Causes of Diarrhea or Vomiting
Gastrointestinal (GI) disorders are very common in veterinary medicine. In this blog, we are going to answer the most commonly asked questions by pet owners about symptoms of GI disorders, such as vomiting and experiencing diarrhea.
Vomiting is when your pet forcefully ejects the contents of the stomach (digested or un-digested), the upper intestine, or just foam and yellow bile-like fluids. A vomiting animal may also show abdominal heaving and nausea. In general, they are slower than normal and feel obviously sick.
Why is my pet vomiting? Both dogs and cats can vomit easily to get rid of stomach content which is not well received after too enthusiastic playing or when getting rid of hairballs, this type of vomiting is not of any concern and you will start to recognize your pet’s normal pattern in this. More concerning is when pets are suffering from heavy endo-parasite infections, viral infections, dietary indiscretion, inflammatory disease, metabolic and endocrine diseases, food allergies, ingestion of foreign objects, intake of human medicines or toxic plants, gastrointestinal tumors, or poison.
When is it an emergency? When your pet is vomiting several times a day. When you suspect that your pet ingested something toxic (medicines such as paracetamol, toxic plants, chocolate, maintenance products…) or could have eaten a foreign object (bones, socks,…). In these cases, the timing between the intake and the treatment plays an important role in the secondary consequences and the vital prognosis of the animal.
What will the veterinarian do? A physical examination looks for body shock signs and measures the body temperature. A blood test (biochemistry profile, complete blood count) to exclude the presence of inflammatory, metabolic and endocrine diseases. An imaging exam (X-ray, abdominal ultrasound) to exclude a foreign object, and other causes. The availability of packaging, stool or vomit samples, video and/or photos are helpful in this process.
What are the treatment options for vomiting? Depending on the presence of defecation or not, we can help to minimize or even stop vomiting, by giving anti-emetics if the vomiting hasn’t resolved. Secondly, we have to treat the underlying disease with the proper medications, for example, if we have a bacterial infection, we give antibiotics if it is a parasitic infestation (e.g., intestinal worms), we give anti-parasite treatment and less frequently, some cases such as an intestinal obstruction might need emergency surgery.
Diarrhea
Diarrhea is when the texture of the faeces is soft or watery, can show a different texture, contain blood or undigested food particles or show a change in color and might have an off-normal smell for your pet. Often your pet will defecate more frequently, pass gas, and may show some abdominal discomfort as well.
What causes diarrhea? Acute diarrhea can be caused by several factors and most of the time, diarrheas are secondary to (1) environmentally resistant infectious agent excreted by another animal and ingested by your pet (viruses like Parvovirus, coronavirus, parasites: giardia, coccidia; or bacterias: salmonella, E. Coli); (2) sudden dietary change; and (3) in more critical cases, an obstruction in the digestive tract can also cause diarrhea.
Chronic diarrheas (that last for more than 4 weeks) are usually caused by chronic inflammation (inflammatory bowel disease), metabolic and endocrine disease (kidneys, liver, thyroid, pancreas), and some types of tumors.
What do I do if my pet is having diarrhea? If your pet is behaving normally and only had just one episode of diarrhea it’s usually not a cause for concern. But if your pet had more than 2 episodes it is recommended to see your veterinarian. It may sound weird but the veterinarian can know a lot from the shape, the color and the aspect of the stool therefore do not hesitate to take pictures and if possible bring a sample in a plastic self-sealing bag. (Refer to The Poop Rainbow chart as color of the stool may reveal the changes in a dog’s health). You should also contact your veterinarian if your pet is showing other symptoms as well as diarrhea such as weakness, blood in stool, vomiting, drooling, and lack of appetite.
What are the treatment options for diarrhea? It depends on the cause. Some cases need medical treatment such as antibiotics to treat bacterial infection but there are other options like:
Food: diet and diarrhea are intricately linked. Special diets are formulated to help reduce acute intestinal absorptive disorders and promote nutritional restoration and convalescence, these diets contain highly digestible ingredients, high energy levels to reduce meal volume and decrease intestinal load and have an increased palatability to satisfy decreased appetites
Pre-biotics and pro-biotics: Prebiotics are foods that promote the growth of beneficial bacteria, while probiotics are edible sources that actually contain health-promoting microbes. They contain beneficial micro-organisms and natural agents that firm up the faeces, support normal and healthy gut bacterial colonies, protect stomach lining and also contain electrolytes such as potassium, sodium and magnesium which the animal can lose whilst having diarrhea, supporting faster recovery. Their role is to restore a normal and healthy intestinal function and they can be used as a first-line treatment before giving antibiotics.
If your pet is vomiting or experiencing diarrhea, contact us to treat and recognize the causes. In June 2024, we have related promotions for Gastrointestinal disorders, stool test, and blood test.
Written by Marie Therese Alkassis, Veterinarian
Image reference: Credit to DailyPaws.com on Diarrhea in Dogs: What Your Pup’s Poop Says About Their Health
