Have you been tasked with monitoring at least one aspect of your pet's vitals?
Are you confused about where to start? Well, don’t panic... Here is how to accomplish it!! Monitoring vitals is a crucial part of each and every visit to your Veterinarians' office. Occasionally, there are times where you will also need to keep an eye on your pet's vitals at home. So let us break this down to make this a manageable task, and therefore more likely to get accurate measurements to help your Veterinarian! What are Vitals?
Technically, they are specific clinical measurements of one's temperature, pulse (heart rate) rate, respiratory (breathing) rate, and blood pressure. These clinical measurements are checked each time you bring your pet to see their doctor. We take these measurements so routinely that you may not even realize it is being done!
Temperature
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Over the last several years, the concepts of pain and pain management have become more widespread within the veterinary community. There has been a growing need to understand the physiology of pain, identify the signs of pain, and be able to provide pain relief to our patient population, in order to enhance our patients’ comfort and overall quality of life. The International Association for the Study of Pain defines pain as, “an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage”. Pain starts through stimulation of pain receptors (called nociceptors) that are present within the central nervous system, and are responsible for causing a pain response. Pain is a sensory process (nociception) that involves a series of electrical events, starting at the site of tissue injury, which then conveys signals to the brain, and results in the perception of pain (Figure 1). Perception is how the animal feels pain and is a subjective experience. Signs of pain can be classified as either behavioral or physiological. Behavioral signs are usually recognized first as they occur outwardly and are more readily observed. Physiological signs are systemic in nature, and therefore require a more hands on approach for assessment. Both behavioral and physiological signs are summarized below (Table 1).
It's time for specialty care:Your pet's medical care may be more complicated than your primary veterinary feels comfortable managing. Or maybe, things just aren't getting better and you want a second opinion. Either way, you've found yourself headed to a consultation with a specialist. What can you expect? First of all, the beginning of the appointment will probably feel very similar to what you're used to at your primary vet. There's probably some differences like the practice is in a large university setting, or a 24/7 hospital. Either way, your going to speak to a staff member (most likely a vet tech) who gets a detailed history about your pet's history. Be prepared for this to be in depth, we're making sure we have as much information as possible to create the most complete picture of your pets health. Don't be offended if we ask basic questions, we want get it right for your pet. Check out the article about good things to bring with you to every appointment by clicking the link here. The specialist will offer diagnostics or treatments that may not be available at your primary vet (pDVM). The specialist will work closely with you and your pDVM to provide care with the goal for your pet to transition back to your pDVM for continued care once the immediate disease process is either treated or under control. What is a Specialty Veterinarian?
Whether you're going in for a consultation (first visit with a new doctor) or you're going for a routine recheck there are some important things to bring to every appointment.
What to bring to every appointmentALL medications your pet is on:
Keeping a diary or a log of what your pet does:
This article will focus on the people you'd meet at a basic visit to your primary veterinarian. I'll cover specialists in a different post, click here to read that article.
Let's start at the beginning:
You've arrived at your veterinary office with your pet and you're both greeted by a front staff member who checks you in. The next stop is in an exam room where a staff member takes a history related to why your pet is at the vet and obtains vitals including weight, temperature, heart rate, and respiration rate. The veterinarian will do a physical exam and speak to you about what the plan is for the visit.
A veterinary technician will do the tasks recommended by the veterinarian and return your pet to you. If medications are prescribed by the veterinarian, the vet tech fills the prescription and discussed the medications with you. If you have questions, the vet tech can help get you answers. Check out the article about good things to bring with you to every appointment by clicking the link here. Then, it's time to leave and either the veterinarian or technician escorts you to the receptionist. The receptionist will process the payment for your visit and help schedule any follow up visits. Who'd you meet? |
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