“Managing symptoms of a disease or disorder at any stage of illness”
Palliative care comes into place when a disease has progressed, and curing is no longer intended or possible. In providing palliative care, our focus is to improve quality rather than quantity of life. This is achieved by managing pain, meeting nutritional needs, and sustaining comfort.
Pets suffering from end stage chronic diseases such as kidney, liver or heart failure, cancer or old age.
Symptoms such as pain, inappetence, nausea, dehydration that comes with disease can be managed medically with pain relief, appetite simulants, anti-nausea medications, subcutaneous fluid administration and more.
Acupuncture, TCM, heat/cold therapy, and massage are some alternative treatments that can be considered to manage pain and provide comfort.
Switching to home cooked food or adding cooked meat and wet food to warm softened kibbles can encourage our pets to eat as it’s tastier and easier to be eaten. Gradual introduction of new food is necessary to prevent GI upset.
Last but not the least, monitor pet’s quality of life daily and look out for signs of severe disease progression.
Quality of life assessment: https://www.lapoflove.com/quality-of-life-assessment
Worsening of symptoms mentioned above can be expected. Inability to stand or walk, unable to hold food or water down and incontinence are some signs of disease progression.
Talk to your Veterinarian to better manage your pet’s condition. Palliative care consultation is essential so you can better understand what to expect! Keeping an emergency kit is also important so you’ll have the necessary drugs if any of the predicted symptoms occurs!
