[Gpdd] Re: HEALTH: Shilintong and acidic urine

Candy G. crawdad1953 at hotmail.com
Fri May 20 13:19:46 EDT 2005


Greetings, nancy -

I, too, would like to know about the Shilintong and acidic urine.  My 
understanding was that the Shilintong relaxes the urethra so that crystals 
and small stones can pass more easily without buildup in the bladder.  I 
have not seen anything that addresses whether or not it changes the ph of 
the urine.

Usually, meds are given to cats and dogs to increase the acidity of the 
urine when they have chronic stone problems because the higher acidity works 
against stone formation.  This is not healthy for our little guys because 
they lean much more towards 'high' neutral or alkaline urine in their 
normally healthy state and to completely change that would create imbalances 
in the system.  Dogs and cats are more prone to acidic urine in their nornal 
states so it is just an enhancement for them rather than a complete change.

Cranberry juice will inhance the acidic aspect of urine.  I believe that is 
about as far as I would go with GPs in giving them anything to help with the 
stone/sludge problems that acidifies the urine, but there are many folks in 
the digest who know much, much more about that than I do.

Again, I haven't come across anything that states that Shilintong acidifies, 
but rather just relaxes the urethra.  Is there any way you can clarify this 
with your vet and let us know?  It would be very important information to 
have.

I first heard about Shilintong from Leah (thanks, Leah!) and everything I 
have asked, heard, or read since then has indicated that it is safe for GPs. 
  My exotics vet said that Shilintong was fine to give Mollie for her stone 
problems, but she did recommend that I not use it anytime Mollie was on 
antibiotics - to just suspend it for that time and then start again a few 
days afterward.

Thanks for any info you can get for us and thanks for mentioning this.  This 
digest is FANTASTIC!!!

Candy






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