For some time I have been amazed how often I hear a pet owner responding to the animals' diagnosis, "Oh, Doc, I have the same thing that my Buffy does; well we are just buddies, we share in everything I suppose." First I thought "Isn't that interesting?" Now I have to ask myself, what is the cause of it, what are the environmental factors leading up to the same problem in pets and their owners?
Certainly some of them are obvious, like heavy smoking in the house no doubt will result in serious respiratory problems in all family members including the pet. Many years ago I worked as a pathologist in the Animal Medical Center in New York, I still remember the diseased lung tissue of the animals caused by the polluted environment. Sometimes virus, bacteria, fungus organisms and parasites can infect the two-or four-legged family members alike, which does not surprise us at all.
Occasionally I see diabetes mellitus in humans and pets of the same family, most likely related to the eating habits and low activity levels, in the whole household. Several years ago we had two people and one pet in the same household with bladder stones cased by an improper functioning water softener. Intestinal problems like gastritis and colitis are frequently seen in the same family unit. Skin, respiratory allergies and autoimmune diseases (like lupus) seem to affect pets and humans in the same family also.
Can these incidences just be explained as accidents in the large human and pet population? Or are they the result of certain polluted environments as well as particular lifestyles of the family unit causing specific diseases in men and pet alike? More and more I believe that the way we live, what we eat, drink, see, say, hear, think, and how we communicate under our roofs - all have a great overburden on our immune system and that of our pets through an intense, stressful life, resulting in disease of our "weaker organ system. We may not always be fully aware of the intense beat of our personal life as long as everything goes well, but when a health problem arises, let us carefully analyze the underlying causes.
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West County Animal Clinic Ballwin, MO (314) 227-3505 |
