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Prolapse in Animals

Prolapse is the most common and dirty health problem in dairy cattle and can occur in beef cows with hypocalcemia. This complex situation usually happens in the time of parturition, mainly in cattle, cows, sheep, buffalos, and goats, and it needs immediate attention and effective treatment to ensure their survival. This can occur before or after calving. Sometimes this may occur several days after parturition. It is a serious life-threatening complication during the period of parturition. Prolapse is the most common reproductive disorder. Prolapse is normally seen during the third stage of labor. There is a tendency for a higher percentage of cases to occur prolapse at the time of first-time calving and especially for the cows after 7 years of age. The occurrence of prolapse is not statistically significant.

How many types of prolapses are there?

There are mainly two types of prolapse. One is Vaginal Prolapse and another one is Uterine Prolapse.

Vaginal Prolapse usually occurs in heavily pregnant cows before calving and on the other side, Uterine Prolapse occurs after the cow calves. Vaginal prolapse is more common than Uterine prolapse. Except for these, there are some other types of prolapse present, such as genital prolapse and others.

Vaginal Prolapse –

Vaginal prolapse is mostly noticed in crossed-breed cattle. Vaginal Prolapse looks like a pink mass of tissue protruding from the reproductive organs. It could be up to the size of a basketball, rounded and pink at the beginning of the disease. Later it becomes dry, dark, and hard. Vaginal prolapse in cows is a recurrent reproductive disorder and it causes economic loss to dairy farming. Diagnosis and treatment are very much important. If delayed it may cause some critical conditions. So the owner should be more careful about early diagnosis if they notice any kind of vaginal prolapse.

Uterine Prolapse –

The signs of Uterine Prolapses are dramatic. When the prolapse occurs the tissues appear normally but after some time, they become enlarged. Uterine prolapse requires rapid and effective medical treatment to ensure their survival. It is also known as the version of the uterus. Uterine prolapse should be attended as early as possible it is noticed and the outcomes can be favorable. With increasing time it starts becoming more complicated.

What are the Main Symptoms of Animal Prolapse:

A cattle owner should be aware of the following symptoms during regular cattle health management. The awareness, ideal cattle health, and veterinary guidance can prevent huge financial loss. Additionally, the following are the points a cattle owner should keep in mind for tracking the health of dairy animals.

  • Pressure in the pelvic area – It happens only when the tissue supporting organs gets too relaxed and an organ has dropped out from the natural position. The cause of this is that it feels like something is falling out from the vagina.
  • Pain in the lower back portion – Lower back pain is a very common symptom. The cattle every time feel something is dropping out from their vagina.
  • Urinary Problems – Animals face urinary problems like a slow stream, and incomplete bladder emptying.
  • Loss of Bowel control – Animals lose their ability to control their bowel movement because of muscle or nerve damage at the affected area.

Things you should know about Animal Prolapse?

Having a basic idea of animal disease can help you avoid heavy medical expenses as well as economic loss in your dairy industry. The following are a few of those important points, knowing which prolapse in dairy animals and cattle can be anticipated and cured, as well as prevented.

  • It occurs within 2-24 hours of calving. It rarely occurs after 72 hours of calving.
  • Buffaloes who are affected with prolapse depend upon the time of presentation to the clinical from the prolapse started.
  • The eyes of the affected animals become congested and slight increase in temperature.
  • Some affected animals show clinical signs of shock due to internal tissue damages due to pressure of the inverted uterus.
  • From the study, doctors have mentioned that the cattle with uterine prolapse have low hemoglobin. And the low hemoglobin suggests blood loss which is usual in uterine prolapse.
  •  In buffalos with uterine prolapse low serum calcium was found and a lower concentration of serum calcium was also recorded.
  • The risk of the life of dairy cattle affected with uterine prolapse is high.
  • In a study on dairy cows, 9% of cows suffering from prolapse died within 24 hours.

Can prolapse be treated? What are the treatments available for prolapse?

Prolapse can occur before calving or after calving but in both situations that must be corrected. To cure Prolapse animals need urgent medical attention. Otherwise, it can cause their death. There are many prolapse replacement therapy and surgery available nowadays. Without any delay, we need to take action wisely to give our beloved pets a better life.

Treatment of uterine prolapse is a little bit more complicated than vaginal prolapse. Uterine prolapse is larger than vaginal prolapses. Replacing the uterus is more difficult. If the prolapse needs to be replaced then sugar solution and an ice pack can be applied before replacement, which reduces the volume of prolapse. Uterine prolapse needs to be addressed by a veterinarian as soon as possible. But the vaginal prolapse is generally small in size and the treatment is not that much difficult. Replacing the vagina with its normal position can be effective. According to the case, damage and contamination prolapse can be successfully managed by replacing it with its normal position along with supportive treatment. Prolapse can be cured successfully if treated with an emergency.

How can we prevent animal prolapse?

Prevention is always better than cure. So before going for veterinary treatment, going for preventive measures is always wiser.

However, complete prevention of prolapse is not possible but to reduce the risk, we need to encourage our cattle to move around as soon as possible after calving. When the animals are standing the uterus normally drops back which straightens out the uterine horns. Prolapse can be corrected in a standing position. If cattle are unable to stand up then it can be handled in the recumbent position.

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