Pain
Management
We
all know what pain is, and yet it is a very personal feeling. And all people
and animals have different degrees of pain tolerance, which is both genetic
and learned. What we do know is that needless pain is suffering. Further
studies show that pain causes other physiologic effects, which can even lower
our resistance to infection.
In
many areas of medicine and surgery veterinarians are close to their human
counterparts in the care that they can give to their patients. But until very
recently, veterinarians were ignorant of the need for controlling pain in
pets.
As
the concept of preventing pain in people grew the drug companies started
designing pain medications for pets, and soon competent veterinarians were
doing as much as possible to reduce the pain suffered by animals.
At
Ark Animal Hospital we use modern pain medications as well as acupuncture to
help control pain in our patients.