You should seek the advice of your veterinarian if your pet is ill as only he or she can correctly advise on the diagnosis and recommend the treatment that is most appropriate for your pet.

If your pet is unfortunate enough to be ill and is hospitalised it may have to be given a drip. This is a method of giving fluids and other substances directly into the bloodstream ....but have you ever wondered why your pet might need such treatment?

Everyone is familiar with the common use of drips in medicine ....every other patient on TV shows like "ER" and "Casualty" seems to be attached to a drip line ! But why are drips needed ?

If your body loses fluids you become dehydrated. This can happen with many diseases, such as those which cause increased urine production (diabetes, kidney disease and so on). It can also occur when there are fluid losses internally such as occurs following rupture of the urinary bladder, or whenever blood losses result due to haemorrhage. Dehydration is very serious. If you lose 10% of your total body water content you are seriously ill, and if you lose 15% it is life-threatening.

Fluids are replaced in the bloodstream (usually into a vein - called the "intravenous" route) for two main reasons :

• To replace fluids that have been lost and so reverse dehydration
• To increase the volume of fluid in the circulation, so that the supply of blood to tissues can be maintained. All body tissues need a continuous blood supply to carry oxygen and nutrients to them, and to remove waste products from them.

If a lot of blood has been lost the other components of blood (red and white blood cells, blood clotting factors, proteins and others) may also have to be replaced by giving a whole blood transfusion by drip. 

The clear fluids that are administered are not just water - they also contain other substances such as electrolytes (eg sodium, potassium and chloride) and glucose.

Administering fluids to patients is a skilled procedure. All intravenous fluids must be sterile, isotonic and they must have been stored properly. The rate at which fluids are given varies from patient to patient depending upon their clinical condition, and sometimes large volumes are required, in which case continuous monitoring is needed to avoid excess fluid being given.

Updated October 2013