Charleston, SC (August 9, 2012)  Living the quintessential Charleston lifestyle for many families and their pets includes beach time, boats and swimming.  The emergency team at CVRC sees cases of saltwater intoxication every summer, so Dr. Kristin Welch, head of our Emergency and Critical Care Department, wants to remind everyone about this danger to our pets.

Our ocean water has 3.5% dissolved salts, 90% of which is sodium chloride. That means for a typical Labrador Retriever, swallowing as little as 2-3 cups of saltwater could be toxic; less than 1 gallon of saltwater would be fatal. Once ingested, the salt is rapidly absorbed, resulting in symptoms within 30-60 minutes.

Salt is an irritant and early symptoms that should be a tipoff to saltwater intoxication are vomiting and diarrhea.  As the salt concentration in the bloodstream increases, water is drawn out of cells, resulting in effective “dehydration” of the brain. There is a rapid progression to uncoordinated walking, abnormal mentation, seizures and coma. Rapid emergency intervention is necessary in all cases when saltwater intoxication is suspected, as many animals with severe salt intoxication don’t survive.

Once at the veterinarian, you should expect he/she will want to do an exam and blood work and for many pets, an IV catheter and fluids will be needed. Dogs that start having seizures will need immediate medications. All dogs with saltwater intoxication are hospitalized for continuous IV fluid and regular monitoring of blood values for sodium chloride levels. The duration of hospitalization is case dependent but 5-7 days of hospitalization would not be uncommon. As the salt levels drop, the symptoms wane as well.

Prevention of saltwater intoxication is simple. Always carry fresh water for your dog; for a day at the beach, bring 1 gallon of water (an empty milk jug works well) and a portable bowl. Make your dog take breaks from running and playing to lay down in the shade and have a drink to stay hydrated.

Dr. Kristin Welch, Head of Emergency and Critical Care at CVRC, is South Carolinas only board certified Critical Care specialist.  CVRC is a specialty referral and 24-hour emergency and critical care veterinary hospital, which opened in March 2011. More information may be found at www.CharlestonVRC.com or on Facebook at Facebook.com/CharlestonVRC or (843) 614-VETS (8387).