Fergus Coutts Veterinary Pain Management

17/06/2024

What is heatstroke?

Heatstroke is a state of hyperthermia (elevated core body temperature above the normal range) resulting in heat injury to tissues. Heatstroke occurs when heat generation exceeds the body's ability to lose heat.

What are the main predisposing factors for Heatstroke?

A warm/hot, humid environment with inadequate ventilation
(e.g. due to weather conditions or animals being left in an unventilated room or car)
Inadequate shade
Inadequate drinking water
Excessive exercise

Be aware of the symptoms and look out for the signs in your pet.
These include:
Panting which increases as heatstroke progresses
Drooling, salivating
Agitation, restlessness Very red or pale gums
Bright red tongue
Increased heart rate
Breathing distress
Vomiting Diarrhoea (possibly with blood)
Signs of mental confusion, delirium
Dizziness, staggering
Lethargy, weakness
Muscle tremors
Seizures
Collapsing and lying down
Little to no urine production
Coma

HEATSTROKE IS A VERY SERIOUS, LIFE THREATENING CONDITION: IT CAN CAUSE DAMAGE TO YOUR PET'S INTERNAL ORGANS, SOMETIMES TO THE POINT WHERE THEY STOP FUNCTIONING AND CAN BE RAPIDLY FATAL - IT REQUIRES URGENT TREATMENT.

Preventing heatstroke

The good news is that you can help to prevent heatstroke by ensuring your pets are kept in appropriate environmental conditions and being aware of the symptoms so action can be taken swiftly.

15/06/2024

Here are a few summer dangers to keep in mind this summer

🥵 Heat and dehydration
Dogs are not as good at dealing with high temperatures as humans, as they find it harder to cool down, so it is important to see signs that your dog is too hot (for example, panting excessively and lethargy) and take the necessary precautions to avoid heatstroke. Make sure they have plenty of water and an area of shade to cool down.

🌹 Flowers and plants
Summer is the perfect time to get out of the house and relax in your garden. Some plants and flowers can be toxic to dogs, and can cause serious clinical effects.

🦟 Insect stings and bites
Along with the flowers in bloom, summer brings an abundance of insects. The severity of an insect sting or bite depends on the insect, the location of the sting/bite and whether your dog is allergic. Typical signs include redness, pain and swelling.

🏖️ Beach dangers
The beach can hold a few dangers for your dog, so safety precautions should be considered. Stop your dog from drinking sea water as it could lead to salt poisoning; make sure you have fresh water to keep them hydrated. Ensure your dog has a shady area to cool down in and consider using sunscreen, especially if your dog has pale or thin fur, and on vulnerable areas such as the nose and ears. Running on sand uses more energy than on grass, so make sure your dog doesn't overdo it and has plenty of rest. Wash the salt and sand out of your dog's coat and paws, and check for any cuts.

🚗 Hot dogs in cars
Dogs should never be left in the car unattended, even on a mildly warm day. Dogs can die this way even if the car has been left in the shade and car windows are open. If you are travelling in the car with your dog for a long period of time, make sure you take the necessary precautions such as taking plenty of stops, having lots of water and an appropriate shady space for your dog.

12/06/2024

How to relieve pain

l use a multimodal approach to pain relief as I find it to be the most effective method of pain relief for animals.

A multimodal approach consists of combining various pain relief medications with other therapies such as acupuncture, laser therapy, lubricant joint injections, joint supplements, physiotherapy and hydrotherapy.

By combining these with a multimodal approach it allows your pet to experience the lowest level of pain possible and enjoy life more.

If you would like to know more about the services I offer or feel that your pet will benefit from it please first contact your own vet, or contact me via email/telephone or DM.

10/06/2024

Signs of Pain

It is important to be on the look out for early signs of pain in your pet so that if there are any health issues they can be addressed early. Osteoarthritis is recognised as the commonest cause of chronic pain.

The pain starts off mild then will gradually progress over the pets life it is important to stop the pain when it is mild as it makes it easier to control and manage as it progresses.

Signs of Pain in Dogs:
🐶 Reluctant to get up out of its bed
🐶 Slower on walks
🐶 Struggles with steps or stairs
🐶 Not grooming well
🐶 Reactive to being touched (jumps as if got a fright or yelp or growl when touched)
🐶 Quiet and doesn't want to play
🐶 Unusual aggression to you, or other bouncy dogs when on walks.

Signs of Pain in Cats:
🐱 Not as keen to go outside
🐱 Reluctant to get out of bed
🐱 Struggles with steps or stairs
🐱 Not grooming well (often in short haired cats there is a matt of hair that forms on their back just before the tail, this can be a sign that they are too sore to reach that far back)
🐱 Reactive to being touched (jumps as if got a fright, hiss or growl when touched).
🐱 Uses foot stools to get onto furniture, instead of jumping.

If you think that your pet is in pain and would like some help or advice for your pet please first contact your own vet, or contact me via email/telephone or DM.

07/06/2024

How does my pet feel pain?

To feel pain the pain receptors are activated. Once the pain is gone the pain receptors will gradually stop reacting. If the pain receptors are already activated i.e. if your pet has arthritis and uncomfortable those pain receptors are always active. Therefore, if your pet feels any more pain from a fall or banging into something this will often feel much more painful than it normally would due to the pain receptors being activated already.
In the case of surgery, this is the main reason behind a pre-med, where a patient is given opioid drug combined with a sedative injection to relax them before a procedure. This not only relaxes the patient but by giving them pre-emptive pain relief rather than letting them wake up, feel the pain, then give pain relief it means that the pain relief is more effective, and they will be more comfortable as the pain receptors will not already be activated when they wake up.
If you think that your pet is in pain and would like some help or advice for your pet please first contact your own vet, or contact me via email/telephone or DM.

03/06/2024

What is pain?
Pain is the sensation that your pet will feel with actual or impending tissue damage. Pain can vary from a dull sensation to an unbearable sensation. Exactly like we feel. Also, similarly different animals have different pain thresholds, these can vary due to age, character and if they are already in pain it can make them more sensitive to new pains.
There are two main types of pain:
Acute: They are suddenly sore, this is generally caused by injury, or surgery.
Chronic: The have been sore for a while (say, over 8 weeks) and it gradually built up from a low-level pain to a higher level of pain. Chronic pain is now recognised as a disease in its own right, with long-lasting changes in your pet's nervous system. These changes amplify any pain, and can make simple sensation (e.g. being brushed) seem painful.
If you think that your pet is in pain and would like some help or advice for your pet please first contact your own vet, or contact me via email/telephone or DM.

01/06/2024

👋🏼

31/05/2024

Recognising pain in our pets is crucial to their well-being. Don't let them suffer in silence. Learn to spot the signs and take action to ease their discomfort.

30/05/2024

29/05/2024

Acupuncture: 📌
This treatment consists of fine needles being inserted into the skin at specific points. They stimulate the body to produce natural substances that alleviate pain and relax muscles. If we decide this treatment option is suitable for your pet, I will carry it out during our consultation. If you would like further information on acupuncture please get in touch .

18/05/2024

This year, we’re celebrating !

From its early beginnings as Veterinary Nursing Awareness Day in 2004, since 2012 BVNA have been leading the campaign to raise awareness of veterinary nursing for an entire month. In recognition of this special milestone year, we’ll be releasing interviews with inspirational RVNs who have been in the profession for 20 years or more, reflecting on the progress they have been part of in this time.

Today we join BVNA Council Member, Cheryl Plimmer, as she interviews Sarah Bennett.

📺 Watch at; https://youtu.be/EbErPvYDv3U
🎧 Listen at; https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/bvna/episodes/VNAM-interview-with-Sarah-Bennett-and-Cheryl-Plimmer-e2j0o8v

Find out more information about at https://bvna.org.uk/project/vnam-2024/

04/05/2024

Happy May the 4th!

01/05/2024

Happy Vet Nurse Awareness Month ! 💚 this is the wonderful team of nurses I work with at Ardene House Vets

🐾 Veterinary Nurse Awareness Month 🐾

The month of May is Veterinary Nurse Awareness Month, throughout the month of May we aim to give some insight into what our nursing team do daily 🩺

Below is our wonderful small animal nursing team who work hard everyday to provide the best care for your pets at Ardene 🥰

30/04/2024

As of today, all out of hours calls will be directed to Highland Vet Emergencies. If you need to contact us, please use our regular daytime contact number 01463 237000 (Argyle Street), 01463 712202 (Canalside), 01463 793700 (Culloden), and your call will be seamlessly redirected to the team at Highland Vet Emergencies, who will be ready to assist you and will remain on-site with your pet all night 📞

Highland Vet Emergencies, situated at Culduthel Avenue, Inverness, IV2 6JG, within the same premises as Highland Vet Referrals, will now serve as your contact point for veterinary assistance during nights and weekends when your daytime practice is closed 🏥🐾

27/04/2024

Happy World Veterinary Day ! 🩺

26/04/2024

Thursday thought 🫶🏻

25/04/2024

🐦 A useful image about fledglings 🐦

If you ever think that a young bird is in trouble, do not approach. Keep a close eye on them and contact your local wildlife charity or Scottish SPCA for advice and assistance

04/04/2024

The goal of pain management is helping pets to live happy and healthy lives. Sometimes pets have a visible improvement in mobility, in other cases they just seem happier and have greater quality of life.

Is pain affecting my pet’s quality of life?
The effects of chronic pain are difficult to assess. Common behavioural changes indicating your pet’s quality of life may be affected by pain include:
• Losing interest in exercise or play.
• Not sleeping well, or just being ‘down in the dumps’.
• Showing signs of withdrawal from the family.

What conditions benefit from Pain Management?
A range of painful conditions have been helped with Pain Management:
• Pets with uncontrolled arthritis pain.
• Pets who are unable to take some pain-relieving medicines.
• Pets recovering from injury, or after surgery.
• Pets with back pain.
• Palliative care for pets with cancer.

Would Pain Management help my pet?
If you are concerned that your pet may be suffering from pain, please ask your usual vet for advice. They will refer you for an appointment if they think Pain Management could help your pet’s quality of life.

What is Pain Management?
The first step in Pain Management is to diagnose the causes of your pet’s pain. Working closely with you and your referring vet, we then develop a safe and effective treatment plan for your pet
This may include:
• Pain relieving medicines.
• Drug-sparing physical therapies, including acupuncture.
• Innovative joint therapies.
• Physiotherapy, to improve your pet’s mobility and help to restore confidence that walking need not be painful.
• Small changes you can make at home to improve your pet’s comfort.

This integrated approach treats pain from all angles,
helping to improve your pet’s quality of life.

01/04/2024

Happy April Fools !
What are you doing for April Fools? 🤪

30/03/2024

One less hour in bed tomorrow! 😅

16/02/2024

The 60th Anniversary meeting of the AVA will be held in London this autumn. Save the date now!

08/02/2024

Hip dysplasia can predispose dogs to developing arthritis, but what is dysplasia?

02/02/2024

The benefits of physiotherapy are to reduce pain, swelling and muscle spasm. It helps to encourage healing and improve range of movement, prevents secondary complications, enhances and/or maintains function.

Physiotherapy can start with small movements to that gradually build up over time to reduce your pets pain and increase their range of movement to make their life more comfortable

31/01/2024

30/01/2024

Pain in Cats.

Signs of pain in cats

🐱 Lameness (limping)

🐱 Difficulty jumping

🐱 Abnormal gait

🐱 Reluctance to move

🐱 Reaction to palpation (touching)

🐱 Withdrawn or hiding

🐱 Lack of self-grooming

🐱 Playing less

🐱 Appetite decrease

🐱 Overall activity decrease

🐱 Rubbing themselves on people less

🐱 General mood change

🐱 Temperament change

🐱 Hunched-up posture

🐱 Shifting weight when standing, lying down or walking

🐱 Licking a particular body region

🐱 Lower head posture

🐱 Squinting

🐱 Change in feeding behavior

🐱 Avoiding bright areas

🐱 Growling

🐱 Groaning

🐱 Eyes closed

🐱 Straining to urinate

🐱 Tail flicking

Causes of Pain in Cats

There are many conditions that can cause your cat to experience pain. Some are more obvious, while others can go undetected. Listed below are common conditions that can bring about pain:

🐱Surgery

🐱Trauma

🐱Infection

🐱Cancer

🐱Urinary tract blockage or stones

🐱Digestive problems

🐱Exposure to extreme heat or cold

🐱Tissue complications (e.g. inflammation, tissue death, loss of blood supply)

🐱Arthritis

🐱Bladder inflammation

🐱Eye conditions

🐱Dental Conditions

🐱Neurological condition

27/01/2024

What is ‘normal’ behaviour for dogs?

Molony & Kent (1997) defined pain in veterinary species as: ”... an aversive sensory, [cognitive] and emotional experience...representing an awareness of the animal of damage, or threat of damage, to the integrity of its tissues...”
In this context ‘emotion’ would include fear, frustration and leading to stress and suffering.

Following on from this pain is also described as a ‘biobehavioural disease’, where pain and behaviour have an interdependent effect on each other.

Behaviour has an important role in pain assessment, as clinicians and owners draw inferences from their observations of dogs’ behaviour. Signs of pain may include obvious signs, such as lameness, or more subtle changes to a dog’s ‘normal behavioural pattern’.

Well, what is normal behaviour? All dogs are different, but this is a rough breakdown:

Sleeping - 12 hrs (several spells, day and night).
Exercising - 3 hrs.
Eating - 2.5 hrs* (incl. scavenging and ‘hunting’).
Play - 1.5 hrs
Rest - 1.5 hrs
Grooming - 0.5 hrs
Social behaviours - 3 hrs (time with the family).

* Of course, some dogs finish their food in 30 seconds. In this context ‘eating’ includes hunting for treats and so on.

With acknowledgements to Pippa Hutchison.

01/01/2024

🍾 HAPPY NEW YEAR 🍾
Here’s to a prosperous 2024!

25/12/2023

It’s finally here !
Merry Christmas !
I hope you all have a wonderful time with family and friends especially the furry ones! 🎄

22/12/2023

Getting stiffer in the winter ❄️

❄️ It is very common for pets to become stiffer in the winter, the cold weather can make them shiver which can irritate sore joints and they are more likely to fall and hurt themselves.

❄️ It is important to keep this in mind if you know your pet has health issues or are elderly.

❄️ Make sure your pet has a nice cosy and comfy bed.

❄️ If it’s a cold day pop a jacket on to help keep them warm and try not to stay outside for too long.

❄️ If the ground appears slippy and you know your pet has joint issues take the for walks on clear paths to help prevent falls.

If you think your pet is struggling with the cold and would like some help please first contact your vet, or contact me through email/telephone or DM