Faithful guardian angels. 8 Diseases Dogs Can Smell Early

We seem to have long stopped wondering how our dog was able to find the same cookie we threw under the sofa, or how it caught the scent long before we did. But it turns out, writes New Atlas, that their strong sense of smell can not only find beauty, but also identify diseases we’re not yet aware of.

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The sharpness of the nose of dogs is due to the presence of 220 million olfactory receptors, of which our number exceeds 5 million. Combined with their rapid breathing, it’s not surprising that they constantly sniff around. The amazing thing is that this incredible sense of smell allows them to detect diseases in humans.

When our health weakens, the body releases special compounds that surround us like an invisible cloud. For example, some diseases release volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that dogs can recognize even if we can’t. Often these changes in breath or body odor are indicative of changes in our health, and our canine friends notice it right away.

Let’s take a closer look at some of the diseases dogs can detect:

Cancer: Dogs have proven they can recognize everything from skin cancer to ovarian and lung cancer. In one study, a dog detected breast cancer in urine samples with incredible accuracy. But it’s not just about education. Some dogs spontaneously warn their owners of health problems, such as a rescue dog that constantly licks a small mark behind the owner’s ear that turns out to be melanoma.

Diabetes: Dogs are trained to alert humans when their blood sugar levels are too high or too low. They catch a special scent that people cannot recognize and that can save lives. One study showed that in 81% of cases, dogs quickly caught dramatic changes in their owners’ sugar levels.

narcolepsyIt is a disorder in which the sleep-wake cycle is disrupted. There are cases confirmed by studies in which dogs identify people with this disease by the characteristic odor that people with narcolepsy can emit.

Epilepsy: Not only trained dogs, even ordinary pets can recognize when a person is having a seizure.

Migraine: Some migraine sufferers have noticed that their dogs behave differently, perhaps giving them hours of warning before their migraine attack.

Parkinson’s disease: Research shows that dogs can recognize people with Parkinson’s disease, whether they’re taking medication or not.

Malaria: In a unique experiment, dogs accurately identified children with malaria simply by smelling their socks.

COVID-19: New evidence shows our furry friends can also detect COVID-19, if not better than some of the tests we rely on today.

With these abilities, it’s interesting why we don’t use dogs more often in medical settings, as they are used at the border and in the police. Recently, there has been a rush to create expensive technical devices for the detection of diseases. Meanwhile, our faithful four-legged friends are waiting in the wings, ready to use their natural talents.

Imagine a world where therapy dogs in hospitals and nursing homes act as health monitors. It’s a relaxing and practical future, isn’t it?

Previously Focus He wrote down the reasons why dogs eat grass. In a new study, scientists shed light on why our dogs like to put anything “bad” on the ground into their mouths.

Moreover Focus He wrote that dogs obey women better than men. Analysis of the dogs’ brain activity showed that when the women talked to the animals, their brain activity increased.

This material is for informational purposes only and does not contain advice that may affect your health. If you have problems, consult a professional.