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Prokinetic agents have become a popular product with rising awareness about dog digestive health issues and remedies for helping them overcome these challenges. Dogs are known to suffer from diverse stomach related issues, some more than others which causes them a lot of distress and discomfort. Issues like constipation, delay of gastric emptying, and chronic gastrointestinal trouble are common in dogs, and prokinetic agents help resolve them. In this article we will explore what these agents are and what they and how they help relieve digestive distress of varied kinds in dogs.
What Are Prokinetic Agents?
Prokinetic agents refers to a specific range of medications which are designed for the purpose of improving gastrointestinal motility in dogs. These medications facilitate this process by stimulating the digestive tract muscles, thereby enabling the movement of food as well as the waste through the stomach and the intestines in an efficient manner.
These medications simplify digestion of food by targeting specific receptors needed for the process. By doing so they help in treating all digestive issues related to movement of the foods and their digestion. As such, for dogs that are suffering from issues like chronic constipation or delays in gastric emptying (also known as gastroparesis). By targeting the precise receptors of the digestive system, these agents also help in eliminating or minimizing symptoms like bloating, nausea, abdominal pain or other discomforts, or vomiting.
If your dog is displaying symptoms of issues like inflammatory bowel disease in the form of symptoms like diarrhea, vomiting or bloating, the need for prokinetic agents needs to be evaluated. These symptoms can also indicate other ailments such as infections, dietary issues, and motility challenges. For all these diseases, among others, prokinetic agents are a prominently prescribed medication plan. However, they must be prescribed by a vet to ensure proper dosage and timely treatment of the dog.
Functioning Of Prokinetic Agents
As established, prokinetic agents are used most prominently for dealing with motility issues that dogs often face. These digestive challenges are often faced by dogs, in diverse forms, which manifests through various agonizing symptoms like vomiting, diarrhea, bloating, and discomfort in the abdominal region.
The motility issues occur when the muscles in the digestive tract are unable to properly contract, which hampers the movement of the food that has been consumed. This usually occurs because the muscle have become weak as seen in the case of issues like delayed gastric emptying.
Apart from that, motility issues can cause severe constipation by restricting the movement of food through the intestinal tract of the dog. Another issue, known as the esophageal hypomotility can also occur which causes issues like regurgitation in dogs because it impacts the movement of food through the esophagus.
Advantages of Prokinetic Agents
Prokinetic agents present a number of distinct advantages which have made them so popular among vets as a reliable option for aiding dog digestive health. Some of the key benefits that they offer include the following:
Improving Digestive Motility
The main benefit of prokinetic agents is that they help in enhancing the motility of the digestive tract in dogs. By helping the muscles contract as they need to in order to function properly, they help facilitate gastric movement of the food as well as waste. This in turn helps in easing issues like delayed gastric emptying. By elevating the issue of gastric motility, these medications can help in relieving symptoms like nausea, vomiting, constipation, and bloating. As such, they also help the dogs overcome the overall distress caused by these issues.
Better Bowel Movement
If your dog is suffering from constipation, prokinetic agents are a helpful tool in overcoming the issue and encouraging regular bowel movements in them. This is because they enable the digestive tract to contract and function properly, thereby leading the food to be digested effectively, and waste to move through the system efficiently. By facilitating this, these medications help in relieving symptoms of constipation, allowing the dogs to effectively empty their system and get rid of all the challenging issues like bloating, nausea, and more.
Risks Associated With Prokinetic Agents
Despite the many advantages they offer, prokinetic agents also possess a few drawbacks, and come with some risks which a dog owner needs to be aware of in order to identify warning signs and issues that the dog might experience upon starting the medication course.
Cramps
One of the most common side effects of prokinetic agents is the occurrence of cramps. Since the primary action of these medications is boosting digestive tract muscle contraction, it can lead to a sudden overworking of the muscles. The excess contractions can lead the dog to experience abdominal cramps which can be very distressing and painful. When the medication course is first started, this is commonly experienced by several dogs.
Interaction With Other Drugs
If your dog takes any other medication regularly, or needs to take any for a period of time while they are also prescribed prokinetic agents, they can experience side effects caused by the interaction of the two drugs. For instance, the effects of one or both of the drugs can be diminished significantly when consumed simultaneously. Apart from this, effects like increased heart rhythm or slow down of it can be experienced. The specific impact can vary based on the kind of prokinetic agent and the type of other medication and their doses that the dog is consuming. Additionally, the side effects are not universal and are not experienced by all dogs.
Conclusion
Prokinetic agents are a very helpful resource for dealing with digestive issues faced by dogs. By boosting the functionality of the gastric and digestive tracts, they ensure that the dog can overcome digestive issues like constipation, delayed gastric emptying, and others, as well as the distressing symptoms they come with. However, they can also have severe side effects, which is why it is essential to only give these medications based on the routine and dosage parameters prescribed by a vet. This way you can ensure your Dog recovers quickly and remains healthy.
