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Pets and your health – Part 3

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Owning a pet dog not only makes you more active but also makes you happy and reduces stress levels – leading to a healthier heart.

There’s a new secret weapon in the quest to be healthy – a pet dog.

Though it might not feel like it when your pooch has pooped somewhere inappropriate, dogs are great stress-busters and owning one could help make you, your heart and your head healthier.

New research reviewed by the American Heart Foundation has found that dog owners are more likely to have healthier hearts – but it’s not just simply down to the hours spent on walkies.

As anyone who owns a dog will know, spending time playing and relaxing with your pet is calming and it seems your body responds well to this time too – with lower stress and even cholesterol levels found in dog owners compared to the pet-less.

“The data is most robust for people who own a dog,” says Glenn Levine, a cardiologist with Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, adding that cats and other pets also had benefits too.

The evidence was so strong that experts even found that people who had heart problems saw a definite improvement in their conditions and symptoms when they got a dog.

Pets

Pets

It’s another boon for dog ownership, after recent findings showed that children who grow up in homes with pets are statistically healthier, getting fewer infections in their first few years and even showing a lower risk of developing allergies.


But though this all makes us want to rush out and snap up a pup even more than we did before, it’s not as simple as that. Dogs require a huge amount of time, love, effort and money, so being in the right stage of your life (not to mention in the right living situation) is essential to see the psychological benefits.

What the research can’t tell us is if people who own, or want to own, dogs and other pets are likely to be healthier anyway and benefit from the relationship because it’s something they want in their lives.

Glenn warns: “We don’t want someone to go out and buy a dog and then be content to sit on the couch and smoke.”

Sore throat and cough

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Coughs and sore throats are among the most common childhood health complaints.

What are sore throats and cough?

A cough is a sign that nerves in the pharynx (upper throat), larynx (throat), trachea (main breathing tube) or large bronchi (breathing tubes in the lungs) are irritated.

A sore throat, also known as pharyngitis, is visible as inflammation or redness of the tissues, sometimes with yellowish/white pus on the tonsils.

Symptoms of sore throats and coughs

The symptoms of a cough depend on the type. For example, viral croup typically causes a barking cough with rapid and harsh breathing.

In whooping cough, there’s a characteristic spasmodic cough followed by a whooping noise as the child draws in breath.

Coughs associated with asthma are often worse at night or on breathing cold air. Associated symptoms may include fast or noisy breathing, fever, vomiting (especially in small children), a stuffy nose and other symptoms of a cold.

The symptoms of a sore throat include pain, especially on swallowing, sore swollen glands in the neck and drooling of saliva.

Coughing

Coughing

Causes of sore throats and coughs

The most common cause of a cough in childhood is an upper respiratory tract infection, usually viral (such as the common cold) but it can be bacterial.


More serious infections include croup (viral laryngotracheitis), bronchiolitis, whooping cough and pneumonia.

It’s not unusual for a child to have a recurrent cough due to repeated infections, but this can also be a sign of an underlying problem, such as asthma, allergies, gastro-oesophageal reflux or cystic fibrosis.

Occasionally, a cough may be due to inhalation of a foreign body, such as a small toy or peanut.

Sore throats are usually caused by a viral infections, although as children get older a bacteria called beta-haemolytic streptococcus becomes more common.

Treatments for sore throats and coughs

Treating a cough depends on the cause. For example, if a child has asthma, they will probably need to take inhalers. Over the counter cough medicines have been shown to be of little benefit.

Simple painkillers and plenty of cold drinks, ice cream and jelly can help to soothe a sore throat. Older children may use gargles.

For both a cough and sore throat, it’s important to get medical advice and a diagnosis early, especially if the child has a fever or is generally unwell, or if the cough is recurrent. Antibiotics are used to treat bacterial infection.

Croup is treated with steroids. Other viral infections get better by themselves. If breathing problems are present, the child may need to go hospital where they may need to have breathing support.

Get immediate medical help if your child isn’t breathing properly, is breathing faster than normal, if it looks as if breathing is hard work for your child, if they can’t talk, looks blue around the lips or becomes drowsy.