VetCall Veterinary Surgery - What to do in an emergency

What to do in an Emergency

Small animal emergencies
Call VetCall Veterinary Surgery on 020 8529 4004
Equine emergencies
Call Galley Hill Equine Surgery on 01992 762 185

PLEASE ONLY CALL OUT OF HOURS IF IT IS AN EMERGENCY AND NOT JUST FOR GENERAL INFORMATION. You may be blocking the telephone line for someone who has a genuine emergency.

The veterinarian providing the after hours emergency will have worked the whole of that day and will work the next day as well. Please remember that night calls are demanding, antisocial and tiring work for the veterinarian. While no veterinarian would begrudge his time to help an emergency case, some callers do not understand what constitutes an emergency.

Here are a few suggestions on how to use the emergency veterinary service responsibly:

Is it really an emergency? Is your pet truly suffering or is its life in danger? If it is or you are genuinely unsure go ahead and phone us.
Emergencies to telephone immediately about:
- Poisoning
  Sudden attacks of violent vomiting and/or diarrhoea, dribbling from the mouth, staggering, fitting and sudden collapse are all possible indications that a pet has been poisoned. If you think your pet has been poisoned:
  - DO NOT PANIC. Few cases have fatal outcomes and few poisons act very rapidly.
  - Remove animal(s) from source of poison
  - Contact the surgery immediately especially if your pet is unwell.
  - Be ready to provide information on WHEN, WHERE, HOW poisoning occurred and QUANTITY consumed.
  - It may help to bring the packet, sample of the product or plant, a scrape of vomit or diarrhoea to us.
  - If the skin is contaminated then wash thoroughly with water
  - Do not try to make the animal vomit unless instructed to do so
  - Keep your pet warm and quiet while you get to the surgery.
- Road traffic accidents or severe trauma
  If you see an animal hit by a vehicle and it is still lying in the road the immediate task is to prevent it from being run over again. Despite the risk of causing further damage the pet should be moved to a safe place. Avoid putting yourself at risk and remember it may be difficult for drivers to see you at night. Approach an injured animal slowly and deliberately to avoid scaring it even more. Protect any wounds by covering with clean cloths and applying gentle pressure to any sites of bleeding. Some animals might not show external signs of injury but might have suffered internal injuries and may need urgent veterinary attention.
- Unconscious animal
  An unconscious animal should be assessed by checking the breathing and colour of the gums. Look for any wounds, swellings, abnormalities in shape and position of head, neck or back. Look for any clues around the animal. Arrange careful transportation to the surgery keeping the animal positioned to avoid movement of head, neck or spine. Keep checking the breathing.
- Fitting
  Abnormal brain activity can cause an animal to experience unconsciousness and rapid muscular and limb movements. When an animal is fitting, darken the room, remove any objects that could harm them, the environment kept quiet and unstimulated by voice or physical contact and where possible left alone. Most fits last just a few minutes but some can last longer. Leave the animal alone for this time but comfort it as soon as it has recovered. If the pet continues fitting for more than 20 minutes then veterinary advice should be sought.
- Bites and fights
  Emergency treatment is needed following fights when the skin has been torn into flaps, deeply punctured, a lot of bleeding or if a crush injury has occurred. This is where an animal is attacked by a larger animal and hidden internal injuries have been inflicted. If an animal’s neck or chest has been injured then breathing difficulties are possible. Any wounds should be covered with a clean material and any point of bleeding carefully covered and gentle pressure applied.
- Eye injuries
  Signs of eye injuries include pawing at the face, excessive blinking, a fluid or jelly-like substance on the surface of the eye or running down the side of the animal’s face. The eye tissue will be red and inflamed and the eye will be watering considerably. Contact the surgery. Eye injuries are generally very painful. Do not touch eye injuries or Investigate yourself further. The exception to this is when the animal’s eye has prolapsed and where the eye has popped out of the socket but is still attached to the head by nerves and blood vessels. A clean cloth dampened with clean water (or contact lens solution) should be carefully placed over the eyeball and the socket area and the eyeball gently and slightly lifted towards the socket and held in place against the side of the face. Immediate veterinary attention is required.
- Bloat or gastric dilation, colic
  Bloat or a gas filled distended abdomen can be a sign of gastric dilatation (volvulus) also known as gastric torsion and is usually a problem in large dogs with deep chests such as Irish Terriers, Great Danes, Irish Wolfhounds, Rottweilers etc. An excessive amount of gas builds up in the stomach and without release of the gas the condition is quickly fatal so urgent and immediate veterinary attention is needed.
- Collapse, fever
- Heat stroke
  Heat stroke is basically the body overheating with body temperatures as high as 108F (42.2C) where the normal dog body temperature is 110.9-101.7F or 38.2-38.8C). Signs of heat stroke are lethargy, difficulty in breathing and fitting. The animal will feel very hot to the touch. Immediate action is required:
  - Remove from the hot area
  - Cool the animal with cold water
  - Place ice cubes on feet, neck, abdomen and wrap in a wet cloth to hold in place
  - Transport pet to the surgery keeping animal and environment cool and animal out of direct sunlight
- Burns and scalds
- Eclampsia
  This is a condition found in pregnant or feeding bitches or queens. A low blood calcium level causes the mother to present with weakness and lethargy, trembling, twitchy muscles, fits and coma. Calcium treatment is needed and immediate veterinary attention should be sought.
- Difficult labour (dystocia)
  Prolonged straining to deliver a puppy, kitten or foal, a stuck or partially exposed offspring, a green/brown vaginal discharge (a clear blood-coloured discharge is normal) without a puppy/kitten arriving are indicators of problems and veterinary advice should be sought.
- Haemorrhagic Enteritis or Haemorrhagic Gastro-Enteritis
  Bloody diarrhoea or bloody diarrhoea with vomiting is an emergency because haemorrhagic diarrhoea often occurs with severe and fatal diseases such as parvo virus infection and enteritis often leads to severe dehydration. The presence of blood indicates that the degree of internal inflammation can be severe. Veterinary advice should be sought by telephoning the surgery and we will probably ask you the following questions:
  - How long has there been diarrhoea or vomiting?
  - How often is the vomiting or diarrhoea?
  - State of your pet – bright/alert, quiet, depressed?
  - Is the pet drinking?
  - Colour of the diarrhoea?
- Any other condition that makes your pet acutely ill or causes pain
  Any animal in pain is likely to be unpredictable and aggressive. If it can walk it may try to run away and hide. Wrapping a small pet in a blanket or coat will help restrain it. An animal with spinal injuries should be moved as little as possible to avoid causing further damage. A sheet of wood, heavy card or even a blanket held taught can serve as a makeshift stretcher. A box or carry cage is the best way to transport cats and small dogs to prevent them from escaping. Two people will be needed to lift larger dogs securely.
If the veterinary surgeon thinks that your pet’s condition is urgent but not life threatening he will often arrange to see your pet if you wish but will advise you of the costs that you can incur.
Make sure you know the details about the problem (what’s happening, when did it start and has it worsened?)
If your pet has a major problem or serious injury, be prepared to have to make some urgent decisions. The veterinarian will discuss a number of treatment options. If the condition is life threatening then you will not be able to spend a lot of time making up your mind about what needs to be done. You will need to think about expected quality of life, how much you are prepared to let your pet go through and how much you want to spend.
Please have some means of payment

What first aid should be given?

The aim of first aid is to keep your pet alive and comfortable until it can receive veterinary attention. The most important tasks are to ensure that your pet can breathe comfortably, to keep it warm and to control any bleeding. Check the mouth for any obstructions such as chunks of food or vomit and pull the tongue forward. Be very careful not to get bitten. Wrapping your pet in a blanket will prevent it losing body heat but if no suitable material is available then newspapers, kitchen foil etc may be used instead. Bleeding from wounds may be minimised by applying a pressure bandage or tourniquet.

The VetCall Veterinary Surgery runs consultations until 7pm on weekdays. If you are getting worried about your pet during the evening phone and have it seen straight away in a normal consultation. Leaving it until the early hours of the morning to decide means a delay in treatment and extra costs.