We all know that prevention is better than cure, but it's is more than just yearly vaccination. Did you know that we actually practice four levels of prevention – primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary?
But not all preventive activities are effective or needed for every pet – prevention need to be tailored for you pet based on individual risks.
Primary prevention is all about protecting health and preventing the onset of disease. It involves taking action before there is any sign of disease or injury.
Secondary prevention is about catching things early (before symptoms appear). It involves screening tests and procedures to detect serious conditions as soon as possible so we can intervene to slow or stop progression and maybe even reverse the disease.
Tertiary prevention is about reducing the impact of an ongoing condition. This involve drug and non-drug management of chronic conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, thyroid disease and arthritis.
Quaternary prevention is about protecting patients against over-medicalisation. This involves avoiding unnecessary testing and treatment.
This one is very important but often over looked.