Tuesday, July 1, 2014

A Trip Down Memory Lane

Every morning I drink an ice-cold green smoothie.  I got the recipe from “The Dr. Oz Show.”  The berries and leafy greens in my concoction not only prevent cancer, they’re great for the brain.

Not too long ago, one of my clients broke into my smoothie time with a call.  “Doc, do you remember when my dog Munchie had that bout of vomiting and diarrhea a few weeks ago?”   It was hard to forget, since poor Munchie had stayed with us a whole day and kept my assistants busy with the bucket and mop.  “Well, I looked it up and I figured out that Munchie had a case of Balantidiasis! I’m surprised you didn’t think of that yourself!”

I admitted I’d heard of it in passing but told him that I thought Munchie’s intestinal problems were much more likely linked to the garbage they had found all over their floor that fateful morning than to an obscure protozoal disease whose name wasn’t in my memory bank. 

But he did bring up a good point: Why don’t we remember every syndrome or disease and consider them in our diagnostic possibilities when we see a sick pet?

Here is a highly scientific-ish graphic which I’ve produced to help illustrate the answer to this question:



Part of the reason I love medicine is that there’s always new stuff to learn.  That’s also why being in any branch of medicine is a challenge:  You just can’t know it all.  We’re bombarded with medical newsletters, journals, webinars, conferences and e-mails.  It’s fun, it’s informative, and it’s also overwhelming. 

In recent years, the internet has created many more resources for pet owners, too.  In fact, it’s not at all unusual for a client to come in with a sick pet whose illness they believe they have already identified based on a web site or a discussion group they belong to.  We don’t mind—in fact, we think it’s great that they care enough about their pet to do research.  And it can be fun when, like Munchie’s owner, they call our attention to an odd ailment that we haven’t thought about since veterinary school.  

But the best and safest diagnosis will always be the one done by a vet who can actually take a thorough history, examine the pet, perform tests,   and integrate his or her clinical experience with the hard data to come up with an appropriate treatment plan.   


Fortunately, we are trained to think like doctors and to use all of those resources.  As far as remembering all of it, pass the green smoothie, and add a side of brain-enhancing fish oil!