Symptoms and Prevention and Treatment Methods of Rheumatic Disease in Dogs

Rheumatic disease is an acute or chronic non-suppurative inflammation that often recurs; it most commonly affects the muscles, joints, and heart. It occurs relatively often in dogs.

[Etiology]

The cause of rheumatic disease is still unclear, but it is currently believed to be an autoimmune disease. That is, the hemolytic streptococcus that invades the body of a sick dog can cause the body to produce corresponding antibodies. When certain predisposing factors exist that cause streptococcus to invade the body again, the invading streptococcus, as an antigenic substance, combines with the anti-streptococcal antibodies present in the body to form an antigen-antibody complex, and this antigen-antibody complex can cause the occurrence of rheumatic disease. Wind and cold, dampness, cold and gloomy conditions, rain soaking, overexertion, as well as pharyngitis, laryngitis, tonsillitis, and other conditions are all predisposing factors for rheumatic disease.

[Key Points of Diagnosis]

Its characteristics are sudden onset, local redness and swelling, and a migratory nature with repeated episodes.

(1) Muscular rheumatism: it often occurs in the muscle groups of the shoulder, neck, back and lumbar region, and thigh. The affected muscle groups are swollen and painful, and the muscles are stiff to the touch, which can cause motor dysfunction, with a stiff and inflexible gait, but as the amount of exercise increases and time passes, the symptoms lessen or disappear. From the perspective of the entire course of the disease, the affected areas have a migratory characteristic. The body temperature of the sick dog may rise by 1-1.5 degrees C, and respiration and pulse also change slightly. If the whole body's muscles are affected by rheumatism, the sick dog shows generalized muscle rigidity, has difficulty walking, and often lies down and cannot get up.

(2) Joint rheumatism: it often occurs in highly mobile joints, such as the shoulder joint, elbow joint, hip joint, knee joint, and so on. The joint capsule and surrounding tissues of the affected joint become edematous, the joint appears swollen in shape, and there is a sensation of heat and pain on palpation. The sick dog has difficulty lying down and getting up, shows lameness when moving, and moves stiffly, especially in the early morning or just after standing up from lying down, but as the amount of exercise increases and time passes, the lameness symptoms can lessen or disappear. A definitive diagnosis can be made based on the medical history and the above symptoms.

[Prevention and Treatment]

(1) Drug treatment: antipyretic, analgesic, and anti-rheumatic drugs can be used, such as sodium salicylate, aspirin, and others, which have a certain therapeutic effect on acute rheumatic disease. The dosage is 20 milliliters of 10% sodium salicylate, once daily. The dosage of aspirin is 0.2-0.25 grams per administration. Clofenamic acid (anti-rheumatic agent) 0.05-0.4 grams per administration, orally, 2-3 times a day. Meclofenamic acid (anti-inflammatory acid) 0.1-0.25 grams per administration, orally, 3-4 times a day. Naproxen (pain-relieving agent), for dogs the first oral dose is 5 milligrams per kilogram of body weight, and the maintenance dose is 1.2-2.8 milligrams per kilogram of body weight per administration, once daily.

(2) Strengthen nursing care, pay attention to keeping warm, keep the dog kennel dry and with sufficient sunlight, frequently change the bedding, strengthen outdoor exercise, and promptly eliminate various predisposing factors.