cyanosis, difficulty of breathing

[apol_crowe]

Help! our dog (i'm not sure what breed since he was just given to us when he was little) is having difficulty of breathing which just started an hour from now and we are panicking! there are no available vets here at this time, 2:00am, (I'm living in southern philippines) and we have no other contacts. Last year, he started to have this recurrent bleeding, hemoptysis. we went to a local vet  after that and unfortunately there no available tests here. the vets here diagnose clinically. she said our dog lack vitamins and is anemic. she prescribed vitamin k, and hemostan, it provided relief. this occurs about every 3-4 months. about 2 months ago he started to have exophthalmos and there's this white opacity inside his eyes. We noticed his vision getting bad! he can't see objects like he used to. He started to bleed again and this time, whenever he coughs blood, he falls down! we tried to give him hemostan and other meds that the doctors prescribed and it offered relief for the bleeding. Another doctor said it was probably due to a parasite (worm) so he dewormed him. a worm really showed up. But all else offered temporary relief. also he used to be so fat, but now we could see the form of his backbone and ribs.. suddenly, just about an hour ago, he started to have difficulty in breathing his mouth is open and it looks like he is gasping for air! he is hyperventilating! his sclerae are blue and his nose and ears are cold. when he stands up? he falls down. help. we don't know what to do.

[Aleda M Cheng, D.V.M., C.V.A]

Are you in the medical field?  I ask this because you are using medical terminology accurately.  If you are it would help since this is a medical emergency situation and someone in the medical field would help greatly.  What you have to do doesn't vary much from what you would have to do with a human person.

I feel that there is something very serious occurring in your dog.  The exopthalmos could be caused by a lesion in your dog's brain, such as a tumor which is growing and pushing the eyeball's out and forward.  The bleeding disorder may or may not be related to the lesion in the brain. Coughing blood could be a tumor in the chest cavity that has burst, and in this case could be related to the possible tumor in the brain.  If the bleeding out is unrelated to the lesion in the brain it could be due to a blood parasite, or a infectious  agent, or, it could be an autoimmune problem.  

Whatever the cause we have an emergency situation.

If you have access to oxygen, please place him on 100 % oxygen now!

Take your dog's temperature rectally.  If it is very high you will have to cool him off.  If it is low you will have to heat him up.

Do you have Prednisone,  DepoMedrol, or other steroid, either injectable or in tablet form?.  We need to get steroids into your dog ASAP.  The dose is dependant on your dog's size.  The shock dose is one mg per pound, given once.  Than given in decreasing doses.  If he has a lesion in his brain that is causing the exopthalmos, the steroid may help to shrink it.  

If you have any antibiotics they should be given now also.

If you have Yunan Biayo give 2 of the emergency pills now.

I wish you could take him to an emergency veterinary clinic.  That would be best for the survival of your dog.  

[apol_crowe]

Dear doctor Cheng,
This is apol_crowe, a 23 year old female living in Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines. I just started my 3rd year in med school last May and i didn't have any idea that what i had to do with our dog doesn't vary much from what I had to do with a human person. I should've known! I guess I was too busy with my studies. Me and my family would like to thank you very much for your time and effort, for answering our questions and for helping us. I regret that it was too late for me to read your anwers. I fell asleep about an hour after I posted our situation on medhelp. I had to sleep because our midterm starts tomorrow and I needed to rest from studying. My elder sister was the one comforting our dog, Drako, during the last few hours of his life. Yes, our dog passed away three (3) hours after I posted our situation. He was 6 years old. What happened during those three hours was really painful. It was filled with panic and despair, especially to my sister. If only there were emergency veterinary clinics here in Cagayan de Oro City or the neighboring towns and cities. We are only a 3rd world country and our local facilities doesn't offer that much especially for pets. We buried him in our beautiful garden with all the flowers and cross an hour after he died. He was like a human being to all of us. He was our bestfriend. All of us cried including my strong brother. My father, mother, and the rest of my 3 siblings have read your answers and we are truly grateful for everything that you've done doctor Cheng--priceless. May there be more doctors like you. God bless you.