Preventive Medicine
We spend the majority of our day doing what's called crisis medicine; treating pets in pain and discomfort from things like ear infections, bladder infections, bite wounds infections, dental abscesses, severe diarrhea, vomiting, severe skin disease, intestinal bleeding, lamenesses, gun shot wounds, car accidents, and so forth.
But, more and more, our extra responsible pet owners are coming in for what's called preventive medicine. This is happening in human medicine too.
In the recent past, this more or less meant making sure your pet was vaccinated each year, that your dog was on heartworm prevention, and that you wormed your pets several times a year. Now it means much more.
We've progressed.
We've changed our attitudes about pet ownership and responsibility a little bit.
Vaccines have become more effective and less reactive. New vaccines are now available for lepto (kidney disease) and Lymes Disease in dogs. The "kennel cough" vaccine has been improved. In cats, we now have more effective and less dangerous vaccines for leukemia, FIP, and even Feline Aids. As of 2007, we now have a new vaccine for fatal calici virus in cats. And we now custom talylor what and how often we vaccinate based on a patient's age and life style.
There have been incredible improvements and price reductions in anesthesia, electronic monitoring, computerization, digital radiography, and laboratory technology, allowing us to do a much better job of health care.
Pet Health Insurance is now readily available, reliable, affordable, and refreshingly uncomplicated and hassle free compared to human health insurance programs.
It's still confusing and difficult to separate truth from hyperbole, but there's been a lot of progress in nutrition...whether your cat or dog is over active, over weight, prone to intestinal upset, skin allergies, urinary tract problems, arthritis, diabetes, gum disease, or hair balls, we now have well designed diets that effectively manage these problems. Speaking of hyperbole, we as a profession have also been able to separate out the small percentage of dietary supplements that are actually effective and we will be discussing them below.
We can now offer incredibly extensive, accurate, and fast laboratory results and can now diagnois diseases in their early stages like never before.
For example, on a daily basis, we are detecting thyroid problems, diabetes, kidney and liver diseases, pancreatitis, Cushings, Addison's, anemias, yeast infections, lymes, and erlichia. We recommend you take advantage of these tests not just for sick pets, but as screening tests, especially for middle age and older pets.
I look on dentistry as preventive medicine too. Irritated gums are the number one site for bacterial entry into the blood stream. It's this bacteria that is responsible for so many diseases over time such as heart valve disease and kidney disease.
For a more extensive discussion about each of these preventive health topics, click on the links below:
Wellness Exams and vaccine recommendations for:
Other parts of our preventive medicine program:
Good health through nutrition and supplementation
On Other Pages on this Site:
Wellness Exams
Vaccination Recommendations
Canine
Feline
Parasite Control
Nutrition & Supplementation
Dentistry
Lab Screening
Visit Our Other Sites:
The Animal Pet Doctor.com: our main site about the veterinary care of pets. Includes discussion about vaccines as well as many other animal issues.
God's Wings
(A story unrelated to vaccines)
An article in National Geographic several years ago provided a penetrating picture of God's wings.
After a forest fire in Yellowstone National Park, forest rangers began their trek up a mountain to assess the inferno's damage.
One ranger found a bird literally petrified in ashes, perched statuesquely
on the ground at the base of a tree. Somewhat sickened by the eerie sight, he knocked over the bird with a stick.
When he gently struck it, three tiny chicks
scurried from under their dead mother's wings.
The loving mother, keenly
aware of impending disaster, had carried her offspring to the base of the tree and had gathered them under her wings, instinctively knowing that the toxic smoke would rise.
She could have flown to safety but had refused to
abandon her babies.
Then the blaze had arrived and when the heat had scorched her small body, the mother had remained steadfast.
Because she had been willing to die, those under the cover of her wings would live.
Being loved this much should make a difference in your life. Remember the One who loves you, and then be different because of it.
