UNDER THE WEATHER Foreign Body Ingestion

I had two patients last week who came in looking miserable, vomiting, salivating, not eating. After a series of investigations we found that one had eaten a piece of cloth, the other a mango seed. The cloth came out after an injection to induce vomiting, but the other dog had to undergo a prolonged surgery to remove the mango seed.

- DR SANGEETA VENGSARKAR SHAH

Pets, like children, are curious by nature, so they will eat non-edible stuff. They love to investigate new smells, sights and tastes, and unlike children, they never grow up. This curiosity can get them into trouble, since the foreign bodies can get stuck in the gastrointestinal tract, causing inflammation, infection, obstruction and sometimes necrosis of the obstructed area. This condition needs to be addressed immediately because it can be potentially life-threatening in some cases.

What are the symptoms to look out for?