PTSD PostTraumatic Stress Disorder in Dogs & Cats

 

Ever been abandoned? Been in a housefire? An earth quake? A tornado? A hurricane? Aboard a sinking boat? A plane that went through turbulence so severe it had to land for mechanical reasons? A car wreck? Had surgery? Been unable to breath long enough that you lost color vision? Burried your folks? Your siblings? Well, pets go through these experiences too, so if you think these events can cause human PTSD, you’ll know they can also cause pet PTSD. So, what can we do about it?

Treating PTSD with Acupuncture

A new acupuncture study from the Dept of Rehab at the Chengdu Military General Hospital in Chengdu China showed that acupuncture helped more than the medication Paxil (paroxetine). 138 earthquake victims suffering from PTSD were treated to electro acupuncture or Paxil. Patients were evaluated using 4 tests able to measure anxiety:

·          Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS),

·          Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD),

·          Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAMA), and

·          Treatment Emergent Symptom Scale (TESS)

The research showed that both acupuncture and Paxil groups benefited, but that the acupuncture-treated group had the most significant improvement.

 

We expect dogs and cats will suffer PTSD just as humans do. We expect they may benefit from acupuncture just as humans do. Of course, there are lots of other things we can do for stressed pets, too:

·          Zylkene

·          Adaptil & Feliway

·          Essential oils: Lavender, Geranium, Neroli

·          Flower essences: Star of Bethlehem, Rock Rose, Mimulus

·          Homeopathics: Arnica, Gelsemium, Ignatia, Stramonium

·          Melatonin

 

If you’d like to read the full study, Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2012;2012:431279. doi: 10.1155/2012/431279. Epub 2012 Sep 25. Clinical studies on treatment of earthquake-caused posttraumatic stress disorder using electroacupuncture. Wang Y, Hu YP, Wang WC, Pang RZ, Zhang AR. Dept of Rehabilitation, Chengdu Military General Hospital, No.270, Road Rongdu, Jinniu District,
Chengdu 610083, China.

 

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