Many times, an owner of old Shih Tzus would consult the
vet for some problems that are not related to the eyes, such as
diarrhoea. Many times, the vet will see dry eyes
as shown in the
image here.
Since the owner has not complained about the keratoconjunctivitis
sicca, the vet would just treat the diarrhoea, ear infections or skin
disease and that would all. Next case please. There may be a long
queue for certain veterinary practices and it is very tiring. Some
dedicated vets need to skip lunches or have late lunches as some
walk-in or appointments come around lunch time.
So, why bother with the old dog's pain and discomfort as the owner
does not bother in the first place and for so many years?
Has the vet a duty of care to educate the owner that she needs to use
eye drops to relieve the dog's discomfort & pain in dry eyes when the
consultation is not related to the eyes?
What is a duty of care of a veterinarian when the dog is presented for
diarrhoea? It is to correctly treat the diarrhoea. Therefore, the vet
needs not bother with the dry eyes.
However, many Singapore pet owners are unaware that they can relieve
the old Shih Tzu's dry eye discomfort and pain. The owner attributes
dry eyes to old age and so what? The old dog rubs his ulcerated eyes
daily. It is due to old age!
Once a vet bothers to educate the owner, she usually takes the time
and trouble to ensure that the eyes are wetted and lubricated.
I usually advise clipping away the hairs around the eyes so that the
facial area can be well cleaned and applying eye drops minimum twice a
day. I was manning the counter to get a feel of the front-line
veterinary matters.
Recently, an older woman phoned to get the eye drops prescribed by my
associate vet. "I have to give you another brand," I said. "It is from
the same company. The brand you want is being ordered."
"Please get for me ....eye drops next time," the woman in her 50s
said. "The dog's eyes are now much cleaner with that brand."
Many of the older owners are really ignorant of the need to care for
their oldies, not just feeding and bathing. Educate them and you help
a poor old doggie who rubs his ulcerated-pigmented-cornea eyes every
day and night...without complaint.
DUTY OF CARE A responsibility or a legal obligation of a person or organization
to avoid acts or omissions (which can be reasonably foreseen) to be
likely to cause harm to others.
Duty of care is owed by an accountant in correctly preparing a firm's
accounts, by an auditor in confirming an firm's financial statements
correctly present its financial position, by a director to
shareholders in husbanding the enterprise's resources, by a
manufacturer to consumers for the safety of product, and by every
party to a contract to the other contracting parties.
BE KIND TO DOGS & CATS --- GET
EYE ULCERS TREATED WITHIN 4
HOURS --- IF YOU DON'T WANT
THEM TO BE BLIND.
More case studies, goto:
Cats or
Dogs
TOA
PAYOH VETS
