Tag: Pain Management
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Screen burn: thoughts on telemedicine
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With the recent announcement that the UK’s first veterinary telemedicine service is set to launch, there is much debate over whether this type of service is a good thing. The major bugbear most vets have with telemedicine is the absence of a physical examination. While teleconsultations (or, indeed, just a telephone call) can allow a…
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Head trauma, part 3: hypertonic saline 7% or mannitol?
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As discussed in part 1 and part 2 of this series, many dogs and cats can recover from severe brain injuries if systemic and neurological abnormalities are identified and managed appropriately and early enough. The initial trauma to the brain parenchyma is followed by secondary damage resulting from haemorrhage, ischaemia and oedema. As the brain…
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Paw parents and fur kids: humanising the owner-pet relationship
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“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” I thought I would begin this blog with some Shakespeare this month – for no other reason than I felt like it. However, it’s another “trigger warning” blog (sorry), so am I just trying to intellectualise and…
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Money and medicine: compromising care for cost
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Here’s a good way to start a blog: Victorian humour. Man: I say, Doctor, how’s that old chap you’ve been treating? Doctor: I fear he is beyond medical help. Man: Oh no! Is he dying? Doctor: No, he ran out of money. Hey, I never said it was a topical blog… Uncomfortable bedfellows In my…
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Managing owners of farm pets
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Farm vetting is incredibly multifaceted. Outside perception of our work can be a little skewed by unhelpful stereotypes of gruff farmers with tight purse strings and no emotional investment in their animals. This is not generally my experience, yet the stereotype prevails, which is possibly why it may come as a shock to some that…
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The wild
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I can recall a story a friend of the family once told me, about a baby bird they found on the edge of the pavement. It was a tiny thing – pink, featherless, barely able to make a noise. By the time they had found it, the bird was already freezing cold and very weak.…
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Tree of life
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Seeing a “tree of life” can be an intimidating sight. When you see this number of pumps for one patient, you instantly know things are pretty serious. This sight is almost a daily occurrence in our ICU. Now, your first reaction may be to turn around and walk quickly in the other direction. However, rather…
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Hollie: a cautionary tale
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“For Hollie, my soulmate, my daemon, my constant shadow” I saw this today – words I had written elsewhere, but forgotten about – and the stoic face I had worn for the past few months melted away. Hollie died in October and I have been in a strange state of denial, relief and grieving…
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The plasticity of dogs
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“Man’s best friend” we call them, and, in retrospect, cosying up with Palaeolithic humans was the wisest move dogs could have ever made, although neither species realised it at the time. In transitioning from annoying scavenger to faithful friend, canis familiaris earned the protection of the human race as well as, for the most part,…
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ICU later
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In a few recent blogs, I have reminisced nostalgically about how things have changed in the profession since I qualified in the distant misty-swirled lands of the last millennium. However, there’s something I don’t miss: blearily sleepwalking my way through morning surgery in the numb haze only familiar to chronic insomniacs, those with young children,…