A visit to the vet: how much does it cost and how to consult a doctor?

A visit to the vet and communication between the doctor and the client - that is why it is sometimes difficult for us to understand and what affects our relationship with the veterinarian? How to make these relationships better?

A visit to the vet

Nowadays, in most homes there is a pet - a cat, a dog, a rabbit, a guinea pig, a rat or a hamster, a canary and even a snake.

Pets are often treated as family members - they share a bed, sofa or coffee milk - whoever has a cat knows what I'm talking about ?

So when something bad happens to our pet, our emotions affect us.

We want him to recover quickly, although it's not always that simple.

This is when communication difficulties arise.

I decided to write this text from the position of not only a veterinarian, but also a person who has his own animals - before I obtained the license to practice as a veterinary doctor, I also went to veterinary clinics.

• You, as the guardian, represent the pet
• Working as a veterinarian is stressful
• Medical jargon: how to communicate with your doctor
• Treatment by phone
• The ethics of saying goodbye
• A vet is not a psychologist
• How much does a visit to the vet cost?
• If you notice a bug during your visit, don't be afraid to tell your vet!

You, as the guardian, represent the pet

You represent the pet

First, diagnostics in animals is made difficult by the fact that animals, like small children, do not tell what is wrong with them.

There is an anecdote in the veterinary world of one of the doctors dealing with exotic animals, who once had a patient who was great at communicating.

It was a African Gray Parrot, whose household members repeated two words after noticing the problem, and when the doctor entered her office with her, he asked what was wrong with her, she replied:

"leg hurts! ".

But such stories are rare.

An experienced veterinarian is able to recognize a pet's pain reaction during an orthopedic examination by palpating and properly pressing the muscles or bones and looking for the cause of lameness related to e.g. with damage to the cruciate ligament (outstanding specialists, even seeing only the gait of a dog or a cat, can already judge it, and then by examining whether they were right).

Often, it is difficult for a veterinarian to tell what more or less we are dealing with only on the basis of a basic clinical examination.

The only symptom is that the pet "has become depressed", does not eat or drink, which is something not very characteristic, but alarming.

Therefore, the most important thing is to talk to the vet.

What is worth talking about?

In fact, everything that has changed in our pet's normal behavior, even if it seems to be irrelevant.

Of course, it is the doctor who should ask questions that will help him direct the problem, but the guardian is with his pet all the time and knows the most about him.

For example:

changes in the cat's voice, drooling are symptoms that are mainly seen in the home suggestive inflammation of the upper respiratory tract.

Working as a veterinarian is stressful

People unrelated to veterinary medicine often have no idea how stressful this profession is.

Although we try, it may happen that the smiling doctor will not always greet us, because, for example, 10 minutes ago she had to inform the caregiver of her long-term patient that the dog has a malignant tumor with fourth (last) stage metastases and there is not much that can be done

…

Data on depression and burnout are widely known in the veterinary world.

As in human medicine, there are so-called. hopeless cases where all you can do is spread your hands and sympathize.

It happens that an anatomical heart defect that does not qualify for surgery is detected in a dog that is several months old.

While practicing this profession and loving animals, we constantly face their suffering.

Of course, it is known that everyone chooses this path for himself and you need to have high mental resistance and control your emotions while working as a veterinarian.

However, when coming to visit the clinic, it is worth showing patience and understanding, because the animal clinic is not a quick-service restaurant and treatment takes time.

There is no such thing as a magic one injection for a disease.

For example, an antibiotic should be administered for at least a week every day, and when coming to the clinic for a drip, e.g. with a dog suffering from babesiosis (dangerous tick-borne parasitic disease) we have to reckon with the fact that we will sit there for at least an hour, because it just lasts.

Medical jargon: how to communicate with your doctor

Medical jargon - how to communicate with your doctor?

Thirdly, some vets use a language that is incomprehensible to clients, often records of visits are written using Latin words.

It is true that this proves the professionalism and knowledge of such a doctor, but the average person visiting the clinic does not know what gastroenteritis acuta (acute inflammation of the stomach and intestines) or cystitis (inflammation of the bladder) is.

In addition to Latin, the descriptions include words such as dysuria, stranguria, oliguria, etc., which sounds quite enigmatic to most of us.

Sometimes, even though explained, everything seems confusing.

And then some people reach to the Internet and google, not always hitting a reliable source.

Therefore, it sometimes turns out that treatment, e.g. the hotspot is not effective, because the caregiver gave the drugs according to the recommendations, but additionally rinsed the skin inflammation with Listerine liquid and instead of quickly healed the symptoms worsened.

Yes, home remedies are often effective, but most of all you need to trust a specialist and not try to do your own thing at home, because if you want to do well, you can additionally harm your pet.

It is true that people's trust must sometimes be earned, but it is also worth giving it to a doctor with a so-called loan.

Treatment by phone

Another thing to mention is that we sometimes try to get advice over the phone.

Very often people call the clinic with messages such as - my dog ​​has a rash, please recommend something to me from the pharmacy.

It is impossible to help a pet without seeing it!

Skin changes can have many causes:

• allergy,
• parasites,
• hormonal changes,
• bacterial infections and so on.

Sometimes just a look is not enough, you need to make a scrap, send a sample for testing and introduce symptomatic treatment first, and then only targeted treatment after the results, e.g. after mycogram, that is, a test that checks the sensitivity of mushrooms to specific drugs.

Yes, often phone calls are important, because just like people, not with every diarrhea or headache, they go to the doctor and sometimes all you need is advice.

Unfortunately, most cases require treatment on the spot.

The ethics of saying goodbye

Another controversial topic that often causes conflicts is the topic animal euthanasia.

It is ethically difficult because you have to decide on the death of the animal.

Of course, I am now talking about opting for euthanasia as a form of alleviating suffering when the pet is terminally ill, and not getting rid of an unwanted Christmas gift that the child does not want to deal with.

Sometimes administering painkillers is not enough and we can see our beloved hair dying out.

There are cases where the pet gets tired despite pharmacotherapy - in the case of metastases to the lungs, it develops shortness of breath, advanced stages of heart failure, severe uremia and many others.

By taking advantage of our wagging tail, we want to extend its life at all costs.

When the currently known types of therapies do not work, it is necessary to say quite a bit, even though it is very difficult and goodbyes are the least pleasant moments in clinics.

A vet is not a psychologist

When coming to the clinic, let's try to focus on the animals' problems, not our own.

Please do not forget that a vet is also a human being, he has his problems and yet he never confides in them.

It's easier to communicate if we focus on the problem we want to solve.

How much does a visit to the vet cost?

How much does a visit to the vet cost?

Nowadays, we try to save every penny, we mostly use promotions in stores. No wonder that we ask about any discounts at the clinic.

The prices of medical services are not low.

It is difficult to determine the price of a visit to the doctor, because even in the same city, offices located a few streets apart may have different prices.

A lot depends on the specifics of the clinic's work - 24-hour clinics usually have a higher rate, similar to weekends or holidays, or at night we will pay correspondingly more.

The price, of course, is different when we go to the doctor with vaccination / deworming prophylaxis or with a clinical problem.

In general, it can be said that the most expensive is prophylaxis in toddlers and a visit during which we are dealing with more diagnostics, such as an ultrasound examination or taking an X-ray.

Prophylactic vaccinations cost approx 150-200 PLN for a set for a puppy or kitten (counting at least 2 doses).

Deworming (internal parasites) is approx PLN 60 for the first 3 doses.

The basic cost of an appointment without extended diagnostics is from 40-100 zlotys at the first visit plus the price of drugs.

Then you pay less for the follow-up visits when you only come to continue the designated therapy.

Diagnostics is the price from PLN 50 to PLN 150 per usg (depending on whether it is a diagnosis for pregnancy, full examination or echo of the heart), basic blood test from 60 to 150 PLN (morphology and biochemistry), x-ray is from PLN 40-80 for one screening, in subsequent projections, the price is correspondingly higher.

If you have a pet that requires a surgical operation, you should take into account higher costs even several thousand for the procedure.

These prices may be higher, they may be lower - I am giving approximate rates.

Some customers say that the cost of the visit is too high, but their cost is proportional to the type of service.

Not everyone has an approach to animals, the patient must be able to properly hold down, have manual skills, e.g. for blood collection, catheterization.

Being a vet comes with six years of study, with many evenings devoted to study.

And knowledge is not cheap - the prices of only academic textbooks are usually several hundred zlotys per book.

Even after graduation, having a diploma, you need to constantly train yourself, be up to date, because, like human medicine, veterinary medicine is also constantly developing.

New types of drugs, new types of therapies, experimental treatments and things that were once unthinkable, such as kidney transplant in a dog and yet they are happening.

Trainings are also paid - for example, an ultrasound course costs several thousand zlotys.

Not to mention if someone wants to grow abroad.

The equipment of the clinic is of a completely different caliber. For the equipment used for diagnostics, e.g. X-ray, you could buy a good car.

If you notice a bug during your visit, don't be afraid to tell your vet!

Everyone is only human.

We sometimes feel distracted for some reason.

We don't burden others with it, but it can affect our focus.

Therefore, despite trusting the doctor, animal keepers should also be vigilant and not be afraid to pay attention.

I am not talking about errors in art because all these things cannot be justified.

Customers also sometimes mistake the day when they should bring their cat to the treatment.

Notoriously, a pet that is to be tested on an empty stomach comes to the veterinary clinic with a full belly.

Summary

In order for communication during a visit to the veterinary clinic to be successful, you should be able to listen and try to put yourself in the shoes of the other person.

Both on the client's side and his possibilities for what time he can spend, taking into account diagnostics, and on the vet's side as to the speed of diagnosis and the effectiveness of therapy.

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