Ah-h-h, summer… road trips, swimming, camping, fishing, ice cream, cotton candy, and……PAINTBALL!! Yes, paintball. Many people enjoy this rousing sport and keep supplies for the game in their homes and garages. An average size Labrador feasting on just 5-10 paintballs has the potential to develop serious sodium (salt) toxicity, resulting in tremors, hyperactivity, seizures, coma, blindness, and death. Generally, the first signs are vomiting and diarrhea and oddly enough, sometimes no paint is seen!
While the exact mechanism of action is unknown most toxicologists believe that osmotically active ingredients such as polyethylene glycol, glycerol and sorbitol cause a shift of body fluids into the colon, upsetting the delicate electrolyte balance in the body. Very high serum sodium levels (hypernatremia) and rapid sodium and fluid changes in the brain are responsible for the clinical signs. The onset of metabolic acidosis and hyperthermia play an important role as well. Treatment is essential and involves both decontamination and supportive care so a trip to your dog’s life-saving veterinarian would be a wise choice if paintballs were a part of his dinner!
Published in Butler July 2009. Authored by Dr. Catherine Adams at Pet Poison Helpline.
