of bags at a time but you can order 1000ml bags or 250ml bags at $8.99-$6.99 a bag and the shipping is around $13.99 for 4 bags which I find is a really good buy over what the vets charge.

http://www.atlanticmedsupply.com/shopdisplaycategories.asp

This is also a good site for ordering feeding syringes, syringes with needles and without as well as other first aid supplies. They have some really good prices on medical grade supplies.
 
I know they also sell sterile water for injection in vials that are around 100mL--I would assume they also sell lactated ringer's in that size as well. You wouldn't want to inject just sterile water. The vials also have a rubber septum that you pierce through that seals itself back up after you take the needle out, so as long as the needle itself is clean, there shouldn't be any bacteria introduced that way.
 
Thanks Claire and Christina. I will have to ask my vet about those.

Claire, I think what the vials it would be easier to measure how much you are giving. I hate the sub q bags. Everyway I hold the bag it shows a very different amount. I try to always hold the bag the sameway but when you are doing it by yourself and you are already holding a rabbit, the needle in, and the bag, it isn't that easy.

Christina, my vet does give me the 1000 ml bags. All the vets I have been to has and I just assumed that is all they carried. I will have to ask about the smaller one.
 
I don't know what kind of tube kit you are using but the one I use is 15 drops/ml so I usually try and keep track of the drops so I know how much has been administered.

raun Macro Drip No Injection Site IV Set
Control clamp with slide clamp, two piece male luer lock. 15 drops/ml 79" Length
RE-ORDER NUMBER V1402

That way I don't have to rely so much on the bag markings. Also if you time how long it take for 15 drop to fall, in my case its around 10 seconds for 15 drops, then you can calculate how long to give the fluids for the cut off time. So if you want to administer 50ml and 15 drops is one ml and it takes 10 seconds to administer 1 ml. Then it takes around 8.3 min to administer 50ml of fluids. But that's dependent on if your flow stays consistent.
 
I looked at the atlanticmedsupply site and am a little confused, as I have not used subcu fluids that often. Does the admin set include the needles? When the site lists "catheters" is that the needles? I have absolutely no idea what size needles our vet has been giving us to go with the bags.
 
Often, you'll use a catheter to hook up the bag directly to a needle in the skin for a longer-time-scale administration of a larger volume of fluids.
 
MyRabbits, my vet uses 22 sized needles. We use either 22 x 3/4 for Chase who is about 8lbs or 22 x 1 for Little Bunny who is about 5lbs. The brand is Monoject. I didn't see any needles like that on the website.

When I get them from the vet, the admin set does not include the needles.

From looking at the site, the catheter sets are for a vein so you wouldn't use those for sub q fluids. You would just need the bag of fluids, the admin set, and the needle. It looks like the admin set is the tubing that connects the bag to the needle.

Someone please correct me if I am wrong, but I think that is correct from what I am reading on the site.
 
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