First Aid - Diarrhea

Every now and again some pets have Diarrhea. Diarrhea is simply diagnosed; your pet will have frequent, soft, fluid and often-uncontrollable bowel movements.  The faeces are “runny” either because food is moving through your pet’s system so quickly that the colon doesn’t have time to absorb the normal amount of fluid (increased peristaltic movements) or because more fluids are being secreted by the intestine.

Although it is messy and can be smelly, it normally is no cause for great concern. It’s the body’s natural way of moving unwanted or irritating contents through the intestines as fast as possible. If your pet is acting normally and still eating and taking in enough fluids you can try to manage this yourself by either:

1.     Starving the animal for 12 to 24 hours while only giving him/her fluids (chicken broth or water of cooking rice), followed by a blend diet of boiled rice and chicken in several small portions (3 to 4) for the next 24 hours. After this you can slowly introduce his/her normal food again.
2.     Or by just offering more frequent small portions of his/her normal food which in total only add up to 50% of the normal portion for a few days till the stools return normal again. Also always check if the pet has been de-wormed in the last 3 months.

Reasons for sudden onset of diarrhea:

• Not regularly de-wormed and therefore suffering of intestinal parasites
• Sudden food change (this can lead to severe problems in dogs)
• Eaten something unusual/from the street (plastic, rubber band, bones, rotten food, very rich food, etc.)
• Eaten/drunk toxin containing product/food/animal/plant
• Hormonal imbalance
  
• Viral or bacterial infection
• Food intolerance/allergy

Dehydration caused by diarrhea is a severe risk so make sure that your pet always has access to cool (not cold) water to prevent dehydration from diarrhea. You can also add some electrolytes to restore the loss in electrolytes. If the diarrhea continues you need to see a veterinarian.

However, if your pet suffers from the following signs, besides the diarrhea, you need to contact your veterinarian as soon as possible:

• Blood in stool or black stool
• Explosive diarrhea
• Dehydration
• Loss of appetite
• Fever
• Distressed or depressed
• Lethargic
• In pain
• Your pet is very young of age or has not received all the necessary vaccinations
• Abdomen seems swollen or appears bloated

Do not give your dog any medications, including over-the-counter human medications unless advised by your veterinarian to do so.

Diarrhea in rabbits and other small rodents as well as birds are always an emergency!!