By definition, “cystitis’ means inflammation of the urinary bladder. This occurs very frequently in both dogs and cats, although the causes often are different. The causes of cystitis are many and varied and include genetic predisposition, certain systemic diseases, bladder stones, cancer, food, use of steroids, and even outside contamination by licking their private areas. The most common symptoms include urinary accidents, frequent urination, straining to urinate and sometimes bloody urine. In cats and female dogs it is sometimes confused with constipation by owners. Cystitis often upset owners who are frustrated by this condition and think their pet is not trainable, poorly trained or forgot their training. Some people have even given up their pets because of the symptoms without having their pets urine checked. In most cases, cystitis is easily diagnosed and easily treated by a 2 week course of certain antibiotics. Occasionally, it is more involved and requires radiographs and even surgery to remove urinary calculi (stones) from the bladder (not the kidney). In male dogs and cats, calculi can cause an obstruction of urinary flow and thus become a serious and often emergency surgical case.
2013年9月24日星期二
Dog Cystitis With Bladder Stones - Dog Health
Look out for the following symptoms of dog cystitis with bladder stones (crystals):
1. The dog may go to the toilet a lot more than it does usually.
2. It may struggle to produce any urine
3. There may be a small amount of blood in the urine that is produced.
Small crystals forming on blood cells and bladder lining cells are what cause bladder stones or urolith in your dog’s bladder. Bladder stones can be caused by either a too high acidic level or a very low one and in some cases they even form irrespective of the pH levels in the dog’s urine. There are six different types of bladder stones that can be formed.
A dog’s urine contains several normal chemicals which form these crystals but these crystals will only form at certain pH levels and they will require something to attach to and grow on.
The lining of the dog’s bladder constantly gets rid of old cells and forms new one this gives the crystals something to attach to and grow on. The crystals can attach to one of these dead cells and continue to grow from being microscopic to the size of a golf ball in cases where they are left untreated.
These crystals, when formed, will have sharp edges causing inflammation and burning of the bladder due to these sharp edges constantly scratching and aggravating the bladder lining.
The bladder contracts due to the aggravation and burning and it makes the dog feel like it needs to urinate but the bladder contains little or no urine. Furthermore, there may be a small amount of blood in the urine due to the ruptured blood vessels caused by the inflamed muscles.
If your dog is a male there are chances that the bladder stones can travel from the bladder down into the urethra. The risk of this is that these stones may become wedged into a cylindrical bone that the urethra travels through and cause severe pain to the dog as it obstructs its urine. If this happens the bladder stones will be too be removed urgently before the bladder bursts or the toxins in the urine kills the dog.
The vet will normally ask for a urine sample when the dog is suspected to have this condition. This urine sample will be tested for blood, acidic levels and glucose.
These samples will help the vet in determining whether inflammation is the problem if blood cells are found in the urine or whether the dog is diabetic has a relatively high level of glucose in its urine making it vulnerable to cystitis since glucose helps the bacteria grow and requires a separate type of treatment. The urine sample will also help the vet determine whether the acidity levels in the urine are enough to fight the bacteria.
After the presence of inflammation and cystitis have been confirmed due to the initial testing the dog can be treated by either the appropriate antibiotics or further tests can be conducted to check for bladder stones. These further tests include ultrasound, x-rays and using a small camera which will be passed through the bladder of the dog.
The vet may be able to determine the type of bladder stones present in the dog by the amount of pH levels in its urine. Another method of checking for the type of bladder stones present in the dog is to remove the larger ones and send them for further testing.
If the bladder stones have moved down to the urethra of the male dog the vet may need to push a need through the abdominal wall and into the dog’s bladder to remove some of the urine and ease the dog’s pain and discomfort. After this, the vet will try to slide the bladder stones back into the bladder by using a catheter and flushing the urethra with water and then later operating on the bladder.
If this procedure fails then the vet may have to resort to a more risky surgery on the urethra itself in order to remove the blockage caused by the bladder stones.
After the surgery has been performed and the dog has been given the appropriate medicine the vet will probably put the dog on a special type of food in order to correct the amount of pH levels in its urine. Furthermore, in accordance with previous test results the vet may also prescribe antibiotics.
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2013年9月17日星期二
Dog Cystitis With Bladder Stones - Dog Health
Look out for the following symptoms of dog cystitis with bladder stones (crystals):
1. The dog may go to the toilet a lot more than it does usually.
2. It may struggle to produce any urine
3. There may be a small amount of blood in the urine that is produced.
Small crystals forming on blood cells and bladder lining cells are what cause bladder stones or urolith in your dog ‘s bladder. Bladder stones can be caused by either a too high acidic level or a very low one and in some cases they even form irrespective of the pH levels in the dog ‘s urine. There are six different types of bladder stones that can be formed.
A dog ‘s urine contains several normal chemicals which form these crystals but these crystals will only form at certain pH levels and they will require something to attach to and grow on.
The lining of the dog ‘s bladder constantly gets rid of old cells and forms new one this gives the crystals something to attach to and grow on. The crystals can attach to one of these dead cells and continue to grow from being microscopic to the size of a golf ball in cases where they are left untreated.
These crystals, when formed, will have sharp edges causing inflammation and burning of the bladder due to these sharp edges constantly scratching and aggravating the bladder lining.
The bladder contracts due to the aggravation and burning and it makes the dog feel like it needs to urinate but the bladder contains little or no urine. Furthermore, there may be a small amount of blood in the urine due to the ruptured blood vessels caused by the inflamed muscles.
If your dog is a male there are chances that the bladder stones can travel from the bladder down into the urethra. The risk of this is that these stones may become wedged into a cylindrical bone that the urethra travels through and cause severe pain to the dog as it obstructs its urine. If this happens the bladder stones will be too be removed urgently before the bladder bursts or the toxins in the urine kills the dog.
The vet will normally ask for a urine sample when the dog is suspected to have this condition. This urine sample will be tested for blood, acidic levels and glucose.
These samples will help the vet in determining whether inflammation is the problem if blood cells are found in the urine or whether the dog is diabetic has a relatively high level of glucose in its urine making it vulnerable to cystitis since glucose helps the bacteria grow and requires a separate type of treatment. The urine sample will also help the vet determine whether the acidity levels in the urine are enough to fight the bacteria.
After the presence of inflammation and cystitis have been confirmed due to the initial testing the dog can be treated by either the appropriate antibiotics or further tests can be conducted to check for bladder stones. These further tests include ultrasound, x-rays and using a small camera which will be passed through the bladder of the dog.
The vet may be able to determine the type of bladder stones present in the dog by the amount of pH levels in its urine. Another method of checking for the type of bladder stones present in the dog is to remove the larger ones and send them for further testing.
If the bladder stones have moved down to the urethra of the male dog the vet may need to push a need through the abdominal wall and into the dog ‘s bladder to remove some of the urine and ease the dog ‘s pain and discomfort. After this, the vet will try to slide the bladder stones back into the bladder by using a catheter and flushing the urethra with water and then later operating on the bladder.
If this procedure fails then the vet may have to resort to a more risky surgery on the urethra itself in order to remove the blockage caused by the bladder stones.
After the surgery has been performed and the dog has been given the appropriate medicine the vet will probably put the dog on a special type of food in order to correct the amount of pH levels in its urine. Furthermore, in accordance with previous test results the vet may also prescribe antibiotics.
2013年9月15日星期日
Cystitis in Dog – Answers To Your Burning Questions
The medical term cystitis simply means inflammation of the urinary bladder. This is usually caused by an infection due to bacteria. Other causes of cystitis are bladder stones, tumors in the bladder and diverticula.
The most common sign of cystitis in dog is hematuria or blood in the urine. Many dogs will also have discomfort when urinating making them spend a few minutes to pass through a small amount of urine making them urinate more often than normal. Signs of cystitis in dogs are also determined by the specific cause. Bacterial infections usually cause hematuria and dysuria or straining to urinate. Bladder stones are often very rough causing irritation to the bladder as they rub against the bladder wall. They also create hematuria and dysuria. Tumors or polyps are usually not highly irritating to the dog’s bladder, but they can cause bleeding and mild straining to urinate. A diverticulum is a small pouch in the wall of the bladder that usually causes hematuria and dysuria secondary to the chronic bacterial infection that occurs. Bacteria often reside deep in the diverticulum and are nearly impossible to remove without surgery.
To diagnose for possible cystitis in dog, check the dog’s history for hematuria, dysuria, and increased frequency of urination. These a very strong indications that the dog may have cystitis. If these symptoms are seen, several tests are then needed.
The first group of tests include urinalysis, urine culture, and bladder palpation. A urinalysis consists of several tests to detect abnormalities in the urine, including abnormalities in the urine sediment. These are usually enough to confirm cystitis in dogs, but they are not enough to determine the exact cause. A urine culture determines if bacteria are present and what antibiotics are likely to be effective in killing them. This is appropriate because most cases of cystitis are caused by bacteria which may be eliminated easily with antibiotics. Bladder palpation is the first test for bladder stones, since many are large enough to be felt by experienced fingers.
There may be times when cystitis is present but the culture is negative and no stones can be felt. This would require more tests such as x-rays, ultrasound and contrast radiographs. These tests will show what other tests will not.
Treatment for cystitis in dogs may depend on the cause. If it was caused by bacteria, it is easily treated with antibiotics. As for bladder stones, some of them may be dissolved through a special diet while some may require surgery. Benign bladder polyps can usually be surgically removed, but malignant bladder tumors are difficult to treat successfully. A bladder diverticulum should be removed surgically.