Geriatric support

12/28/2014
I spend a lot of time during housecall visits discussing care for our older animals. I often wonder if things would be different if we had started preventative measures sooner. Supplements like fish oil and glucosamine/chondroitin have some good evidence that they are helpful in maintaining joint health and are anti-inflammatory among other benefits. Many of the herbs that I use in my formulas for geriatric patients have evidence of anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activity, general organ support and stimulation of the circulation—getting the blood where it needs to go to keep joints and brains healthy. Simple things like exercise and massage help keeps things moving as we all age, also making adjustments to the physical environment to decrease slips and falls, safe steps and ramps and carpeting can help as our animals become less stable on their feet. This can be a long conversation, different for every individual, and I’m sure much of what I’ve said is soon forgotten, so I have added a new page to the pet care section devoted to our elderly loved ones. This, as with all of the informational pages, is intended as a reminder and conversation starter for housecall visits and ongoing communication needed in caring for our animals at various stages in their lives. I hope it is helpful.

Senior care

General pet care