SYRINGOMYELIA is a serious condition in dogs, that involves the formation of fluid-filled cavities within the spinal cord.
These can lead to significant pain and neurological issues, which can include:
- Phantom scratching and pawing at the neck and shoulder area, so called because often there is no contact made with the body, and the skin appears healthy
- Yelping or whimpering for no apparent reason, particularly when changing positions or at night
- Heightened sensitivity to touch along the neck, shoulders, or back, with possible reactivity to being handled in these areas
- Weakness in the limbs, difficulty walking, partial paralysis and other signs of nerve damage
- Changes in behaviour, such as becoming anxious, withdrawn, or less active than usual
- Head may be held in a strange position, which is often low and extended, in an attempt to relieve pressure and discomfort
Managing pain in affected dogs often requires long-term use of painkillers, but these can have side-effects which impact key internal organs along with overall health and well-being.
Nutritional support in these and similar circumstances, can play an important role in helping the body cope with both the medication prescribed, and the disease itself.
The main organ responsible for dismantling drugs in the body, is the liver. And so when medication such as painkillers are given continually, the strain of breaking these down around the clock, day after day, can damage hepatic cells. This is a widely recognised consequence of constant medication with a wide range of drugs, and typically shows up as elevated liver enzymes in blood tests.
There are a number of ways to support liver health in the face of such a challenge:
FIRSTLY:
Giving Vince the Vet's Heart plus Liver Support remedy maintains normal, cellular hepatic function. The 100% natural botanical extracts this contains - one of which is Milk Thistle - also assists the the body's natural regenerative and repair mechanisms, to help the liver cope successfully with the increased workload and stress created by having to constantly detoxify drugs in the blood.
SECONDLY:
Supplementation with Vitality provides a rich supply of anti-oxidants which have been shown to protect the liver against injury caused by a wide range of substances. And in addition to these anti-inflammatory properties, Vitality supplies more than 60+ micronutrients important for liver regeneration and repair.
THIRDLY:
Adding palmitoylethanolamide (PEA) to the diet can help to reduce the dose of painkillers required to keep a dog with syringomyelia comfortable. And this in turn reduces the strain on the liver.
On this note, the anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective properties of PEA, may also help to reduce the nerve damage, and neurological signs associated with syringomyelia.
Finally, the same regime of Heart plus Liver Support, Vitality and PEA would benefit any pet being given drugs continually or repeatedly for long periods.