Persistent coughing may be a sign of underlying disease such as heart disease or pneumonia. Sneezing may be a sign of infection of the upper respiratory tract (nose or the sinuses). Contact your veterinarian as soon as possible.

The influenza virus is primarily spread by airborne droplets, which easily infect your sensitive spots such as your eyes, nose, and mouth. Touching contaminated surfaces and touching your face can spread the influenza virus.

Respiratory illnesses are the most common causes of illness and death in our pet rats. Since all rats are exposed to certain bacteria that can cause infection, symptoms of respiratory illness should be checked out by a vet promptly. Infections may not always show symptoms right away and often start with sneezing. Respiratory infections can progress from sniffles to bronchial pneumonia quickly and can cause permanent damage to lung tissue and even be fatal.

A risk of HIV transmission does exist during body piercing or tattooing if instruments contaminated with blood are not sterilized or disinfected between clients. However, HIV is not transmitted by day-to-day contact in the workplace, schools or social settings. HIV is not transmitted through shaking hands, hugging or a casual kiss. HIV infection does not spread from a toilet seat, a drinking fountain, a door knob, dishes, drinking glasses, food or pets.

Veterinarians who have case files and post-mortem results in cases where renal failure is involved and the clients were feeding recalled food are encouraged to contact FDA through the complaint coordinator in their state. To find your coordinator, visit www.fda.gov/opacom/backgrounders/complain.html.

This symptom is actually caused by your body beginning to repair itself from damage caused by smoking. Coughing shows you are healing and it should go away within a few weeks. If coughing persists or you're bothered by other side effects, contact your doctor.

Yes! Pets can have serious periodontal disease or other disease processes that will cause bad breath, and any of these require immediate attention. Call for an appointment. Dr. Carol Black will assess your pet's underlying problem(s) and will recommend an appropriate course of treatment.

Yes. Heartworms can be a very serious problem for both dogs and cats, especially those in mosquito-infested areas, as mosquitoes are a vector and intermediate host for the pest. Heartworms can kill or seriously debilitate pets that are infected with them. That’s because heartworms live in the bloodstream, lungs, and heart of infected pets. Your veterinarian can do a blood test to determine if your pet has heartworm disease.

All pet rats carry mycoplasma. This is the bane of all rat fanciers. Hopefully, your rat's immune system will be strong enough to fight it. However, certain factors in your rats life can significantly lower the immune system and allow the myco to take hold. When this happens you'll notice sneezing, perhaps some red discharge around the nose. This is poryphin, not blood. It's the normal color of rat tears and nasal discharge. If the sneezing is light and dry: (occasional sneezes are normal..

Assisted coughing is when someone else assists you in coughing out your secretions which you may be unable to do yourself. Coughing assists in cleaning thickened secretions from the respiratory system. If your spinal lesion is T6 and above then ask your physiotherapist to teach assisted coughing procedure to your family members, who can assist you at home.

Every year, about 1.2 million Americans will have a coronary attack. About 494,000 will die and many could be avoided. Cardiovascular diseases, including CHD and stroke, remain the number one cause of death in the United States, killing more than 953,000 Americans each year. Cardiovascular disease claims more women's lives than the next six causes of death combined — about 500,000 women's lives a year.

Pigs do occasionally sneeze for no other reason than they have a tickle in their nose and they sneeze just like us ! However, sneezing can be a sign of a respiratory infection or even an allergy. Does your pig have any other symptoms such as noisy breathing, weepy eyes, discharge from her nose or does she look quieter than usual and is she eating less ? These symptoms can all indicate that your piggy may be ill.

Reversed Sneezing is a common trait in toy breeds. It is a fit of snorting, honking, and "convulsive-like" movements of the naso-pharynx. It is not a collapsed trachea. Although it appears scary it is quite harmless. It usually subsides in a few seconds or minutes. My veterinarian describes it as like a "nervous tic". A clap of the hands, a person eating food, any distraction usually ends the behavior. It has occurred in every Chihuahua I've known and owned. More in some than in others.

In recent years, concerns have been expressed by some pet owners regarding the potential for contamination of pet foods that contain grain products with naturally-occurring mycotoxins . Mycotoxins are metabolic by-products of fungi that are toxic to both animals and man. These concerns are based to some extent on current data which has shown that mycotoxins are toxic to farm and laboratory test animals.

Well, if you read the book Pottenger's Cats you will find that the only cats that got sick were the cats eating the cooked meat. A possible reason for this, according to animal nutritionists, is because raw meat helps to stimulate your pet's highly acidic digestive system. A carnivore's digestive system is said to kill the bacteria that causes food poisoning. Only humans cook meat.

While it is natural to be concerned, moderate risks of general anesthesia are minimized by proper anesthetic agents, delivery systems, and careful patient monitoring. Given the nature of our patients, many routine procedures must be performed under general anesthesia. Creekwood Veterinary Hospital safely performs hundreds of anesthetic procedures each year. Your pet's doctor will outline risks prior to any contemplated procedure.

Sorry, but we are unable to answer veterinary questions. We do have some helpful information about common pets, as well as general pet care information on this site, but if you have an animal health concern, please contact your personal veterinarian. There are also many resources available on the Internet, such as lists of Pet Health Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's) -- the answer to your question might already be there. Check out these helpful sites: http://www.thepetcenter.

If your pet is drinking more water than normal, he needs to see a vet. This is a common symptom of diabetes, kidney disease, cushings and urinary tract infections. These common ailments can be detected with diagnostic tests such as blood work and urine tests. It can be treated.

There are many possible causes of coughing in cats including such things as hair balls, upper respiratory infection, parasites, and heart disease. It is advisable to have your pet examined by the veterinarian if it is coughing.

Coughing is the sound made when the cough reflex suddenly expels air from the lungs. Coughs can be caused by a variety of things, the most common of which is a viral infection involving the respiratory system. It is not uncommon for a cough to be worse at night, or for a cough to last longer than 2 weeks. As long as your child is acting and drinking well and not having worrisome symptoms (see below), the cough will likely subside without intervention.

It is normal for iguanas to sneeze ? they are clearing the salt produced by a gland in their noses. However, if they are sneezing a lot, it means that the humidity in the environment is not high enough.

Coughing can be an unavoidable problem, but there are ways to avoid coughing during the music. If you feel a cold coming on, please bring lozenges with you, or feel free to take complimentary cough drops located in the main lobby. Please unwrap the cough drop ahead of time. Unwrapping a cough drop during the music makes more noise than you might think. If there are no lozenges in hand and you need to cough once or twice, please try to wait for the end of the movement.

Reverse coughing is a condition whereby your Chihuahua's pallate becomes mis-aligned in his or her throat and they begin making noises to try and change the position of the pallate. Sometimes it is referred to as soft pallate. Your Chihuahua will usually stand up, neck outstretched and produce a "honking" noise several times and sometimes, this will last for a few seconds to several minutes. A collapsed trachea could be the problem, but reverse coughing in Chihuahuas is quite common.

This one has been beaten around a little. Some people claim looking at the Sun induces sneezing, others say it impedes a sneeze: Sneezing, Sun Sneezes, sneezing, and Sneezing and bright light

It is a common misconception that dogs (and cats) get upper respiratory infections from allergies just like we do. Actually your pet exhibits allergies by getting red, irritated, itchy skin. They can be allergic to inhalant allergens (pollens), fleas, and/or food. Fifty percent of dogs exhibit allergies by getting red, hot ears. If your pet is sneezing a nasal discharge, please give us a call, because it may need to be put on antibiotics for an infection.

Airlines may require acclimation statements on your animal's health certificate. If an acclimation is required your veterinarian should call the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) 248–2862 ext. 287 statement language. Only veterinarians should call this number.

Maybe, but only in the smaller out of the way places. Single-deck blackjack is one of the easiest (relatively speaking) card games to cheat at. Multi-deck shoes can also be rigged, however, this leaves physical evidence of cheating. My advice is to become aware of the tactics used and always stay alert. If you suspect something funny just leave the game. When playing single deck, always be on the alert for preferential shuffling (i.e.