Vet Times

Tag: Arthritis

  • Do vets get a holiday?

    Do vets get a holiday?

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    I think the phrase “busman’s holiday” adequately describes a vet’s inability to leave work behind at work no matter how hard we try. It was on a recent holiday to Greece where this really hit home – not helped, most likely, by the fact I was on holiday with four friends who were also vets.…

  • Oh, CR*P! Using point-of-care C-reactive protein tests

    Oh, CR*P! Using point-of-care C-reactive protein tests

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    Few companies now offer affordable point-of-care tests for canine C-reactive protein (CRP). As we did when we recently received our new box of CRP slides, you might soon be asking the question: what do we even do with this stuff? Here’s what we’ve learnt… CRP is one of the acute phase proteins produced by the…

  • Coping with euthanasia from a distance

    Coping with euthanasia from a distance

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    I’m not really sure what’s happening in practice at the moment, but it’s insanely busy. Despite trying to justify the unbelievable increase in work, I can always think of a counter argument: There’s fewer staff members, so maybe the cases are just more concentrated between fewer vets? In reality, we are actually only 1.5 vets…

  • Screen burn: thoughts on telemedicine

    Screen burn: thoughts on telemedicine

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    With the recent announcement that the UK’s first veterinary telemedicine service is set to launch, there is much debate over whether this type of service is a good thing. The major bugbear most vets have with telemedicine is the absence of a physical examination. While teleconsultations (or, indeed, just a telephone call) can allow a…

  • Borrowed time

    Borrowed time

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    I’m hoping to get through writing this without crying. Our beloved Little Blue (or “LB”) is entering the stage beyond the twilight years – she’s firmly in borrowed time territory. Although G (the husband) thinks she’s been on borrowed time for the last five years, she’s really just been a bit more aged-looking than usual.…

  • Clients’ perception of pain in their pets

    Clients’ perception of pain in their pets

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    I’ve been hearing a classic client phrase a little too much recently. I realise it can be difficult for some people to get – that animals feel physical pain just like we do – but when the evidence is staring you straight in the face (or even trying to bite your hand), why can people…

  • Best in bred

    Best in bred

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    My blogging career has been kind to me. As well as being invited to express my opinions, for what they are worth, on this website twice a month, I receive intermittent offers to write blogs for companies or to cover pet-based events. One such offer could have seen me furnished with free tickets to Crufts…

  • If only it was all about the science

    If only it was all about the science

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    “I just don’t want him messed around with.” In the phrases that make our heart sink in the consult room, this one is up there with “Well, he’s never done that before” and “He’s been nibbling at his back end a lot. Could it be his glands?” There are lots of things we learn very quickly…

  • The wrong end of the telephone

    The wrong end of the telephone

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    A couple of weeks ago, I received the phone call I’ve been dreading since moving away to university. My horse had had an accident in the field, hurt her leg, and the vet was on the way. That’s all the information I received until the next call, with the vet on the other end. “Communication…

  • Don’t forget acupuncture as a possible therapy

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    I have found acupuncture really helps some of my chronically painful canine patients, usually due to arthritis, but also in some cases of back pain too. I have to say I usually use this as an adjunctive, rather than sole therapy, but often with good effect. Evidence certainly exists in human medicine to suggest this…