{"id":1852,"date":"2023-12-14T11:10:59","date_gmt":"2023-12-14T17:10:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.medicaldistrictvet.com\/blog\/?p=1852"},"modified":"2023-12-19T17:13:14","modified_gmt":"2023-12-19T23:13:14","slug":"mystery-canine-respiratory-illness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.medicaldistrictvet.com\/blog\/mystery-canine-respiratory-illness\/","title":{"rendered":"Mystery Canine Respiratory Illness"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Fear of the Unknown, or Fear of Saying ‘I Don\u2019t Know’?<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Originally, I was planning to write this blog about the current \u201cmystery illness\u201d that is popping up in random places around the United States. But when I sat down to research what I could, I kept getting stuck on the word \u201cunknown.\u201d It made me think about all that I haven\u2019t figured out myself yet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know\u201d is a phrase that you are likely to hear from me as your pet\u2019s veterinarian. It is a phrase that I used to be terrified of saying when I first started practicing medicine over a decade ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I spent a lot of time (most of my 20s) and money (over six figures) learning everything about biology, chemistry, pharmacology, virology, physiology, anatomy (of multiple species, mind you!), really any animal-related \u201c-ology\u201d so I could avoid that very phrase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why I Say \u2018I Don\u2019t Know\u2019<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Now, with years of experience in the field, I frequently say \u201cI don\u2019t know\u201d because I am so acutely aware that figuring out why<\/em> an animal is sick (we call this a differential diagnosis) is often much harder than just making an animal feel better (we call this empiric therapy).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are a few reasons why this is so:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Answers often cost money.<\/strong> Even the best veterinarians can go only so far on a physical exam and asking good questions. Eventually we need test results, but this costs money\u2014your money<\/em>\u2014and sometimes we don\u2019t need an answer to find the treatment. We want to put your resources to the best use. If we use up the available budget to find answers, that may mean we have fewer resources to provide the care your pet needs.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Answers often aren\u2019t easy.<\/strong> One of the worst things that has ever happened to any medical professional is the show CSI. They always find the answer in a convenient hour (or 40 minutes if you\u2019re paying for premium streaming). This is just not reality. Yes, sometimes tests to give you a precise answer, but a lot of times testing provides information and clues. Then I use my expensive degree to put all the pieces of the puzzle together.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Answers often aren\u2019t universal.<\/strong> This is what I mean when I say a pet \u201chasn\u2019t read the textbook.\u201d The same problem does not always manifest in the same way in every pet. (Not to put all<\/em> the blame on cats, but it\u2019s usually cats who haven\u2019t read the textbook!) That can mean that even if we think we know what\u2019s going on, we can get curveballs.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    I know this may not instill a lot of confidence in what I and my colleagues do, but I say this because I want you to know that getting an answer isn\u2019t my only goal. I want to help you and your pet in the best way possible. Often these goals are at odds with each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    We Still Don\u2019t Have an Answer<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    This brings me to the current \u201ccrisis\u201d going on in veterinary medicine right now: the mystery respiratory illness that is affecting dogs. We still don\u2019t have an answer as to what it is. It won\u2019t be easy or cheap to figure out, but there are people working on it. As soon as we have verified information, we will let you know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    For now, we\u2019re left with the general guidance of trying to keep your dog away from crowded canine events as much as possible (I will be boarding my own dog over the Christmas because that\u2019s our only option), keeping them away from unhealthy dogs, and keeping up with the recommended respiratory vaccines like distemper, bordetella, and parainfluenza, and, for some dogs, influenza.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    It\u2019s hard accepting \u201cwe don\u2019t know,\u201d but to tell you anything more than that would be foolish. In all my years of practice, I would much rather say \u201cI don\u2019t know\u201d than \u201cI was wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u2014Dr. Alyssa Kritzman<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Fear of the Unknown, or Fear of Saying ‘I Don\u2019t Know’? Originally, I was planning to write this blog about the current \u201cmystery illness\u201d that is popping up in random places around the United States. But when I sat down to research what I could, I kept getting stuck on the word \u201cunknown.\u201d It made […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,9],"tags":[47],"class_list":["post-1852","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-for-dogs","category-pet-health-wellness","tag-respiratory-illness"],"yoast_head":"\nMystery Canine Respiratory Illness | Medical District Veterinary Clinic<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The mystery illness affecting dogs is still a mystery. 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