Routine care helps you detect medical issues in your pet and receive treatment. Unfortunately, some owners need to determine whether they can afford the treatment. With illness cover or major medical cover, you can receive assistance paying for some of the most common dog health problems. This includes ear infections, tapeworms, fleas, and bloat.
Ear Infections
Many dogs end up with an ear infection at some point in their lifetimes. These infections are typically caused by allergies, bacteria, or ear mites. Abnormal hair inside the ear can also increase the risk of ear infections.
If your dog has an ear infection, you may notice that it attempts to scratch or itch its ears frequently. It may also shake its head frequently. However, the biggest indicators include redness in the ear canal, swelling, or a bloody discharge in the ears.
Medications are effective at quickly dealing with ear infections. In severe cases, surgery may be required. For example, surgery may be necessary to treat a chronic ear infection or to deal with a ruptured blood vessel.
Tapeworm Infections
Tapeworms are parasites that take nutrients and blood from their hosts. When a dog has tapeworms, it may not show any major signs of the infection.
The most common symptoms include weight loss and dry skin and hair. However, these changes are very gradual and difficult to detect. In fact, your dog may have a tapeworm infection for quite some time before you notice any major changes.
Over time, the gradual weight loss can lead to additional complications, including diarrhea or vomiting. Oral medications are typically used to treat tapeworm infections and surgery may be needed in rare cases.
Flea Infestations
Fleas are a nuisance that most pet owners have dealt with at least once. Flea infestations spread quickly, jumping from the pet to furniture, carpeting, and clothes. Along with treating your pet for fleas, you may need to deal with the fleas in your home.
Signs of flea infestations include itching, bites, hair loss, and the presence of fleas. When you brush your dog, you may notice fleas jumping from the brush or detect dark flakes from dead flea casings.
Flea medicine is used to kill fleas and flea eggs. However, your vet may also recommend a flea bath or other topical treatment.
Stomach Bloat
Bloat can be a very serious issue and is often mistaken for general bloating; pet owners may wait to see if the bloating goes away on its own. Unfortunately, bloat can be fatal without proper treatment.
Bloat is typically caused by food or gas expanding in the dog’s stomach, causing the stomach to twist and rotate. This traps the gas in the belly, resulting in swelling and severe pain. If you suspect that your dog has bloat, visit the vet immediately.
If you detect any of the symptoms discussed, you should take your dog to your local veterinarian. With pet insurance that includes illness cover, a portion of the visit may be covered, reducing the out-of-pocket cost of treatment.
You should never need to decline treatment due to the cost. Besides covering illnesses, you can also add accidental injury cover or major medical cover. Consider getting insurance for your pet to ensure that you can afford quality medical care in case of a sudden illness.
