When we have an old dog at home, it is common for pain in the different joints to affect him at times (and to be fine at others). This confuses us since one day he can get up without wanting to support the left leg, but at night, he supports it perfectly and does not want to use the right one.
In previous articles we talked about arthritis in dogs, with its causes and treatments, but today we are going to pay special attention to pain relievers for dogs with arthritis.
Sometimes we believe that the ailments we suffer from are exclusive to human beings, but this is not always correct. From our site we give you a small guide to help your dog when he is in a lot of pain.
What are painkillers?
Surely right now in the medicine cabinet in the bathroom or somewhere in the house, there is a tablet with some painkiller for humans. We know that they are over-the-counter in pharmacies and that when something hurts, it is the first thing we turn to. But why do we want to quickly suppress pain without thinking about where it comes from? Have you ever thought what drug we are talking about?
Pain relievers are medicines whose main function is to relieve or eliminate pain. It combats joint and muscle pain and even reduces pain such as headaches in humans suffering from the flu.
There are different types of pain medications:
- Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs): are the best known and used, they act by inhibiting enzymes that help the production of prostaglandins (substances pain mediators). The famous ones in dogs are meloxicam, carprofen and ketoprofen, among others and different commercial brands.
- Major opiates: which in turn are divided into natural (opiates) and artificial (opioids). They are narcotic substances that act at the receptor level of the neurons of the nervous system, imitating the analgesic effect of endogenous opiates. To make it clearer: they produce an effect similar to that of morphine, their use is greatly limited since it can bring about a series of secondary complications. We have Fentanyl and Butorphanol as stars, used for surgical interventions or very intense pain.
- Adjuvant drugs: In association with any of the above, they manage to enhance the action, so they are not analgesics in themselves. We highlight corticosteroids and anticonvulsants.
Let us not forget that none of them can be administered to our animal without a previous visit to the veterinarian who will evaluate the pain conditions, which dose will be adequate and the treatment to face. But, in my opinion as a veterinarian, that the owners attend with a list of the first-aid kit they have at home, it usually helps and that way the visit will be more economical.
Plants to relieve pain
Previously I wrote about natural chondroprotectors for dogs, which I encourage you to read, not because it's mine too, but because there are more options than the ones we'll cover here.
What I am going to detail below is a list of plants or herbs that nature brings us to relieve pain. I would like to eradicate a little the belief that if our dog is in pain, we should resort to a drug. It is not so difficult to give our dog these alternatives, they are also analgesic and most do not have adverse effects.
- Hypericum: plant with analgesic and sedative effect. The homeopathic medicine Hipericum is obtained from it, a good way of administering doses to our pet (either in drops or globules). Another way to use it is to make a poultice to relieve certain areas in particular and it can be very soothing. We can do it in a latex glove where we put white clay with water with a few drops of the oil of this plant and we can apply it several times a day, before heating it in a microwave. Just don't use it as a toy because we'll have to clean the whole house later.
- Mint: Not only is it very easy to get, but it is also known to relieve gastric pain. We can have a plant that is for our animal to purge itself when it wants to eat grass and congratulate it when it eats it, so it will know that it should go to it and not to others on our terrace.
- Valeriana: It is quite likely that you already know it and know that it is used for times of storms, fireworks or loud noises that scare people. your pet and thus be able to calm it. But it also has a very interesting power to relieve muscular aches, pains of the bitches that are with their period and have a terrible time. We also find it in pharmacies as commercial homeopathy in the form that is easier for them to administer or by putting together the same poultice that we said in hypericum. A secret: if you want to combine valerian with hypericum in a poultice, it will be incredible.
