Why does my animal need a physical exam?
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
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