The AlphaTRAK Glucose Monitoring System: Accurately Measure Blood Sugar Levels of Your Diabetic Pet - Share A Word
Most pet owners will agree that there is an undeniable bond between domestic pets and their human companions. They’re a source of joy, friendship, and unending affection. This is why we have to protect them, supply them with food, offer them a healthy way of life and always be aware of any symptoms of illness.
If you begin to notice that your pet hydrates excessively, urinates rather frequently, has a significant weight loss even though they may have an increased appetite, cloudy eyes, chronic or recurring infections, you should immediately take your pet to a vet since those might be alarming signs of diabetes. The most essential step in caring for your pet is detecting early indications of diabetes. The earlier your pet is diagnosed, the higher their chances of living a longer and healthier life.
Diabetes mellitus is a disease that causes an increase in the quantity of glucose, or sugar, in your pet’s blood. Diabetes develops when your pet’s body produces insufficient insulin, stops generating it entirely, or responds abnormally to the same. When your dog eats carbs they’re converted into several types of sugars like glucose. Glucose enters the bloodstream from the intestines and travels to cells throughout the body. Insulin is essential for the transport of glucose from the bloodstream into cells so that it can be used for energy. When there is insufficient insulin, glucose cannot enter cells and instead accumulates to a high concentration in the blood.
As a result, there is insufficient energy for regular cell function, and the cells become “starved.” Despite the voracious appetite of your pet, weight loss occurs over time, and the build-up of glucose in the urine causes huge amounts of water to be drawn into the body, resulting in increased thirst and urination.
Diabetes can strike dogs and cats at any age. Diabetic dogs, on the other hand, are typically 4-14 years old, with the majority being diagnosed between the ages of 7 and 10. The majority of diabetic cats are beyond the age of six. Diabetes affects female dogs twice as much as male canines. Certain dog breeds may be susceptible to diabetes, like Australian terriers, Beagles, Samoyeds, and Golden Retrievers. Obesity is a major risk factor for the development of diabetes.
The objective of diabetes management is to keep blood glucose levels under control and to keep diabetic complications to a minimum. It’s critical to keep track of your pet’s blood glucose levels if he or she has diabetes. When your pet is comfortable and going about its daily routine, blood glucose monitoring at home allows you to check its glucose levels.
Home monitoring is convenient, minimizes stress, and gives reliable data to your veterinarian to assist assess your diabetic treatment strategy. Your veterinarian can use the data from your diabetic pet’s blood glucose monitoring to create and personalize a diabetes treatment plan for him or her. Home blood glucose monitoring decreases stress and may help to prevent diabetes clinical symptoms, emergency room visits, and long-term diabetic consequences including cataracts in dogs and neuropathy in cats.
The AplhaTRAK Glucose Monitoring System by Zoetis
The diabetic pet monitoring system we’ll be discussing today is made by Zoetis, a pharmaceutical company based in the United States. Zoetis provides high-quality medications, vaccines, and diagnostics, as well as biodevices, genetic testing, and precision livestock husbandry. They work hard to give veterinarians, livestock producers, and companion animal owners the resources they need. They provide a wide range of goods, services, and animal health solutions, including the AlphaTRAK blood glucose system.
AlphaTRAK is calibrated for dogs and cats and takes into consideration the variations in blood composition between the two species with separate test strips. The results are precise, simple to acquire from the convenience of one’s own home, and accessible promptly. By the third time you use this device, you’ll be a pro who doesn’t require any assistance. So thanks to its ease of use, we suggest you buy the AlphaTRAK blood glucose system without hesitation.
Choosing the appropriate blood collection site is one of the first considerations to make. The size, temperament, and physical qualities of the pet all influence the site you’re going to take samples from. There are numerous options, and the best one is the one that the animal tolerates and regularly produces an appropriate sample. Always keep in mind that you’ll need to be able to collect the sample at home, so choose a method that is both safe and involves the least amount of stress for your pet.
The lancing device causes only a tiny prick, causing little to no discomfort for your pet. It may be beneficial to acclimate your pet to the sound of the lancing device and then reward them with diabetic-friendly food to maintain a good connection with the procedure. If you’re going to test on a paw pad, it could be easier to use the AplhaTRAK 2 on the side of the paw pad rather than the bottom section that the pet walks on. Even if you didn’t think a glucose monitoring system would be among the essentials your dog needs, it will become the gadget of choice for their healthy lifestyle.
Instead of using a pet glucometer, some pet owners prefer to utilize human blood glucose meters. However, human meters are designed and calibrated to measure the glucose content in a person’s blood and not pets. When a human blood glucose meter is used on a dog or cat, the glucose levels are calculated using human blood composition, leading to incorrect readings and underestimated blood glucose levels.
Treatment Options
Diabetes in dogs and cats typically needs lifetime care, including specific foods, a regular exercise program, and, in the case of dogs, daily insulin injections. The key to controlling diabetic pets is to keep your pet’s blood sugar levels around normal and prevent dangerously high or low levels. A therapy that works for one pet may not work as well for another, and you and your pet will need to be patient while you acclimate to the new food and drugs.
As said before, the major therapy for controlling blood glucose in diabetic dogs is insulin injection. Diabetes mellitus in dogs generally necessitates two daily insulin injections as well as a dietary modification. Although a dog may spend a day or two without insulin and not experience a crisis, this should not be done on a regular basis; medication should be viewed as part of the dog’s daily routine. This implies that you, as the dog’s owner, must make both a financial and a personal commitment to properly care for your dog. If you leave town or go on vacation, your dog must be properly cared for while you are gone.
And the case of diabetic cats is no different, it’s critical to stick to the insulin and feeding regimens that have been prescribed for your cat. It is also critical that your pet has a normal appetite while on insulin therapy, otherwise, if your pet is not eating and absorbing enough carbohydrates to balance the action of insulin you risk hypoglycemia. Regular veterinary exams and testing may be complemented by at-home monitoring of your pet’s blood and urine glucose levels.
Diabetic pets should also be checked for long-term problems like cataracts, which are prevalent in diabetic dogs and cats. Other complications include hind limb paralysis caused by low blood potassium, high blood pressure, and lower urinary tract infections. However, with careful treatment and veterinary care, diabetic dogs and cats may enjoy long and healthy lives.
