|
|
 |
 |
 |
|
|||||||||
|
|
|||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||
MYTH#1
It is safest to use as few drugs as possible when anesthetizing a patient.
FALSE! In actuality it is safest to balance multiple drug combinations to achieve the desired effect while being able to reduce the volume of drugs used creating a safer overall anesthesia.
MYTH #2
Animals tolerate pain better than people do...
FALSE! Although many times animals “appear” to handle pain better than people, they feel pain in the same ways that we do. This is one of the reasons that animals are used in drug studies prior to humans. There may also be several reasons for this type of behavior in animals; one being an inherent pattern that animals must only show strength in order to survive, not weakness (pain). Another reason is that we as a society tend to like to share our stories of triumph and tragedy and so we come to expect other groups/species to have the same outward reaction that we do so when others do not profess their pain then we assume that they do not have any.
MYTH #3
Pain helps limit activity after surgery...
FALSE! Conclusive studies show us that pain actually increases inflammation which significantly inhibits the healing process.
MYTH#4
It is apparent when an animal is painful after surgery. Many times no pain management is necessary at all...
FALSE! Surgery is a planned “painful event” and therefore we must treat the situation as we would our own. For example, if you feel a headache coming on or knew that you are going to experience discomfort at the dentist you would usually take aspirin (or some other form of pain reliever) ahead of time. The same thought should be used with our animals to assure the highest quality of care.
