Is It Safe To Take Excess Amount Of Fluid When Suffering From Cancer?

Posted on Tue, 7 Jan 2014

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Tue, 7 Jan 2014 Answered on

Thu, 30 Jan 2014 Last reviewed on

Question : Hi; Is it dangerous to drain too much fluid when you are retaining liquid in your belly, especially if you have cancer ? Thank you

Answered by Dr. Rohan Khandelwal (-3 hours later)

Brief Answer: Excessive fluid removal can lead to protein loss Detailed Answer: Dear Sir, Sorry to hear about your condition. Excessive and too frequent fluid removal from the abdomen can lead to protein and fluid loss. The amount of fluid removed should be replaced gradually in the form of oral or IV fluids. There is no point of giving IV albumin (protein) as it is very expensive and does not serve any purpose. This procedure should only be limited to situations when this fluid in the abdomen is too much and causing respiratory problems. Hoping for the best. Please feel free to clarify any other query.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Rohan Khandelwal (2 days later)

My question is, if it is dangerous to take an excessive amount of fluid in this condition, can it lead to death ?

Answered by Dr. Rohan Khandelwal (13 minutes later)

Brief Answer: Unlikely to lead to death Detailed Answer: Dear Sir, Excessive fluid removal from the abdomen is unlikely to lead to death but can make you breathless. Hope that answers your question. Please feel free to clarify any other query.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar