Pet Health Information
Well, the holidays are upon us. I think a new record was set when I heard a Christmas tree commercial in October listening to a baseball game on the radio. Along with all of the holiday festivities comes the need to be increasingly aware of substances that can be harmful to our pets.
As always, this column is meant to provide some basic information to help you avoid problems. If one should arise, please seek medical help even if you think you know the answers to your questions. Call us directly or if we are closed an emergency clinic or the ASPCA’s Animal Poison Control Center can answer many questions regarding poisons. Their number is 1-888-4ANI-HEL(P) or 1-888-426-4435.
When having guests to your home, make sure all purses, luggage and/or medicine-containing vials are kept away from your pets. Pets will get into anything and human medications can be very harmful, especially in large quantities.
Other common items found around the holidays can also be harmful to your pets. Christmas tree water can harbor bacteria and cause some mild vomiting or diarrhea. Poinsettias, holly and canned snow are also prone to causing some gastrointestinal irritation.
Items that can cause more than mild intestinal irritation include some species of mistletoe, potpourri, ice melting chemicals and batteries. Always remember to call for advice if your animal gets into anything listed here before attempting medical treatment. For example, vomiting chocolate is a good thing because we want it out of the animal’s system. On the other hand, vomiting batteries is a bad idea because the acid may cause burning of the esophagus and could also be aspirated into the lungs causing severe lung damage.
Holiday items that can cause severe problems include alcohol, chocolate, antifreeze (with ethylene glycol), human medications and candy or gum containing xylitol. Xylitol is an artificial sweetener that can cause liver damage and dangerously low blood sugar in dogs.
Avoidance of problems is obviously the best, but just in case, make sure you have a few common items on hand. Firstly, have a fresh bottle of hydrogen peroxide and a turkey baster in your home. If poured into the sink, hydrogen peroxide should bubble. The bubbling action in an animal’s stomach causes the nausea that can make them vomit. Again, do not induce vomiting unless advised to do so by a medical professional. If called for, having the peroxide and a baster to administer down the back of the mouth will save time.
Secondly, if your pet gets into something with a label, please bring it along to the animal hospital or have it near you while you are on the phone with the hospital. It will often contain crucial information that will help guide a professional in the treatment of your pet.
We wish you and your pets a safe and happy holiday season and hope that you never need to use this information!
Dr. Huffman
Please email questions or suggestions for upcoming articles to orahweb@gmail.com .
Article 1:
Welcome to the Orchard Road Animal Hospital website and thank you for navigating to this page. Our aim is to provide some current and pertinent information for pet owners and pet lovers on a monthly or bimonthly basis.
First of all, we invite you to write to info@orchardroadanimalhospital.com with suggestions for future topics.
Next, I would like to use this space this month to discuss the importance of a physical exam for your pet. Legally, a veterinarian should not prescribe medications to an animal that has not been examined by him or her in the last twelve months. There are also other important situations for which a physical examination is warranted.
The physical exam is obviously helpful when trying to diagnose and treat a sick animal. With a few simple tools we can detect numerous problems such as glaucoma, ear infections, fractured or diseased teeth, swollen glands, heart murmurs, skin problems, certain tumors, fever and dehydration to name only a few. We can also find abnormalities that will help us determine what tests may be needed to help diagnose and treat your animal.
Now, the examination of a sick animal may seem obvious, but with low-cost vaccination clinics around, why would we need to examine an animal when healthy? We strongly believe in preventive and proactive medicine and although vaccinations help keep humans protected from rabies and our animals protected from certain deadly diseases, we strive to offer much more. An annual examination can help us identify many diseases for which we can offer treatments to extend the lives of our beloved pets. For example, I can fondly remember an older dog (name withheld for privacy) who came in for an annual vaccination. Upon listening to her heart, we found a serious heart arrhythmia. Usually, she would have been dead in three months had we just given her shots and sent her on her way; however, with the right medications she lived well into her teens.
Lastly, many people and their pets are plagued by recurring problems such as ear infections or seasonal allergies. Although it may be convenient to simply refill the prescriptions given the year before, examining the pet to make sure we document the problems and talk about the newest treatments is the best medicine. As previously mentioned, we may also detect a totally unrelated problem which would have gone undetected had we not done our examination.
I hope this article has been helpful and informative. We look forward to seeing you for the first time, or if a current client, for years to come. If you have questions about this or anything else veterinary related, please do not hesitate to call. Our receptionists, technicians and assistants do a wonderful job of helping with common questions and can find the quickest and most convenient time for you to be seen by one of our staff if necessary. Thanks for reading!!
Dr. Huffman |
