10 Illnesses Dogs Can Detect (Cancer, Migraine, Diabetes, etc)

You may be surprised to learn that dogs can detect many diseases in humans. Some illnesses cause chemical changes in our bodies, which can produce unique smells that dogs can identify on a person's breath or skin. Dogs have an acute sense of smell, and so have the ability to sniff out a chemical change in a human body caused by a disease. While humans have about 5 million scent receptors, dogs can have up to 250 million, giving them a nose up in scent detection. If you have a family history of serious illnesses - and a dog - you will want to watch this video to learn about 10 diseases dogs can detect in humans. Narcolepsy Narcolepsy is a sleep disorder that affects your ability to control sleep-wake cycles. In a study published in 2013, scientists found that two trained dogs detected 11 of 12 narcolepsy patients using sweat samples, demonstrating that dogs can detect a distinct scent for the disorder. Most importantly, dogs can provide a warning up to five minutes before the onset of an attack, giving their guardian a chance to get to a safe place or into a safe position. Cancer Perhaps the condition dogs are most famous for detecting is cancer. Dogs have been able to sniff out a variety of types including breast cancer, bladder cancer, prostate cancer, and lung cancer. Cancer-affected cells have a unique odor that doesn't exist in healthy cells. There are even quite a few stories of a pet dog obsessing about an owner's mole or some part of their body, only to discover during a doctor's appointment that the dog was actually detecting cancer. Migraines For those who suffer migraines, having a warning before one comes on can mean the difference between managing the problem or succumbing to hours or days of intense pain. Fortunately, some dogs have a talent for detecting the signs that a migraine is on the way. Trainers and users suspect that the dogs are able to sniff out chemical changes in human breath that indicate when a migraine attack will occur. There are even migraine-alert-service dogs. A dog sensing a migraine about to start could alert you by licking, circling, nudging, staying right by your side, staring at you, pacing, or barking. Low Blood Sugar For diabetics, this can be a lifesaver. Increasingly, dogs are being trained to help people with diabetes by alerting them when their blood sugar level is dropping or spiking. Dogs4Diabetics is an organization that trains and places service dogs with insulin-dependent persons. A 2016 study published in the American Diabetes Association journal Diabetes Care found that dogs detect isoprene, a common natural chemical found in human breath that rises significantly during an episode of low blood sugar. A trained dog can wake up or alert an owner by jumping up, pawing, or nudging at owner whenever blood sugar drops to critical levels. An untrained dog may show signs of discomfort or anxiety. Fear and Stress The age-old notion that dogs can smell fear is an accurate one. Dogs can smell when we are feeling fear or are experiencing an increased level of stress, even if we aren't showing outward signs. What dogs are smelling is the surge of hormones our bodies release to respond to stressful situations, the most obvious of those would be sweating and the releasing of Adrenalin and cortisol. When dogs smell fear, they show signs of stress. Dogs that alert their guardians of the change in their emotional state can help prevent panic attacks and other possible episodes associated with post-traumatic stress disorders. COVID-19 In a study at the University of Helsinki, dogs were taught to recognize the odor signature of the COVID-19 disease. And in only a few weeks, the first dogs were able to accurately distinguish sweat samples from COVID-19 patients from sweat samples of healthy individuals, almost as reliably as a standard PCR test. Depression Dogs also have a special knack of sensing happiness and sadness in humans. They can smell and sense the rise and fall in our feel-good hormones, such as dopamine, oxytocin, and serotonin. When we are ill, these hormones often plummet, and our dogs are usually the first to know it. This might explain why many pets are known to curl up next to a sick or depressed owner. It’s also been noted that dogs can recognize our facial expressions. When we are tired and sick, the energy often leaves our faces, and our dogs see this happen. Malaria Malaria may not be common everywhere, but in the countries where it still exists, it can be deadly. Especially for children. Recent research has found that dogs can accurately tell if someone has malaria – simply by smelling their socks. Seizure This one is more for service dogs placed with seizure patients. New research led by Queen’s University Belfast has shown that dogs can predict epileptic seizures, offering a warning sign to owners that has the potential to save lives. Epileptic seizures are associated with a specific smell which is detectable by pet dogs.