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Andy Is Unwell And No-One Seems To Know Why...


westiemum
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Glad he's better, I hope this has been a bug. The symptoms reminded me of my dog Luigi who kept getting really sick in the same way. It took a year to diagnose, in the intervening period he was put on special diets, given antibiotics and other meds but then it would happen again. Finally about a year after first becoming unwell, it was diagnosed as Inflammatory Bowel Disease which was managed with meds and special diet.

Hope Andy is all better now and stays well!

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I feed raw but had Anna on steam chicken and rice for a few days until she went on strike and looked at me with 'not that again eyes' so I fed her raw again. She hasn't had a wee in the house or needed to go out for nearly a week now. So what ever it was the ABs killed it. :)

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ask them to test for giardia. You'll need a poo sample.

Oops sorry I missed your post K - yes that too is a good idea. The caravan park where we were last weekend had roos and giardia and roo poo apparently go together - so anything is possible. I'll get over this week with Mac and then see where I am with Andy and go from there. Thanks for the suggestion. smile.gif

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Glad he's better, I hope this has been a bug. The symptoms reminded me of my dog Luigi who kept getting really sick in the same way. It took a year to diagnose, in the intervening period he was put on special diets, given antibiotics and other meds but then it would happen again. Finally about a year after first becoming unwell, it was diagnosed as Inflammatory Bowel Disease which was managed with meds and special diet.

Hope Andy is all better now and stays well!

In the nicest possible way I'm sooo hoping you're wrong HMD - but will keep it in mind if it happens again - just hope it doesn't..

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  • 2 weeks later...

Thanks all - the packet from BM Animals arrived today - and the medallions went down well as an after dinner treat. Will try the tripe powder tomorrow and see how we go. I'm really hopeful that it will help Sarah's and possibly Andy's dicky tummies. smile.gif

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Thanks all - the packet from BM Animals arrived today - and the medallions went down well as an after dinner treat. Will try the tripe powder tomorrow and see how we go. I'm really hopeful that it will help Sarah's and possibly Andy's dicky tummies. smile.gif

Ooh, I’ll be interested to see how you go as well. Did you actually talk to the BM couple?

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I have to tell you what happened to Anna with the same problems, last Thursday she started to go down again but she ate. On Friday she didn't eat and was sort of flat, Saturday came and she was getting worse so I organise a trip to the vet on sunday. Friend rang and told me she had heard about Raspberry cordial and Giardia and bacteria in the gut. She got me some and dropped it in and I gave Anna some that afternoon about five. About 6 she came into the kitchen looking for her dinner, I had some steamed chicken for her, she ate it all and anything else I offered her. The next day I kept it up and she was even better she seems now to be a lot better and is her bouncey self again. When I think about it she hasn't really been herself for a while.

Im not saying this is a cure Im saying either what was wrong went away or a few doses of raspberry cordial helped it go away.

I used cascade raspberry cordial half and half in a 5cc syringe twice a day.

It cant hurt and if nothing else it tastes nice.

I thought about it because I had caught her a few times eating my raspberries, dogs love them and blackberries as well.

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I have to tell you what happened to Anna with the same problems, last Thursday she started to go down again but she ate. On Friday she didn't eat and was sort of flat, Saturday came and she was getting worse so I organise a trip to the vet on sunday. Friend rang and told me she had heard about Raspberry cordial and Giardia and bacteria in the gut. She got me some and dropped it in and I gave Anna some that afternoon about five. About 6 she came into the kitchen looking for her dinner, I had some steamed chicken for her, she ate it all and anything else I offered her. The next day I kept it up and she was even better she seems now to be a lot better and is her bouncey self again. When I think about it she hasn't really been herself for a while.

Im not saying this is a cure Im saying either what was wrong went away or a few doses of raspberry cordial helped it go away.

I used cascade raspberry cordial half and half in a 5cc syringe twice a day.

It cant hurt and if nothing else it tastes nice.

I thought about it because I had caught her a few times eating my raspberries, dogs love them and blackberries as well.

hm,....could be a lot of sugar depending on the weight of your dog...

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Yep there is but I only gave her 5ccs.

ps to say the person who told me about is a vet nurse with a long history with dogs.

More than 10% raspberry juice works for humans and dogs with digestive/bowel upsets. It is used in children's hospitals.

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This article was in the ABC Health and Wellbeing site a while back.

There is a message board in the link

http://www.abc.net.a.../21/2797762.htm

Q: Can raspberry cordial kill stomach bugs in contaminated water?

A: Yes. Raspberry and blackcurrant cordials can kill bacteria that cause some stomach bugs.

Our expert: Dr Heather Cavanagh

Published 21/01/2010

red_cordia_m1839068.jpg

For most of us, cordial is off the shopping list; we avoid it because it's full of sugar, bad for our teeth and some of its artificial colourings can make some kids hyperactive.

But raspberry cordial has some very loyal fans, who don't necessarily enjoy its sweet taste.

These people keep it in the pantry because they swear it can prevent – and possibly treat – stomach bugs. And they may be right, says microbiologist Dr Heather Cavanagh, whose research found some raspberry juice and blackcurrant juice cordials can kill at least 12 different types of nasty bacteria responsible for stomach bugs, including E. Coli and several strains of salmonella.

Cavanagh first became interested in the use of raspberry cordial as a preventative and treatment of stomach bugs when she heard that some farmers in parts of New South Wales and Victoria were adding raspberry cordial to their livestock's drinking water to treat diarrhoea.

She also began to hear stories of other people using raspberry cordial to treat stomach bugs: "I heard anecdotal reports from as far away as Queensland and Western Australia, I heard of how people used it to treat themselves and their family. Not just their animals".

So she decided to see if there was any science to support these anecdotal reports.

Antibacterial properties

In the lab, Cavanagh tested juice made from a number of fresh berries – including raspberries, blackberries, blackcurrants, cranberries, mulberries, loganberries and boysenberries – as well as commercially available cordials made from these berries (these cordials were made with real berry juice, not apple juice and artificial colours as is sometimes the case).

These juices and cordials were then diluted down with water to different strengths, the strongest was one part water to five parts cordial and the weakest was 1:100. Then each type of bacteria was mixed with each of the berry drinks. The researchers found a number of the raspberry and blackcurrant juice cordials killed most of the bacteria.

And while there has been some speculation that it's the sugar content of cordials that kills bacteria, Cavanagh says there is something unique to raspberry and blackcurrant juices, which seems to be responsible.

Those cordials that had the best antibacterial properties contained at least 35 per cent raspberry or blackcurrant juice, and worked when diluted down to one part cordial in 10 parts water. Undiluted raspberry juice and blackcurrant juice worked just as well as the cordials.

No human tests

But, Cavanagh says, there's a hitch. While her research suggests there's some truth to the red cordial story, there haven't been any clinical trials testing whether raspberry cordial can prevent or treat stomach bugs in humans or animals.

"We know for certain that adding the right amount of these cordials to water will reduce the number of bacteria in the water," she says.

"[but] we cannot say for certain that the cordial will definitely prevent stomach bugs in people, and we don't know yet if it will help as a treatment if you are already feeling sick. Although again there is some anecdotal evidence to suggest that it might."

And even if red cordial does work, stomach bugs (gastroenteritis) are caused by a range of things other than bacteria – such as viruses, parasites, and certain medications – and raspberry cordial won't help in these cases.

Also be careful about drinking too much cordial (even diluted at a 1:10 ratio) if you have vomiting or diarrhoea. Drinks with a high sugar content – such as undiluted soft drinks, sports drinks, juices or strong cordials – can promote fluid loss into the bowel and worsen dehydration, which is a risk for anyone with vomiting and diarrhoea.

Dr Heather Cavanagh is a senior lecturer in microbiology at the School of Biomedical Sciences at Charles Sturt University. She spoke to Claudine Ryan.

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