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Can Zika Affect Pets?

August 15, 2016

Zika. We haven’t been able to get away from this word recently. It’s been all over the internet and the news because our Olympians are currently at high risk of contracting the Zika virus.

While the Zika conversation has been ongoing, we haven’t heard much about whether or not Zika can affect our pets.

Recently, Dr. Ernie Ward, Jr. published a post on the Fetch blog from Petplan.com about Zika and how it can affect pets.

Here are my main takeaways from his article:

  • We don’t know for sure if dogs & cats can get the Zika virus. The research is not yet complete.
  • There is no available treatment or vaccine for the Zika virus for dogs or cats.
  • Zika is transferred through mosquito bites.
  • Most common in Asia & Africa, but these days we have seen more cases in Central & South America.
  • 1600+ cases of Zika (in humans) have been reported in the U.S. as of the end of July
  • Most (almost all) of the reported cases were people who had traveled to affected areas.
  • At the end of July, the CDC officially cautioned pregnant women not to travel to Miami due to 14 confirmed cases.
  • We actually don’t know much about the Zika virus to date.

Can Zike Affect Pets? While research is limited, there are a few things you can do to keep your pets safe.

What can you do?

This information while helpful can be alarming. What do you mean we don’t know??!? What do you mean there is no treatment?!?!

It’s undoubtedly scary. So here is what we can do for our pets as of now:

1. Limit your pet’s exposure to mosquitos. Dr. Ward recommends:

Remove any standing water from flower pots, bowls or buckets to help eliminate mosquito breeding areas.

2. Protect your pet from other mosquito-borne diseases like heartworm

3. Keep yourself informed. The CDC has a Zika website where you can stay up to date on the most recent information and research.

I want to thank Dr. Ward for discussing such an important issue for our pets. I highly recommend reading his article to learn more about the disease and the types of mosquitoes that carry the disease.

What Pet Parents Have a Right to at the Vet’s Office

July 19, 2016

A visit to the veterinary hospital can be overwhelming.

You walk in confident and ready to discuss the list of items you brought to your pet’s annual exam, and then you are completely thrown off the second your vet says something like, “What’s this we found here?”.

Suddenly, your mind starts racing.

“What do you mean?”

“What did you find?”

“What’s wrong with my baby?” (this is the first thought I would have).

Amongst all of your emotions you hear your veterinarian say, “I want to take a closer look at this lump”. And, now you are wondering…

…”Why? Is it cancerous?”…and then panic ensues.

While even the best veterinarians provide the most thorough explanations intended to ease your worrying and provide you with sound reason, you can’t help but feel overwhelmed and agree to their recommendations immediately. Your hope is that there are more answers than questions provided by their initial tests.

After your pet is back in your arms and you have been reassured that everything is okay, you have been hit with a larger than expected bill. And your only thought is, “…wait, what’s happening?”

While many veterinary offices have no intention of overwhelming you, most days they are a place of well-organized chaos. Which can leave you feeling overwhelmed with perhaps more questions than you have answers.

Today, I would like to share with you some of the things you can keep in mind while at the veterinary hospital. Specifically, things I believe you have a right to:

A right to ask questions:

As a former veterinary professional I can tell you that we don’t mean to seem like we are in a hurry or that we don’t want to explain things further, it’s just that we do this for a living, so sometimes we forget to slow down and explain. Therefore, don’t forget that you can stop us at any time and ask questions!

Questions are important and your veterinary staff wants you to leave the hospital with all of your questions answered. Veterinary staffs are often on a very tight schedule, so you may have to wait a few moments to have a chance to speak with a member of the veterinary staff, but take your time and get all the info you need while you are there.

What Pet Parents Have a Right to at the Vet

A right to an estimate:

Always ask for an estimate! Estimates are particularly useful anytime your pet receives more treatment than you planned, i.e. when your veterinarian makes a discovery during their annual exam.

When I worked at the veterinary hospital we wrote an estimate anytime we treated a pet (ex. they needed more than just vaccines). We understood that everyone’s financial position is different and we wanted people to feel prepared when they went to pay their bill.

A right to alternative treatment plans:

Often, we would provide both a low & high estimate. The low end of the estimate would include any treatments deemed absolutely necessary to protect the health of your pet by the veterinarian. The high end would include some additional tests that would make the veterinarians diagnosis more accurate and might save money in the long run.

As a technician, I went over these estimates with our clients regularly and explained each item one by one. Specifically, I explained why the veterinarian wanted it and how the test was going to improve the health of their pet. If you aren’t sure about any of the items on your estimate, don’t forget to ask questions and ask for alternatives.

A right to the whole appointment time:

This point relates back to asking questions. While veterinarians may have very busy schedules, you did pay for their time so you have a right to use that time to ask questions.

Additionally, sometimes veterinarians have to be pulled away from appointments to assist in emergency cases. If this ever happens to you, be patient. If it was your pet having the emergency, you would want all veterinarians helping them too. However, you still have a right to your full appointment, even if you have to reschedule you should get the 20-30 minutes you paid for.

A right to purchase medications at a different pharmacy:

Some of the medications used to treat animals are also used to treat humans. Which means they might be available at your local Walgreens or Costco. Sometimes you can save money by picking up medications at these other pharmacies. Keep in mind this isn’t an option for every prescription.

Further, veterinarians might be willing to price match, so you might save yourself a trip by bringing up pharmacy alternatives.

A right to ask for a take-home guide:

At the last hospital I worked, many of the veterinarians provided take-home guides. The guide included a description of your pet’s condition, a summary of their medications, next steps for treatment, and follow-up care instructions.

While your veterinarian might not have take-home guides as a standard practice in their hospital, you can ask them to write things down for you if you know you are going to have a hard time remembering the course of treatment when you get home (remember the overwhelm we described above?). Many veterinarians are happy to provide you with this information especially if this means you are going to follow their treatment plan thoroughly.

A right to a demonstration:

There were 3 main training sessions (or demos) I gave pet parents while working at the hospital:

  1. Subcutaneous fluids
  2. Nail Trim
  3. Insulin injections

Each of these tasks can be daunting for a non-medical professional. If you know you need to perform these treatments at home, don’t hesitate to ask the staff to show you how to do it or at least, give you some pointers.

The above list represents my opinions, but I have been on the side of both client and veterinary professional and I can tell you that it is really important to advocate for yourself and your pet!

For Carol’s mom perspective on this topic, please visit her at Fidose of Reality.

medicine versus mom

Why is My Dog So Itchy? Understanding Canine Allergies

July 9, 2016

This post was originally published on January 5th, 2015 and has been updated to include more information for MKHP readers.

As someone who suffers quite regularly from allergies, I can say that they are an awful thing to endure.

Our pets suffer from allergies in a variety of different ways, causing them pain and discomfort. Therefore, as a pet parent, it is imperative to have an understanding of the different types of allergies and how they can affect your pet.

When explaining allergies to pet parents, I start by explaining that there are three main categories of allergies.

Inhaled Allergy (Atopy)

Food Allergy

Flea Allergy

(Other types of environmental allergies, such as an allergy to a cleaning agent, are possible and would be considered Contact Dermatitis, but won’t be discussed in detail here.)

Inhaled allergies

Inhaled allergies, or atopy, is the most common type of allergy (Dr. Foster’s Smith). (This is more commonly known with humans as seasonal allergies). Keep in mind, your pet can suffer from inhaled allergy flair ups year round (like myself & Rooney).

What are the signs of atopy?

According to Dr. Foster & Smith:

Feet Chewing

Licking of the Flank & Growing Area

Rubbing of the Face

Redness or Inflammation of the Ears

Hotspots

Asthma or Wheezing

Rooney suffers from wheezing, hotspots, ear infections, and feet chewing when his allergies flare up.

Flea Bite Allergy or Hypersensitivity

Flea Bite Allergy or Hypersensitivity is the most common skin disease in pets (PetMD). Many pet parent are under the perception that flea allergy symptoms are only possible if your pet is suffering from a flea infestation, but the fleas or flea dirt may not be visible (PetMD). Meaning, you don’t have to see a flea on your dog for them to get bit, and start to have a reaction.

What are the signs of flea allergy?

Severe Itching

Sever Scratching

Hair Loss

Scabbing

Often, these symptoms can be found on the hind end of your dog. Less of the front part of the body is affected (PetMD).

Food Allergy

Food Allergy accounts for about 10-15% of allergies in dog and cats (Dr. Foster’s Smith).

What are the signs of food allergy?

According to Dr. Foster & Smith:

Itching of the Face, Feet, Limbs and Anal Region

Yeast Related Ear Infections

Skin Infections

Increased Bowel Movements

Soft Stool

Keep in mind that your pet can suffer from more than one type of allergy simultaneously. Therefore, it is wise to work with your veterinarian to determine what type of allergy is affecting your pet, and how you should proceed with treatment.

Does your pet suffer from allergies?

Here is an infographic from Petco.co that discusses in detail food allergy commonalities. Please share with anyone whose pet suffers from food allergies.

Does your dog or cat suffer from food allergies?

Is Hard Water Posing a Threat to Your Pet’s Health?

July 7, 2016

Water is the elixir of life! It’s the most important thing we can provide for ourselves and our pets every day.

But what if your local water supply wasn’t healthy enough for you or your pet?

Trupanion, Rooney’s pet insurance company, released a study in April 2016 that found a correlation between pet health and water quality. Specifically, they cross referenced the urinary tract related claims they received from pet parents across the U.S. with the Environmental Protection Agency’s hard water ratings. The findings were consistent with much of my experience in the veterinary hospital. Here are a few key takeaways:

1. Pets living in areas with extremely hard water were more likely to develop a urinary condition.

2. Santa Cruz, Santa Clara, and Thousand Oaks have some of the highest hard water ratings in the state of California.

3. Male cats living in areas with an “extremely hard water” rating were three times more likely to develop urinary issues as compared to male cats in areas with only slightly hard water.

4. Cats are 40% more likely to run into urinary health issues than dogs.

Basically, hard water poses a larger threat to cats especially if they are male. However, based on this research, hard water does indeed increase the chances that your pet will experience urinary issues.

Is Hard Water Posing a Threat to Your Pet's Urinary Health?

The Trupanion team was generous enough to provide me with additional information for the Bay Area regarding hard water and urinary claims.

1. In the Bay Area, Trupanion has paid over $225,000 toward urinary conditions in cats and dogs, with $6,000 going toward crystalluria specifically.

2. The most commonly claimed conditions are Urinary Tract Infections, Incontinence, Blood in Urine, Urinary Obstruction, and Crystalluria.

Let’s break down this information a bit further:

1. Hard water is classified as having more Magnesium and Calcium.

2. When looking at all Trupanion claims, they found that the following urinary issues were the most common: urinary tract infections, cystitis, urinary obstruction, and crystalluria.

3. When examining the hard water ratings, they found that claims of crystalluria (crystals in the urine) were more common.

What does this information mean for you as a pet parent?

1. Get your pet a filtered water fountain. Petsafe has a Drinkwell series with Carbon filters hat can protect against hard water, but the filters have to be frequently cleaned to prevent Calcium buildup.

2. Take bottled water with you on hikes and other outdoor activities.

3. Make sure your pet drinks enough water. Water is crucial for appropriate kidney function and is essential for avoiding urinary tract infections and diseases.

4. Look into getting a water softener for your home. In some cases, this might be the best option for your family pending the treat of hard water.

What tips and tricks do you have for avoiding hard water?

I want to thank Trupanion for providing us with such important information. 

How Your Pet Might Benefit from the Latest Advancements in Veterinary Medicine

May 3, 2016

As pet parents, it is crucial that we stay in the know and keep up with the latest veterinary medicine advances.

Today, Carol from Fidose of Reality and myself are going to discuss the different ways that your pet can benefit from the latest Veterinary Medical Advances. For pet parents, this means that we have more tools in our toolbox so that we can advocate for our pets!

General Veterinary Medicine

Vaccines:

While there has been a bit of an anti-vaccine movement that has occurred in veterinary medicine, vaccines are still very important for the health of our pets and the health of our human-animal bond. Many of the vaccines recommended for your pet’s health are tried and true. You have your very typical; Rabies, DHPP, Lepto, Lyme, and Bordetella for dogs. However, outside of the standard vaccines are new vaccines that allow us to protect our pets from more diseases, like the rattlesnake vaccine.

“Approximately 300,000 dogs and cats are bitten by venomous snakes each year in the United States.” – Red Rock Biologics (Makers of the Rattlesnake Vaccine)

While this “new” vaccine (first available in the early 2000’s) does not make our pets immune to the devastating bite of a rattlesnake, it does buy time so that there is a better chance your pet can be treated and will survive (UCDavis Veterinary Medicine). While this vaccine is still rattlesnake specific (i.e. it does not vaccinate against all types of rattlesnakes), it is a huge improvement in the fight against rattlesnake-related deaths, especially in areas where they are prolific (Vetstreet).

What does this mean for my pet?

If the rattlesnake vaccine sounds like something your pet needs, please discuss the customized vaccine schedule with your veterinarian.

General Pain Management: 

New guidelines for pain management in veterinary medicine were released by the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) and the American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP) in 2015 (the last version was released in 2007). The newest version includes emphases on an integrated veterinary approach (i.e. not all western medicine all the time), and a section specifically dedicated to treating the increase in feline degenerative joint disease.

Pain management is incredibly important in veterinary medicine. As a matter of fact, I spent most of my day as a Veterinary Assistant managing pain in for my patients, especially for post-surgical patients. Advances in this category of veterinary medicine are imperative for improving the quality of life of our pets.

“Classic veterinary medical education places a strong emphasis on treatment of disease through pharmacology and surgery, the esoteric skills that are the domain of the trained clinician. Increasingly, evidence-based data and empirical experience justify a strong role for nonpharmacologic modalities for pain management. A number of those should be considered mainstream options and an integral part of a balanced, individualized treatment plan.” – Pain Management Guidelines for Dogs and Cats

The important takeaway in these advancements is not just that pharmaceuticals are improving from year to year in terms of their efficacy, but also, the outlook and integrative approaches are also improving.

What does this mean for my pet?

It means that your veterinarian is gaining access to more tools so that your pet can feel less pain. There are so many pets with arthritis or other forms of degenerative joint disease. Pending the onset of the disease and the average life span of your pet, your pet could outlive the efficacy of pharmaceuticals, or their body could stop tolerating the medications. This is where alternative and integrative veterinary medicine can step in to continue to treat the disease and minimize the symptoms.

If you are at all “nerdy” about veterinary medicine (life myself), I highly recommend you read the guide from AAHA/AAFP; it’s full of fun facts and science jargon!

Specialty Veterinary Medicine 

Stem Cell Therapy

When I was completing my undergrad in late 2010, I wrote a paper about the new stem cell therapy that was changing the way that veterinarians could treat degenerative joint disease.

“In fact, one in five dogs over a year of age will develop degenerative joint disease (DJD). And the number jumps to four out of five for certain large breeds.” – Dr. Becker 

How does it work? 

Adult stem cells have the ability to develop and/or replicate into many different types of cells. Specifically, their job is to continue to divide and replace cells that are dead or diseased. As a result of their specific abilities, they can repair damaged joints or tissue and improve certain types of diseases.

According to HealthyPets Mercola, as of 2015, several studies were underway to use adult stem cells to treat the following diseases in dogs:

  • Osteoarthritis
  • Degenerative Joint Disease
  • Hip & Elbow Dysplasia
  • Cranial Cruciate Ligament Injuries

Are there cases and evidence that the treatment has improved the symptoms of DJD and other similar diseases?

While research is underway for stem cells, and some veterinarians offer this advanced therapy around the U.S., the number of conclusive studies and irrefutable scientific evidence is low. That being said, there are many owner and patient success stories available. If you are interested, Dr. Becker offers two anecdotal stories in her “An Innovative New Way to Repair Joints” article here.

What does this mean for my pet? 

If your pet is suffering from one of the above diseases, and you feel that their quality of life is suffering. You have an opportunity to seek out a veterinarian with experience providing stem cell therapy. Every single procedure has risks, old or new, so be sure to discuss those risks with your veterinarian prior to treatment.

Physical Therapy

Physical therapy for pets is part of the “integrative veterinary medicine” approach that I mentioned above. The concept and purpose of animal physical therapy is the same as that of human physical therapy; regain muscle strength and balance in order to recover from surgery or injury. Specifically, in veterinary medicine, physical therapy is being used for post-surgical and neurological patients (MSPCA – Angell).

“Dogs can lose up to one-third of their muscle mass in the rear limb following surgery for a cranial cruciate ligament rupture and it may take over a year to regain the lost muscle.” – Roxanna Khorzad, DVM

Physical therapy comes in different forms. For some pets, balance and strength exercises are recommended. For others, hydrotherapy using an underwater treadmill is the most recommended form of physical therapy.

Here are a few potential benefits to physical therapy according to Dr. Khorzad,

  • Improved Muscle Strength
  • Reduction of Pain
  • Improved Muscle Tone
  • Improved scar tissue
  • Improved function
  • Improved biomechanics
  • Improved flexibility
  • Reduced Pain
  • Non-invasive

What does this mean for my pet? 

If your pet is has had a recent surgery or is suffering from a neurological disease, physical therapy and rehabilitation might improve their functionality and quality of life.

Pain Management 

Acupuncture

I had the pleasure of working with a veterinarian who practiced acupuncture. Our patients often received other medications to treat their disease, but used acupuncture as a more natural alternative for reducing pain and improving quality of life.

How does it work? 

Acupuncture draws the body’s attention to a place that needs to be healed by placing a needle into the body where blood vessels and nerve bundles meet. This action allows the body to heal itself. According to Dr. Patrick Mahoney, VDM, acupuncture can do the following for your pet:

  • Improve blood circulation
  • Improved oxygenation of tissues
  • Stimulated removal of metabolic wastes and toxins
  • Stimulate the nervous system
  • Stimulate the body to release anti-inflammatory and pain relieving hormones

What does this mean for my pet? 

While acupuncture is most certainly not a new practice, it’s integration into veterinary medicine is still considered new. However, in comparison to some of the other treatments in this post, acupuncture is more widely available in veterinary hospitals.

If you fee that this alternative form of treatment can benefit some of your pet’s chronic symptoms or diseases, I highly recommend discussing your options with your veterinarian.

Orthotics & Prosthetics

While our pets are amazing at adapting and moving forward after an injury or losing a limb, there are now more alternatives to manage their post-operative care in these situations.

Orthopets is a company that builds custom orthotics and prosthetics for pets to help them recover from injuries and adapt to limb loss. While I don’t have much experience with veterinary orthotics or prosthetics, I do know that these solutions will give you more alternatives to improve your pet’s quality of life and/or surgical recovery.

So there you have it. The above list includes some of the most interesting advancements in veterinary medicine. Do you have any experience with these new treatments?

For Carol’s mom perspective on this topic, please visit Fidose of Reality for more information.

medicine versus mom

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