When pets need closer examination, it's important to take notice, says Manchester veterinarian Lawrence Lamb, CVM.
Sheltering in place with our pets gives us an opportunity to do things we usually don’t have time for. So, let’s perform a physical exam on your pet while your veterinarian is closed for normal office hours or only seeing pets on an urgent care basis.
As we perform this examination together, I will tell you what you may want to think about going forward when things return to normal. As far as vaccinations are concerned, most can safely wait until we can see each other under more normal circumstances.
This is really a great time to touch your pet both for his or her sake, but also because it is very healthy for us to touch a companion animal and feel the warmth of another living creature and experience the gratitude it evokes. We start our home exam at the head and work our way down the rest of the body.
Begin your exam by starting in the mouth. Smell your pet’s breath. If it smells foul you may anticipate periodontal disease. Look at the gums. Are the margins between the gums and teeth red? Will they bleed if you apply a little pressure? If you see a brown buildup along the gums, you are looking at plaque or tarter. If any of these are observed, you will want to consider having your vet follow-up and make recommendations how to maintain a healthy mouth. This is important because a diseased mouth can cause bacteria to migrate throughout the body and lead to infection in other organ systems. Another benefit will be a greater desire to have closer contact.
Next, take a look at the ears. Once again, smell will help you define any health issues. Ears that smell rank probably have a bacterial or yeast infection. If the ears canals have dark material in them or any other material they need to be cleaned, diagnosed and treated as soon as things return to normal.
The eyes: They are next. Look into the eyes and if you see a cloudy appearance behind the surface of cornea of the eye, you are probably observing cataracts. In older pets, this can be normal, and most can see through the cloudiness in the lens of the eye. However, if your pet is also drinking more and peeing more, you may be dealing with the signs of diabetes. Sometimes cataracts can be a detriment to sight.
As you enjoy this increase in physical contact, you can run your hands gently over every part of his or her body. You may feel bumps. It is not uncommon to find growths under the skin, especially as pets get older. When you feel a growth that is soft and can be moved under the skin, you are probably feeling a benign fatty tumor. These should be biopsied in the future, but nothing to panic about in the near term. If you feel something that palpates as a harder mass or seems to affect the skin over it, that is a condition that should be checked out after the shelter at home is no longer in affect.
There other physical signs which are important to observe and to be aware what they may mean. If you hear a cough, it could be an upper respiratory infection if it sounds like it is coming from the throat. If it sounds deeper in the chest, there are several possibilities which will need to be ruled out. For instance, a bacterial infection in the chest can be pneumonia. Other causes of deep chronic cough could be heart disease or in a worst case scenario, neoplasia or cancer.
If your pet seems to have a swollen abdomen, there are several things to think about. Fluid buildup in the abdomen can be due to liver or heart disease. To confuse this set of symptoms, dogs with adrenal gland disease can also have swollen abdomens. A poor haircoat is another symptom of adrenal gland tumors. These can be diagnosed in the future with appropriate testing.
Is your canine friend drinking more water? Increased thirst is seen in diabetes, kidney disease and adrenal gland tumors. The point of all this is not to try to turn yourself into a doctor but take the extra time we have at home and be more mindful of the myriad of signs and symptoms which can help us decide when we need professional help when things return to normal. The above is not meant to be a thorough essay on examination of animal companions, but rather a general guide to use when we have the time to more carefully observe our four-legged friends.
The American Veterinary Association and the Massachusetts Veterinary Board of Examiners have relaxed certain professional rules of conduct as a result of the dire circumstances that presently exist. Veterinarians can perform consultations over the phone and dispense medication without personally examining your pet. If necessary, a referral to an urgent care facility will be made. If you choose not to expose yourself to any risk of leaving your home, this is an option now available.
Dr. Lamb is the Veterinarian at the Manchester Animal Hospital.
