Home Care Instructions for Pets Following Nasal Flushing and Diagnostics
What to Expect
After coming home from the clinic, your pet should be kept in a warm, dry, quiet and ideally indoor location in the 24 hours following discharge. They may still be a little bit drowsy after they go home with you. There may also be some irritability or incoordination during this initial 24-hour period immediately after the procedure.
The shaved area on your pet's front or back legs is the IV injection and/or IV fluids site. Some bruising to this area may be seen when they go home with you; however, if this persists beyond 72 hours, please give us a call at the clinic. You may also find that the underside of their paw may have been shaved - this allowed the placement of blood pressure monitoring equipment, so that we could monitor their progress under anaesthesia closely.
Some blood-tinged mucus may be noted from your pet's nostrils in the 24 hours following the procedure. However, if there is excessive amount of blood or if the blood-tinged mucus is persistent, please contact us at the clinic. Contact us urgently if your pet is is experiencing breathing difficulties after the procedure.
Results
With your permission, the nasal flush fluid has been sent away to an external lab for cytology and/or culture and sensitivity. A veterinarian will contact you with the results as soon as they are back from the lab – this typically takes up to 10 working days. Based on these preliminary results, your veterinarian may recommend further investigations (e.g. blood tests for Cryptococcus or referral for CT scan) if any are required. Your pet's medications may also be changed depending on the test results. Please ensure that your contact details are up to date so that we have a number to reach you at.
If your pet also had skull or chest x-rays as part of their nasal workup, your veterinarian will discuss these with you in detail either at the time of discharge or in the few days following discharge from the clinic, depending on your personal schedule and available appointment times. You will also have the opportunity to view your pet's digital x-rays in person, and raise any concerns you may have.
Exercise Restriction
Unless otherwise directed by your veterinarian or veterinary nurse at the time of discharge, no change to your pet's exercise regime is required. However, we do recommend that dogs are toileted on a lead and only receive light lead exercise in the 24 hours following general anaesthesia or sedation. Cats should ideally remain indoors for 24 hours following anaesthesia or sedation.
Diet
Unless otherwise directed by your veterinarian or veterinary nurse at the time of discharge, no significant change is usually required to your pet's diet following surgery. A small portion of your pet's diet should be fed in the evening that they come home with you, and then resume feeding normal portions in the morning. It is not unusual for some loss of appetite to occur in the first 24 hours following discharge from our clinic; however, if this persists, please give us a call at the clinic on (06) 3588675.
Medications
Some pets may have oral medications to go home with. Please administer all medications as directed on the label; ensure that pain relief medications and antibiotics are given with a meal.
Should you have any enquiries or further concerns about the post-nasal flushing care of your pet, please do not hestitate to phone us at (06) 3588675 to discuss.