Zinc Toxicity
18 Feb 2010

February 9^th, 2010, the start of the second blizzard of the year, we were presented with a 3 ½ pound puppy that was very, very sick.  The chihuahua puppy had already lost 1/4^th of his body weight in just a few days.  He was vomiting, having diarrhea and his gums were pale and tacky.  When Dr. Seroka palpated the pet’s abdomen he reacted very painfully which instantly threw up a red flag.

We needed to dig a little deeper to find the cause of our patient’s illness.  We performed bloodwork to check his internal organ functions as well as his electrolyte levels.  The bloodwork revealed that he was extremely anemic… this information was most helpful in revealing a piece of the mystery.   We had suspected that he had ingested something he shouldn’t have and that was the cause of his troubles.  To confirm our suspicion Dr. Seroka took an x-ray of his abdomen and…. Viola !!! There it was… a metallic circular object was suspended in his stomach. 

Although we could not clearly see the silhouette of President Lincoln we were almost certain that the object was a penny.  You see, the fact that our patient was extremely anemic proved to us that there was “something” in his body that was destroying his red blood cells.  One common cause for this is zinc toxicity.  In 1983, the U.S. government began minting pennies out of zinc wafers coated in copper rather than out of pure copper.  The zinc from the penny was destroying his red blood cells causing hemolysis. 

This all occurred late February 9^th when the blizzard came barreling in.  We got our dear patient started on IV fluids and kept him stable overnight.  Although we had planned to close the office for the next two days, Dr. Franklin braved the weather in order to save this pup’s life.  He and his assistant, Dr./Mrs. Franklin, ventured out that snowy Wednesday morning to perform surgery. 

During the exploratory surgery Dr. Franklin removed a penny that was partially dissolved in the center.  The puppy’s stomach acids were eating away at the penny while the zinc was destroying his red blood cells!  During his stay he received two blood transfusions and intensive treatment for shock.  After surgery he was placed in our on-site intensive care unit to receive a constant flow of oxygen and a heated environment to recover in.  Needless to say it was a pretty intense week for little guy but he is now home resting and recovering! 

And as for us… we are trying to raise awareness on toxicity from zinc.  So, petparents… it’s always a great idea to keep any small objects out of your pet’s reach- but, when it comes to items made from zinc such as nuts, bolts, staples, nails, zippers, even zinc oxide paste such as diaper rash creams etc. keep them far- far away from your pet’s reach!!!

Just another lifesaving tip from your friends at MAVH!

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