Health Maintenance Services in O'Fallon
Internal Medicine for St. Charles County Pets
Bryan Road Animal Hospital is a full-service animal hospital in O'Fallon staffed by skilled, compassionate, and caring individuals. Beyond our comprehensive nose-to-tail wellness examinations, we offer a full range of services, including internal medicine, allergy and dermatology treatment, cancer treatment, nutrition counseling and prescription diets, reproductive medicine, and more.
Whether your pet is a playful puppy or kitten, active adult dog or cat, or a senior pet entering his or her golden years, we use a personalized approach to high-quality pet care based on your pet's unique needs and your expectations. At Bryan Road Animal Hospital, your pet receives the highest level of care available in a professional and loving environment.
Despite the very best preventive care, pets can become sick. When this happens, it is stressful for both you and your pet, especially because you can't simply ask your companion what's wrong. You need a skilled veterinarian whom you can trust to accurately diagnose and effectively treat your pet.
While the focus of our medical practice at Bryan Road Animal Hospital is your pet's wellness, an important part of our services is the diagnosis and non-surgical treatment of diseases that can affect your pet's internal organs and body systems. The veterinarians at Bryan Road Animal Hospital are experienced in diagnosing and treating complex internal medicine cases such as kidney, heart, respiratory, immune-mediated, and endocrine diseases.
Allergies and Skin Problems in Dogs and Cats
Allergies are quite common in dogs of all breeds and backgrounds, typically due to fleas, but can also be the result of food or an inhaled irritant like dust or pollen. Most allergies appear after the pet is 6 months of age with the majority of affected dogs over age 2. The most common symptom associated with allergies is itching of the skin, either localized or generalized. Other symptoms include respiratory distress (coughing, sneezing, and wheezing) or digestive problems causing vomiting, flatulence, or diarrhea.
Flea allergy is the most common allergy in cats. A normal cat experiences only minor skin irritation at the site of the bite. The flea allergic cat, on the other hand, has a severe, itch-producing reaction when the flea's saliva is deposited in the skin. Just one bite causes such intense itching that the cat may severely scratch or chew itself, leading to hair loss and open sores or scabs on the skin. The area most commonly involved is over the rump or base of the tail.
It is important to be able to identify the first signs and symptoms of allergies and dermatological conditions. These include:
- Scratching, licking, chewing or biting the skin, feet and ears
- Red, raised, scaly areas on the skin
- Bumps, crusts or pus filled vesicles on the skin
- Increased skin pigmentation
- Thickened skin
- Loss of hair
- Salivary staining (brown color)
- Head shaking
If your pet exhibits any of these symptoms, please make an appointment to have him or her seen by one of our veterinarians at Bryan Road Animal Hospital. We will evaluate your pet, determine the most effective method of treatment, and explain how you can prevent future problems. If left untreated, allergic reactions and skin conditions can become serious medical concerns.
Laser Therapy Reduces Pain and Speeds Healing
Reducing your pet's pain and promoting healing is one of our medical team's top priorities. To that end, Bryan Road Animal Hospital has invested in a therapeutic laser, which we use on our patients following surgery or an injury and to help manage a range of chronic and acute conditions. Relief and/or improvement is often noticed within hours depending on the condition and your pet's response. Whether your pet is rehabilitating from trauma or injury, healing from wounds or simply aging, your companion can benefit from this non-invasive, pain-free, surgery-free, drug-free approach to treating pain.
Applications for laser therapy include:
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How does it work?
Laser therapy stimulates the body to heal from within. Non-thermal photons of light are administered to the body for about 3 to 8 minutes and absorbed by the injured cells. The cells are then stimulated and respond with a higher rate of metabolism. This results in relief from pain, increased circulation, reduced inflammation and an acceleration of the healing process.
What can my pet expect during a laser therapy treatment session?
Simply put, it provides relief. As the laser is administered, your pet will relax and enjoy the treatment. The almost immediate relief of pain will allow your pet to be comfortable and any anxiety that your pet initially experiences will dissipate.
Occasionally, angry cats will start to purr and canine companions will actually fall asleep during their therapy session. Frequently after therapy we hear: "He's acting like a puppy again" or "She can actually jump onto the chair again." Pain relief is provided in just a few minutes of therapy and that alone improves the quality of life for your companion.
What are the signs that my pet can benefit from laser therapy?
Many of our laser therapy patients are older animals with musculoskeletal ailments. Some signs that your senior companion is experiencing pain or discomfort are:
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Please contact Bryan Road Animal Hospital today to schedule an appointment or for additional information.
Treating Your Pet's Cancer
If your pet is diagnosed with cancer, we consider many factors in advising the most appropriate course of treatment for each particular case. The standard treatment for almost all pet cancers is surgical removal of the lump when possible. Benign (non-invasive, non-spreading), well-defined tumor are almost always permanently cured by surgical removal. Surgery is also the best treatment course for the majority of malignant cancers that have not yet spread (metastasized). Complex procedures may require referral to a specialist. Recovery from most surgery is rapid and post-surgical pain is controlled by using appropriate medications.
Chemotherapy involves the use of drugs that are designed to be damaging to cancer cells but unfortunately, they typically have some toxicity for healthy cells as well. Although much less serious than the effects felt by humans, some pets experience side effects such as anemia, reduced resistance to infection, and gastrointestinal upset. Our medical team will help you monitor your pet for these conditions.
Chemotherapy for pets has been designed to improve their quality of life and maximize their lifespans. Protocols are developed to minimize side effects such as vomiting, diarrhea, and lowered resistance to infection. These effects can be moderated or eliminated by use of appropriate medications and adjustment of the chemotherapy protocol.
Radiation treatment uses high-energy radiation that injures cancer cells' DNA. Unfortunately, normal healthy cells can also be damaged or destroyed by the radiation, particularly cells that make up your pet’s intestinal lining, bone marrow, and immune system. This type of treatment is only available at veterinary specialty centers.
Before making the decision on the appropriate course of treatment for your pet, please discuss all of the relevant factors with our medical team so that you can make an informed choice. Our understanding of cancer is increasing all the time, leading to better treatment approaches, quality of life, and improved outcomes.
Reproductive Medicine for O'Fallon Cats and Dogs
Whether you are an experienced breeder or you are breeding your pet for the first time, Bryan Road Animal Hospital can help during all phases of the breeding process, from initial planning and consultation all the way through birth and post-natal nursing and management of complications.
We provide the following reproductive medical services for your pet:
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As a part of Bryan Road Animal Hospital's comprehensive reproductive services, our veterinarians also treat other problems that affect your pet's reproductive organs, such as vaginitis, prostate disorders, and mammary disorders.
Your Pet's Nutrition
Proper nutrition and a balanced diet, along with fresh, clean water, is an essential ingredient for your pet's overall good health. As your pet's caregiver, nutrition is the most significant health variable that you control.
Feeding your pet the highest quality food you can afford is one of the best ways you can contribute to his or her health and vitality. Although the differences between premium and budget varieties may not be apparent on their nutrition labels, they are in the quality of the ingredients. Both may contain the same amount of protein but be very different when it comes to digestibility and nutritional value. Making the best nutritional choices for your dog or cat not only affects general health, but will improve the quality and length of your pet's life.
To support your efforts, the doctors at Bryan Road Animal Hospital perform a thorough body condition evaluation during every physical examination, and give recommendations based on what they see. We can also provide you with important information on proper serving size, nutrient needs, and feeding strategies for your individual pet, including advice tailored to weigh loss or the dietary needs of competition dogs. We will also help you navigate pet food claims so you can make the most informed choices.
Prescription Diets
Some pets have serious nutritional challenges or chronic conditions that benefit from a special diet. When that is the case, we may recommend feeding a special prescription diet. Making this change can have a significant positive impact on your pet’s overall health and well-being.
Prescription diets benefit medical conditions such as liver disease, bladder and kidney disease, digestive problems, renal failure, food allergies, diabetes, and more. Bryan Road Animal Hospital carries Hill's Science Diet pet foods. If your pet requires a prescription diet we do not carry, we can easily order it for you.
Referrals
At Bryan Road Animal Hospital, we refer pets to specific specialists when indicated for complicated conditions including but not limited to ophthalmology, neurology, dermatology (skin allergy testing), and behavior.
If you would like more information on any of the O'Fallon veterinary health maintenance services that Bryan Road Animal Hospital offers for your pet, please call one of our St. Charles veterinarians at (636) 272-3900.