Boosting Health and Bonding: The Fascinating Connection Between Dogs and Psoriasis
Introduction:
Pets bring joy, companionship, and unconditional love to our lives. But did you know that they can also play a unique role in our health? One condition where this connection becomes evident is psoriasis. Many individuals with psoriasis have noticed their dogs reacting strongly to their flare-ups. While the reasons behind this behavior are not fully understood, experts have put forward various theories. Let’s explore the fascinating relationship between dogs and psoriasis and delve into the possibility of training dogs to detect certain medical conditions in humans.
The Scent Sensitivity of Dogs:
Dogs possess an exceptional sense of smell that allows them to detect scents that humans cannot perceive. Some experts believe that dogs may be attracted to the distinct scent emitted by psoriasis patches. This unique odor could pique their curiosity and urge them to lick or sniff the affected areas. Others even suggest that dogs may instinctively lick these areas as a healing gesture, possibly due to the natural enzymes present in their saliva.
The Risk of Infection:
While it may be tempting to allow your furry friend to comfort you during a psoriasis flare-up, it’s crucial to consider the potential risks. Dogs and cats harbor numerous bacteria in their mouths, making any licking a potential source of infection. Deborah Silverstein, a veterinary medicine professor, advises individuals with psoriasis to refrain from allowing their pets to lick the affected areas to prevent complications and infections.
Medication Dangers:
Psoriasis treatment often involves using ointments and creams that contain active ingredients. If dogs lick these medicated areas, they can ingest harmful substances that may lead to kidney damage and other serious health issues. To avoid such complications, it is essential to keep pets away from any psoriasis medication and consult a veterinarian if accidental ingestion occurs.
Beyond Psoriasis: Dogs’ Ability to Detect Medical Conditions:
The connection between dogs and human health goes beyond psoriasis. Research has shown that dogs can exhibit an uncanny ability to detect or predict symptoms of various conditions, including epilepsy, diabetes, cancer, narcolepsy, migraines, and even COVID-19. However, further research is needed to understand the precise mechanisms behind these remarkable abilities.
The Dog’s Nose: An Incredible Tool:
A dog’s nose is an extraordinary tool that offers unique insights into the world. Changes in a person’s body chemistry and physiology, triggered by conditions like psoriasis or skin cancer, may produce odors that are imperceptible to humans but detectable to dogs. Melissa Singletary, an expert in canine performance sciences, highlights that dogs’ acute sense of smell allows them to notice subtle changes that evade human senses.
Service Dogs: Could They Help Monitor Medical Conditions?
Pairing a person with a chronic medical condition, such as psoriasis, with a service dog capable of detecting symptoms is an intriguing prospect. However, Raelynn Farnsworth, a veterinary medicine expert, emphasizes that a thorough evaluation is necessary to ensure the right dog, person, and disease alignment. While dogs’ inherent abilities are impressive, they cannot act as substitutes for professional medical diagnosis and treatment.
Expanding Role of Dogs in Healthcare:
Dogs’ extraordinary olfactory abilities have already proven invaluable in bomb and drug detection. Adding the ability to detect certain health conditions in humans is not far-fetched. Training dogs to recognize specific medical odors holds significant potential for early detection and intervention. Anecdotal evidence, such as a story of a dog persistently sniffing a mole that turned out to be melanoma, highlights the importance of further exploring this avenue.
Conclusion:
The bond between dogs and humans is a special one, often filled with love, loyalty, and companionship. Dogs’ remarkable sense of smell and their potential to detect subtle changes in human bodies offer a unique opportunity to explore their role beyond mere companionship. While they cannot provide definitive medical diagnosis or treatment, their heightened senses may prove invaluable in early detection and intervention. By understanding and harnessing this bond, we can unlock new possibilities that enhance our health and well-being.
Summary:
Dogs possess an extraordinary sense of smell that makes them curious about psoriasis and other medical conditions. While experts have proposed theories about dogs being attracted to the unique scent of psoriasis patches, the exact reasons behind their behavior are still unclear. It is important to prevent dogs from licking psoriasis patches to avoid the risk of infection. Additionally, dogs should be kept away from any psoriasis medication to prevent potential health complications. Dogs’ exceptional olfactory abilities extend beyond psoriasis detection, showing potential in alerting individuals to epilepsy, diabetes, cancer, narcolepsy, migraines, and even COVID-19. However, further research is necessary to fully understand and utilize their capabilities. While dogs cannot replace medical professionals, their remarkable sensory abilities have the potential to contribute to early detection and intervention. By recognizing and exploring the bond between dogs and human health, we can open doors to innovative approaches that benefit both humans and their loyal companions.
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Whenever Russell Hartstein’s psoriasis flares up, count on your 6-year-old German Shepherd, Koa, to try and lick the dry patches on your elbows.
“He always seems in tune and curious with people, he’s very affectionate and observant,” says Hartstein, who is also in tune with such things as a certified dog trainer.
Harstein has had psoriasis since childhood. Koa is not his first dog to lick, sniff and look at patches of fur with “what seemed like curiosity and interest.”
People with psoriasis will tell you that the Koa is not a rare breed. It is not uncommon for dogs to react strongly to flare-ups of psoriasis in their human families.
But why? What is it about psoriasis that draws attention to some dogs?
The experts aren’t sure. Some think that dogs, with their keen sense of smell, are attracted to a unique scent that comes from psoriasis patches. Others believe that dogs like to lick that area as a healing gesture.
It can be hard to turn down licks from a friendly dog. But if he has psoriasis, and especially if he gets sores during flare-ups, that’s the safest.
“Dogs and cats have many [germs] in their mouths, so any amount of licking could lead to … an infection,” says Deborah Silverstein, DVM, a professor of emergency and critical care at the University of Pennsylvania College of Veterinary Medicine in Philadelphia.
What about your dog’s health? If he hasn’t put medication on his skin, his dog should be fine if he or she licks the psoriasis patches.
But the ingredients in some psoriasis ointments and creams can cause kidney damage and other serious health problems in dogs if they lick up enough of the medication, says Silverstein.
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It’s not just psoriasis. Some research shows that dogs can be attracted to, or even predict, symptoms of other conditions, including:
- Epilepsy
- Low blood sugar in people with diabetes
- Melanoma and other types of cancer
- narcolepsy
- Migraine
- COVID-19
But this is not safe. More research is needed.
“Part of the challenge is that we don’t know exactly what dogs pick up on” when they react to human medical conditions, says Evan MacLean, PhD, director of the Arizona Canine Cognition Center at the University of Arizona in Tucson.
One possibility is that changes in your body caused by psoriasis, skin cancer, etc. trigger a unique scent that you can’t feel, but your dog can.
Dogs experience the world primarily through their sense of smell. That “gives them a different perspective and a unique ability to notice changes… too subtle for us to recognize,” says Melissa Singletary, DVM, PhD, assistant director of the Canine Performance Sciences program at the University of California’s College of Veterinary Medicine. Auburn University in Alabama. .
Dogs can also quickly detect and react to subtle changes in their behavior or physical appearance when it comes to an outbreak of a medical condition, Singletary says.
What about pairing a person with a chronic medical condition with a service dog that reacts to the symptoms?
“It takes a very specific evaluation to make sure you have the right disease, along with the right dog, along with the right person,” says Raelynn Farnsworth, DVM, interim associate dean for clinical programs at the University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. Washington State. in Pullman, Wash.
Could dogs one day be trained to detect certain health conditions in people? That might not be such a far-fetched idea.
Dogs have a “tremendous ability to smell chemicals at many different levels,” which already helps authorities with bomb and drug detection, Hartstein notes.
And don’t forget “a dog’s sensitivity to very subtle behavior changes in a person,” says Singletary.
A medical journal article written by a dermatologist describes a woman whose dog repeatedly sniffed at a mole on her back and became annoyed by it. That woman sought medical attention and was diagnosed with melanoma.
Still, even the smartest dog can’t diagnose anything. So if your dog reacts differently and strongly to something in his body, he may want to see a doctor, who will put the best of human medicine to work.
https://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/psoriasis/features/cm/dog-reacts-to-psoriasis?src=RSS_PUBLIC
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