Indore: Cataract diagnosed dogs most likely to be diabetic, says Vets

Indore (Madhya Pradesh): If you believe that diabetes is a common lifestyle disease among human beings then you are mistaken. According to medical experts, fifty per cent of Indian dogs who developed cataract are also diagnosed with diabetes. Like humans, diabetes is one of the most prevailing diseases amongst dogs. Their improper and excess diet is the major reason behind it.

A three-day workshop on ‘Extra articular surgery in small animal practices’ was inaugurated on Friday. It was organised by the United Small Animal Practitioner Association of MP and CG.

Dr Piyush Dubey said that in Indore, almost 25-30 per cent veterinary cases are related to eyes. Earlier, pet parents lacked awareness about it but the scenario has changed in the last four to five years. They understand their pets better now and strive to get the best treatment for them.

Dr Narendra Chauhan, conference's organising secretary said that the conference is focused on eye-related problems in small pets and detailed discussion on their treatment. He elaborated that India has various facilities but the medical institutions do not train aspiring doctors in particular surgery in detail. Therefore, workshops are the only medium to learn about it in detail.

Surgery of wild animals is more challenging

The special guest at the workshop, Dr Izak Venter from South Africa said that the process of surgery in animals is similar to human beings, but it is very difficult to perform surgery of animals’ especially wild ones. He said, “We can provide post operation care to the pets, but wild animals run away after the surgery. We cannot provide them medicine post-surgery, so we have to treat them all at once. Another major challenge is to provide the right amount of anaesthesia to the animals.”

The late treatment of common disease cause vision loss

The eye-related problems are most common amongst dogs and cats such as corneal ulcer caused by injury, allergy or conjunctivitis caused by eye infection. At present, 90 per cent of animals have developed cataract because of diabetes. Late detection and delayed treatment of diseases like glaucoma, tick-fever can cause loss of vision in animals. It is recommended to consult doctors immediately instead of providing them with home remedies.