symptom checker from vets4pets

Hi all, I was just having a gander for vacc deals and spotted this page http:// http://www.vets.co.uk/pet-advice/pet-symptom-checker/ I thought it could be really helpful, especially if you need advice quickly or when the forum is quieter.
They categorise each species so I linked to that page incase you need it for another pet.
Xxx

Neleh said:

Hi all, I was just having a gander for vacc deals and spotted this page http:// http://www.vets.co.uk/pet-advice/pet-symptom-checker/ I thought it could be really helpful, especially if you need advice quickly or when the forum is quieter.
They categorise each species so I linked to that page incase you need it for another pet.
Xxx

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If you try the pdsa they have a online symptom checker and it tells you whether its urgent or high,medium,low priority it saved my bunnies life it did

That's good to know! This one has time scale to get to vets and some very practicle advice on what to do! Both sound like great resources to me!

They're both great :thumb:

I've noticed them popping up on a few vet websites now. There are a couple of symptom checkers already in the Old Useful Threads sticky at the top - I'll have a look later and see if we have these ones, if not I'll add them to the sticky so they're easy to find.

KarenM said:

I've noticed them popping up on a few vet websites now. There are a couple of symptom checkers already in the Old Useful Threads sticky at the top - I'll have a look later and see if we have these ones, if not I'll add them to the sticky so they're easy to find.

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That's great to hear! Hopefully there is something new, every little help when our bunsters are in need

Personally I'm more impressed with the PDSA one. Although the Vets4Pets one is more comprehensive, the PDSA one is clearer and easier to use for someone in a hurry - more options aren't always a good thing. For example, 'dental and facial problems' aren't normally a symptom, buns don't tell us they have toothache (how handy would that be? :lol but rather present with anorexia, or weight loss, or diarrhoea/constipation. You can go back and easily view all the questions and your answers on the PDSA one which is a bonus. And for an inexperienced owner or someone in a panic, nine options are a lot easier to chose from than twenty-three! The PDSA one doesn't have as much info but it covers the emergencies, apart from kits which I think would be a good addition. The Vets4Pets one covers more conditions but by necessity is more complex.

I ran through the symptoms a few of my buns have had, and whilst they agreed on most, the Vets4Pets told me to keep a rabbit with Oidhche's symptoms at home and monitor her; she was a mouth breather with heart failure and needed immediate attention. Some of the smaller symptoms are easy to miss, even more so if you're in a panic.

Just my tuppence!

No 'Symptom Checker' is better than your own 'gut instinct', IMO

I'm a bit of a bunny mummy worrier and probably neurotic...so I wouldn't even stop to think to check symptoms on website, but call the vet straight away :lol: I also agree with Jane...gut instinct usually works for us that know our buns inside out. But I guess there are some bunny owners out there who have new or young rabbits and have yet to get to know and recognise their normal behaviour, so in these cases it may help others.

Coineanach said:

Personally I'm more impressed with the PDSA one. Although the Vets4Pets one is more comprehensive, the PDSA one is clearer and easier to use for someone in a hurry - more options aren't always a good thing. For example, 'dental and facial problems' aren't normally a symptom, buns don't tell us they have toothache (how handy would that be? :lol but rather present with anorexia, or weight loss, or diarrhoea/constipation.

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I would imagine dental/facial problems would be things like a lop-sided face, overgrown or wonky incisors etc that can be seen. I just tried the vets4pets checker and clicked on anorexia/poor appetite and answered the questions as though it were for Bubbles when she needed a dental and it still lead to the suggestion that I needed vet attention within 8 hours for possible dental problems. So the end result was still the same, even though I didn't choose the dental option.

The PDSA one is provided by Vet Help Direct. There's already a link to Vet Help's own site in the sticky (and it covers more species than the PDSA one too) so there's no point me adding the PDSA one but I've added the other one.

I wouldn't recommend them for use in an emergency and of course they shouldn't be used in place of your gut feeling and common sense but they can be a useful additional tool to confirm your own feeling.

I think gut instinct is great but so many posts here from people who want help asap and not sure what to do. It can be helpful for inexperienced owners. I did Maltesers symptoms when hebhad ec and was impressed with the outcome.:thumb: