Medical alerts dogs recognise 80 per cent of hypos in people with type 1 diabetes, study...

[DCUK NewsBot]

Medical alert dogs help their owners with type 1 diabetes to be aware of more than 80% of hypoglycemic events, a recent study shows. The University of Bristol led the research in collaboration with the charity Medical Detection Dogs to examine the impact of the trained animals upon people with type 1 diabetes. There has been a wealth of anecdotal reports of medical alert dogs significantly improving quality of life for people with type 1 diabetes and hypo unawareness. However, prior to the study, there had been little in the way of clinical studies to assess the effectiveness of alert dogs. The trial involved tracking the reliability of 27 trained glycemia alert dogs. Their owners provided between 6-12 weeks' of blood glucose records and also included the occasions when their dog had alerted them. Medical Detection Dogs, based in Milton Keynes, teach the animals to identify low blood glucose by recognising changing odours on the breath. Out of more than 4,000 hypo and hyperglycemic episodes, the animals detected 83% of the incidents. These findings confirm that highly trained medical assistance dogs can help their owners regulate their blood sugar levels more effectively. Some people with type 1 diabetes find it difficult to recognise the signs of high and low blood sugar and having an alert dog can help to spot high or low sugar levels that could otherwise be missed. Lead author Dr Nicola Rooney from the Bristol Veterinary School said: "We already know from previous studies that patients' quality of life is vastly improved by having a medical detection dog. "However, to date, evidence has come from small scale studies. Our study provides the first large-scale evaluation of using medical detection dogs to detect hypoglycemia." Dr Claire Guest, Chief Executive and co-founder of Medical Detection Dogs, said: "The findings are fantastic news for all those who are living with type 1 diabetes and other conditions. Medical detection dogs primarily serve patients looking for more effective and independent ways of managing their condition. "Our dogs also serve the wider medical community by offering proactive solutions that are natural, non-invasive and have been shown to provide countless psychological benefits. "As our natural companions, and with a highly refined sense of smell, why shouldn't they be able to detect changes in our personal health?" The study findings have been published in the PLOS One journal.

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[kitedoc]

Humans' best friend - you are so wonderful.
We must ensure that they have a full life and are not worn out by their lives as service dogs.
I wonder if in addition to olfactory sense, dogs sense behaviours or even the human's body temperature drop before a hypo.

 

[Spl@]

My daughters best friends dog does this.

Not trained at all just gets anxious and fusses all over her when she gets low.

Seen it myself it's quite amazing.

 

[Circuspony]

I used to work with horses and disabled children. The horses often gave us advance notice of fits. One in particular would just stop back at the mounting block and refuse to move until the handler had taken the child off - we soon learnt that meant a fit was imminent. Pretty incredible really.

 

[Mbaker]

When my blood sugars were at their highest, my German Shepherd was sniffing me a lot and wanting to lick my feet; I think they can smell chemicals in high blood sugar also (she no longer does this, now I am better controlled).

 

[Robbity]

I know someone who owned a show dog who detected her cancer: he sniffed at the area concerned and pestered until she took action to find out why. I've a dog of the same breed who often seems quite sensitive to how I'm feeling: I had a nasty turn feeing very woozy and disoriented - not diabetes related - and he knew something wasn;t right and wouldn't leave my side overnght until I was feeling better, this was not his usual behaviour. He's also aware if I have a "diabetic tantrum" and will stay close by - I can tell by the way he watches me that he's knows something's not right - my other dog just thinks I'm cross and makes himself scarce!

I think some pets are definitely more aware of our feelings and have more empathy than others. And forum members have reported both their cats and dogs being aware and warning of hypos - completely untrained. Probably a combination of their acute sense of smell and/or acute awareness of our behaviour patterns.

Robbity

 

[kitedoc]

Well, my wife must be related to a dog or cat in some way.
And she can tell if I have ventured into the Hardware store too!!

 

[tim2000s]

Our labradors can tell when something is wrong. But, they are each more expensive per month than CGM.

 

[Chook]

I've got a yellow female Labrador (age 10), a black male Lab (age 3) and a Labradoodle (age 5) and its the Dood that can sense when my BGs are going low (he sits directly in front of me staring at me and sort of sighing) or if something else is wrong he sits right by whoever's poorly and won't move. He has also been known to show a HUGE amount of interest when he is in close proximity to someone who has cancer - generally trying to get his nose on to the bit of their body where he thinks it is which has been very embarrassing at times.

 

[Robinredbreast]

Well, my wife must be related to a dog or cat in some way.
And she can tell if I have ventured into the Hardware store too!!

MY daughter is my bloodhound ( but far, far prettier) she can spot a hypo in me straight away, takes control and is in charge.