ALL PET CENTER VILLAGE PET HOTEL & SPA Serving All Your Pet Care Needs In Hot Springs Village, Arkansas

4147 Highway 7 North Hot Springs Village, Arkansas 71909 Telephone: (501) 625-3418 or (501) 984-5045

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A primer on what to look for in food

There are many adverse reactions to food that your friends eat that are minor. However, I thought I would give you the latest in terminology and the latest thoughts from the veterinary profession on this matter. Realize that reactions are seldom life threatening. Your friends are very good at “upchucking” or vomiting, as we can all verify. There are many other medical reasons for vomiting, so consider food incompatibility first. The following terms are used by the American Academy of Allergy and Immunology.

FOOD ALLERGY: An adverse reaction to a food or food additive with an immunologic basis. This reaction would not necessarily show up in an external symptom. Laboratory tests would show a high lymphocyte percentage. Friends with this problem would not necessarily throw up or have diarrhea. However, those I have diagnosed just don’t feel well. They lay around and seem to be in mild pain. There are many medical conditions in our Friends that can have this symptom, called “general malaise”. Ah, those French have a way with words!! Removing different foods or additives from the diet “by elimination” is the standard method for curing this. I find that wheat gluten is the number one cause of food allergy . It is in many foods and treats. I have not decided yet if corn gluten is a problem or not.

FOOD INTOLERANCE: A non-immunologic ,abnormal physiologic response to a food or food additive. This is the old familiar diarrhea and vomiting problem that we see . The food does not have to be spoiled or a bad food. A sudden change to bacon or chili or anything different from a standard , stable diet can cause this. The usual response is a quick vomiting episode. Once the food is out of the stomach, all goes back to normal. The matter goes away when you stop that particular treat!

FOOD ANAPHYLAXIS: An acute systemic reaction to a food or food additive with respiratory distress, collapse of the blood vascular system, and itching. This condition is very rare as all pet foods are extensively tested for any difficulties such as this . I have seen this in Friends that eat lizards, frogs, insects, etc.. The response is severe. They itch a lot and generally have hives all over or swell up in the face and neck area. This is a medical emergency requiring fast action on your part and a vet visit.

DIETARY INDISCRETION: This term, which we all have violated at one time or another, refers to overeating, eating unusual things such as dirt, and eating grass or one’s own stool (bm). The simple cause of this is food not being completely digested before it passes as stool. Cats rarely or never do this. Our canine Friends seem to do this often. The condition is called COPROPHAGY , or eating one’s own stool. It can be stopped with medical tests, a change in diet, and sometimes a special compound to make the stool taste bitter. Eating cat stools can be stopped by putting the litter box where Fido cannot reach it.

GENERAL IDEAS: If your canine friend vomits once, give him or her a dose of Pepto and wait for further developments. If your feline friend vomits, give him or her some cat laxative or margarine and wait. If the vomiting continues, or has blood in it ,call me. The same instructions are for the other end when diarrhea occurs. Grass eating, gurgling stomach or intestines, or tenderness in the abdomen is hyperacidity or pancreatitis and must be treated by me. I can clear up most hyperacidities by a routine of antacids that most of you have around the house.

Give your Friend a hug for me!

DR. BOB

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