Daily Blogs about the Family, Men, Women, Children, our Dogs and Cats, and even Horses health

Learn more about the wonderful natural herbal/holistic remedies that can make your life or a loved one much more healthy and rewarding. I will be providing many interesting and timely descriptions of human and pet remedies that will make our health and wellbeing so much better for years to come. Please let me know if I can help you with any kind of aliment that you need information about or herbal/holistic/homeopathic remedy that you would like to know more about.

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

The Liver and your Pets Immune System

The liver has a host of functions in your pet’s body - it is responsible for building and breaking down fats, carbohydrates and proteins as well as storing vitamins, minerals, glycogen (a form of glucose) and triglycerides (the building blocks of fat). It plays a vital role in the production of red blood cells and produces factors important for the normal clotting of blood.

Additionally, it is an essential part of the immune system; it assists in digestion by producing bile and is essential for detoxification of a variety of toxic compounds that your pet’s body system encounters everyday.

This is indeed an impressive list of functions, all of which are important in maintaining your pet’s health. However, in performing these functions the liver may be subjected to damage with resultant poor functioning. When your pet’s liver is not functioning properly, toxins will build up, digestion will be affected and there may be a shortage of essential substances such as glucose, vitamins and minerals.

Liver disease, also known as hepatitis is a broad term for describing a number of conditions affecting the liver. These may include bacterial infections, tumors, blockage of the bile ducts from the gall bladder, circulation disorders of the liver, viral diseases such as infectious canine hepatitis and a variety of toxins that may damage the cells of the liver.

Which pets are affected by liver disease?




All pets can succumb to liver disease but certain breeds are genetically predisposed.

Purebred dogs such as Miniature Schnauzers, Yorkshire Terriers, Cairn Terriers, Maltese, Scottish Terriers, Pugs, Irish Wolfhounds, Golden Retrievers, Labradors, German Shepherds and Poodles have a higher incidence of liver disease. Conversely, in cats, mixed breeds are more predisposed, although among the purebred cats, Persians and Himalayans do develop liver problems.

Your pet may be born with a liver disorder. The most common disorder of this type is known as a portosystemic shunt and is the condition where blood flow is diverted away from the liver. As a result, the liver cannot remove toxins from the blood and classic symptoms of liver disease will appear. Young pets affected in this way will usually start showing symptoms between 6 months and 1 year of age.

Liver tumors tend to occur in older pets, with most animals with liver cancer being diagnosed after the age of 10 years.

What are the symptoms of liver disease?The onset of the symptoms of liver disease may be very rapid in the case of a poisoning or may take some time to show if the liver is affected by a slow growing tumor. The symptoms that your pet might show include:
VomitingAnorexiaDiarrheaStomach ulcersNervous signsFeverBlood clotting disordersJaundice (yellow gums and eyes)Fluid build up in the abdomenExcessive thirst and urinationWeight lossDementiaSeizuresComa



The nervous signs may include circling, head pressing, aimless wandering, weakness, staggering gait, blindness, aggression, dementia and coma. Your vet may refer to these signs as hepatic encephalopathy.

These signs are due to the build up of toxins in your pet’s brain, especially ammonia which is normally broken down into harmless components by the liver. On blood tests, your pet may have too few red blood cells (anemia) and your vet will probably detect elevated liver enzymes.


What Causes Liver Disease?

The causes of liver disease are numerous and include:

Viral infections
Bacterial infections
Toxins such as pesticides
Certain drugs such as corticosteroids
Anorexia in cats (causes Feline Hepatic Lipidosis)
Leptospirosis
Obstructions of the gall bladder
Other diseases ex. Diabetes, Cushings and Hyperthyroidism
Tumors, cancer
Diagnosing Liver Disease
Your vet will be able to make a presumptive diagnosis based on your pet’s symptoms but will need to run blood tests and possibly take x-rays or do an ultrasound to confirm his/her suspected diagnosis.

Help for Liver Disease

Depending on the cause of the liver disease, treatment may or may not be possible. Treatment options might include:

Intravenous fluids
Antibiotics
Laxatives
Blood transfusions
Corticosteroids
Ursodeoxycholic acid
Colchicine
Vitamin and mineral supplements
Force feeding a high calorie diet
Chemotherapy
Is there a drug free treatment for Liver Disease?

Because the liver is such an important organ in your pet’s body, it is important that any treatment that is undertaken is done at an early stage of the disease process. The liver has a remarkable capacity for regeneration but care must be taken to not do further damage to the liver during the treatment process.

By adopting a holistic approach to the healing of your pet and acknowledging the importance of a balanced natural diet for optimizing healing, your pet’s liver will be given the best chance of repairing and regenerating itself.

Over the last few years, natural and alternative therapy has become more and more popular amongst pet owners, especially as unlike conventional drug therapies, natural therapies are side effect free.

Herbal Remedies

Natural and alternative therapies to alleviate symptoms of liver disease include:

Herbal medicines (naturopathy)
Homeopathy
Acupuncture
A combination of herbal and homeopathic remedies such as Silybum marianus, Arctium lappa, Chelidonium majus, Kali mur, Nat phos and Nat sulph can be used to promote a healthy liver. Herbal and homeopathic remedies may also be used alongside conventional treatment for liver disease, but remember to discuss this with your veterinarian.

More Information on Liver Disease

Adopt a holistic approach to your pet’s health; remember that
the stresses that affect your family will affect your pets too.Ensure regular, adequate exercise
Do not feed your pet chocolate
Avoid unnecessary use of pesticides, herbicides and flea collars
Don’t smoke around your pet (in fact don’t smoke at all)
Feed a balanced, organic diet that is free of preservatives and colorants
Ensure that your pet always has plenty of fresh, filtered water
Take time out to have fun with your pet, it’s a great way to relieve stress
Visit your vet once a year for your pet’s annual health check

Please visit:
http://www.HEALTHYHERBALWELLBEING.com/index.html

My Zimbio

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