We’re all accustomed to having annual wellness blood tests and urine panels performed by our doctors. This laboratory testing, combined with thorough physical exams, is the best way to identify medical issues in their early stages. Now consider only having these medical check-ups done every seven years instead of annually. How many things can go wrong in our bodies in that extended time frame, and how advanced can conditions become when left untreated for so long?
Given that our pets age approximately seven years to our one, annual exams for animals is the equivalent of humans visiting their doctors every seven years. It’s no wonder that veterinarians in McKinney, TX identify so many diseases during these exams, and it illustrates the importance of a minimum of yearly check-ups and lab work for your pets.
Animals can’t talk, and hiding illness or pain is instinctual. In many cases, even observant owners miss the subtle signs of disease. Lethargy and weight loss can be attributed to advancing age, increased thirst is written off as response to summer temperatures, vomiting can happen because of hairballs, and decreased appetite can be dismissed as finicky preferences. Unfortunately, these symptoms can all signify important diseases, and the longer they persist, the more complicated (and costly) recoveries become.
Veterinary medicine is much akin to human pediatrics in that veterinarians in McKinney, TX become detectives when diagnosing disease. Without being able to question patients and having to rely only on owner’s descriptions of symptoms, we gain clues with our physical exams and lab testing, which take on added importance. Information is power, and in many cases answers are only forthcoming when we look hard for them.
We strongly recommend yearly blood and urine testing because it gives veterinarian McKinney, TX doctors such important information, and we instantly become better doctors because of it. In just the past two weeks we’ve identified a cat with diabetes, another with Bartonellosis, two dogs with heart disease, two more dogs with hypothyroidism, a dog with a liver ailment, and another with heartworm disease � all treatable in early stages and all found solely because we recommended blood and urine testing during routine vaccinations or examinations for unrelated conditions.
Diagnosing these disorders early allowed us to prescribe effective treatments that prevented more serious or life threatening disease, and to do so at reduced costs to their owners. What a winning scenario for everyone involved!
These procedures are so important to animal health that we offer the lab testing at reduced rates so that pet owners are more able to have it done and can therefore provide better care for their pets. Believe me, veterinarian McKinney TX doctors love the feeling of finding sickness and making patients better � that’s why we practice medicine.
We benefit a great deal from accurate descriptions of disease signs. Pet owners can help by taking note of:
-appetite loss
-weight loss
-persistent vomiting or diarrhea
-increased thirst and/or urination
-lethargy or decreased levels of activity
-difficulty or painful ambulation
-biting, scratching, or hair loss
Any combination of these or other signs should trigger a visit to your veterinarian McKinney TX. But don’t overlook the opportunity to catch disease sooner by scheduling (at least) annual examinations and lab work for your pets; they deserve the good medicine, and you benefit from the reduced cost of early detection and treatment.
Veterinarian Mckinney TX
Stonebridge Animal Hospital
5913 Virginia Parkway
McKinney, Texas 75071
469-507-2433
