Almost everyone has access to the Internet nowadays. While this is great, it also means that our behavior has changed. It used to be that if you found a rash, a lump, or a bump or you had an itch, you would go to your doctor to find out what\u2019s wrong.<\/p>\n
But these days, people self-diagnose online all the time. The problem is that they tend to do the same with their pets.<\/p>\n
While you can suspect what might be wrong with yourself, it can be extremely difficult to interpret the symptoms of a disease in an animal. Many medical problems have confusing clinical signs, and the worst thing is that your dog or your cat can\u2019t tell you what\u2019s wrong with them.<\/p>\n
Your pet can\u2019t tell you if they feel pain, have a fever, or even a lesion in a body area that you haven\u2019t checked. Even if you try to perform a clinical examination of your pet, you might not be able to do so. Pets tend to behave differently with their guardians compared to how they behave when brought to the vet.<\/p>\n
In this article, we\u2019ll look at some of the dangers of diagnosing your pet\u2019s health issues using the Internet.<\/p>\n
We\u2019re sure that pet site owners have all the best intentions, but sometimes, the ones writing the articles aren\u2019t vets, veterinary assistants, or vet techs. They might not have any experience in the veterinary field whatsoever, and that is perfectly fine if the topic of the article deals with something harmless like breeds, general advice, grooming tips, and a variety of other things.<\/p>\n
But with medical topics, it\u2019s always a good idea to stick to sites whose authors are veterinarians. You can use the Pet Friendly House for this, of course, but you can also go to credible sites such as the AAHA or AVMA sites.<\/p>\n
MSD Vet Manual is pretty good, as well, but it\u2019s mostly addressed to actual vets, not pet parents<\/a>. But if you can ignore the scientific terms that might make it difficult for you to understand the disease you\u2019re suspecting, you can at least get a broad picture of what your pet might be experiencing.<\/p>\n How can you tell whether your friend\u2019s experiencing a health emergency or not? Sometimes, even the refusal to eat or drink water can be a worrying symptom, especially if it\u2019s associated with other clinical signs.<\/p>\n Superacute medical problems can have a shocking evolution, where the pet gets sick and ends up dying in a matter of several hours. This can happen in bloat cases, for example, in case your pet\u2019s experienced trauma, in anaphylactic shock, and a variety of other such situations.<\/p>\n Intoxication is another situation where you might not be able to do anything for your companion unless you take them to the vet as soon as possible.<\/p>\n To make it a little easier for you to tell when you should take your pet to the vet as soon as possible, we put together a list of concerning symptoms.<\/p>\n While there are a variety of natural remedies against fleas<\/a>, they are mostly repellents, meaning that they can keep fleas away but they aren\u2019t going to kill the ones that already exist on your pet\u2019s coat.<\/p>\n Some homemade flea control remedies are dangerous, such as essential oils<\/a>. Tea tree oil and an array of others can cause skin irritations and serious cutaneous damage. Talk with your vet about homeopathic flea remedies before deciding to use one that you might have read about on the Internet.<\/p>\nYou Sometimes Can\u2019t Tell If It\u2019s Serious or Not<\/h2>\n
Recognizing a Pet Health Emergency<\/h2>\n
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At-home Remedies That Vets Recommend Against<\/h2>\n
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