Dog walks in western Hyderabad: timing, heat and ticks
When to walk in Kondapur and Gachibowli, how hot is too hot for paws, and checking for ticks afterwards.
Inside our in-house lab: how same-day results work
From a blood sample in the exam room to results your vet explains the same afternoon: what happens in between.
When a vet suggests a blood test, owners often ask how long it will take. At many clinics the sample is sent out and results come back the next day or later. We run most common tests in our own small lab, so results usually come back within four hours. Here is what happens to a sample.
The nurse takes blood from a vein in the front leg, or the neck in small cats, using a fine needle. Most pets barely notice. The sample is split into two tubes: one with an anticoagulant for a complete blood count, and one that is spun in a centrifuge for 10 minutes to separate the serum for chemistry tests.
The blood count is run on an analyser that counts red cells, white cells and platelets. Our lab technician, Swapna, also makes a blood smear on a glass slide and looks at it under the microscope, because the machine can miss some things a trained eye can see. The chemistry analyser checks markers related to the kidneys, liver, sugar and proteins.
Urine tests, skin scrapings and ear swabs are also done in-house, usually within an hour. Some tests, such as hormone levels, cultures and biopsies, still go to a specialist lab outside, and those take two to five days. We tell you in advance which kind your test is. Once results are ready, the vet who saw your pet reads them, compares them with any earlier reports, and calls you or meets you to explain what they show and what the next step is.
