{"id":46904,"date":"2023-08-16T12:46:42","date_gmt":"2023-08-16T07:16:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.amtmindia.org\/?p=46904"},"modified":"2023-08-16T12:47:23","modified_gmt":"2023-08-16T07:17:23","slug":"pawsitive-prognosis-your-dog-might-be-able-to-sniff-out-your-medical-conditions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.amtmindia.org\/pawsitive-prognosis-your-dog-might-be-able-to-sniff-out-your-medical-conditions\/","title":{"rendered":"Pawsitive prognosis? Your dog might be able to sniff out medical conditions"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"46904\" class=\"elementor elementor-46904\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-317cf62 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"317cf62\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-core-v316-plus=\"true\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-912897d elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"912897d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.20.0 - 10-04-2024 *\/\n.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-stacked .elementor-drop-cap{background-color:#69727d;color:#fff}.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-framed .elementor-drop-cap{color:#69727d;border:3px solid;background-color:transparent}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap{margin-top:8px}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap-letter{width:1em;height:1em}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap{float:left;text-align:center;line-height:1;font-size:50px}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap-letter{display:inline-block}<\/style>\t\t\t\t<p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"line-height: 1.38; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;\">Dogs have an incredible sense of smell. They are used not only at security checkpoints at airports but also at public events like trade fairs and craft exhibitions where the expected footfall is in thousands. This is mainly because their sense of smell is far more sensitive than that of humans, and they can pick up on subtle changes in the chemical composition of bodily fluids, tissues, and breath.<\/span><\/p><p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"line-height: 1.38; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;\">Several studies and real-world examples have shown that dogs can be trained to detect specific diseases or medical conditions, including but not limited to:<\/span><\/p><p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"line-height: 1.38; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;\">Cancer:<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;\"> It\u2019s a well-known fact that dogs are the best trainable resources around. They are trained by medical professionals to detect certain types of cancer \u201csuch as lung, breast, and ovarian cancer\u201d by sniffing breath or urine samples from affected individuals.<\/span><\/p><p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"line-height: 1.38; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;\">Diabetes:<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;\"> Dogs can also be trained to detect changes in blood sugar levels. They are called diabetic service dogs or Diabetic Alert Dogs \u2014 DADs! They are trained to paw, nudge, lick, or stare at their human friend, if their glucose levels become dangerously high or low. A few others are also taught to jump, bark, or whine to let their humans know when their blood sugar level deviates.<\/span><\/p><p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"line-height: 1.38; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;\">Epilepsy:<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;\"> Some dogs have even been trained on alerting their human companion about epilepsy and upcoming seizures. The dog does this by maintaining close eye contact, circling, pawing, barking etc. as trained.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"line-height: 1.38; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;\">Malaria:<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;\"> Research has shown that dogs can identify the odour of malaria infection in sweat samples, which could be used as a non-invasive screening tool in certain regions.<\/span><\/p><p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"line-height: 1.38; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;\">Hypothyroidism:<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;\"> Dogs have demonstrated an exceptional ability to detect imbalances in thyroid hormones through urine samples.<\/span><\/p><p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"line-height: 1.38; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: bold; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;\">Migraines:<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;\"> Some dogs have been able to detect chemical changes or behavioural cues in their human friends\/parents before a migraine episode.<\/span><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p dir=\"ltr\" style=\"line-height: 1.38; text-align: justify; margin-top: 12pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;\"><span style=\"font-size: 13.999999999999998pt; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #000000; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;\">While dogs&#8217; ability to detect diseases through their sense of smell is fascinating and promising, it&#8217;s essential to recognise that their role in disease detection must be limited to only research and experimental stages. Additional studies and validation are needed to establish the full potential and limitations of using dogs as disease detectors. The use of dogs in medical detection is a specialised field that requires rigorous training and careful handling of samples to ensure accuracy and avoid potential cross-contamination. As such, dogs are not a replacement for conventional medical tests but can complement existing diagnostic methods in certain situations.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Their heightened sense of smell makes dogs excellent candidates to be trained to sniff out medical conditions. Medical professionals can train them to detect certain diseases by sniffing breath or urine samples of individuals suffering from medical conditions such as diabetes, epilepsy, hyperthyroidism, migraines, and even cancer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2351,"featured_media":46906,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[195],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.amtmindia.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46904"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.amtmindia.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.amtmindia.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.amtmindia.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2351"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.amtmindia.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46904"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.amtmindia.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46904\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":46910,"href":"https:\/\/www.amtmindia.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46904\/revisions\/46910"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.amtmindia.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46906"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.amtmindia.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46904"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.amtmindia.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46904"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.amtmindia.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46904"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}