Expert: Dr. Louis N. Gotthelf - 5/22/2006

Question
My 9 month old is recovering from parvo. With lots of money we kept her alive and caught it early even though it has taken her about 2 weeks to recover this far. She is eating drinking water and walking around but has lost lots of weight and I noticed her eyes and mouth are still yellow at times. One day they are starting to pink up well and the next morning her mouth is got the pale yellow look with just a hint of pink. The vet says this is normal and when she starts using her liver more it will go back to normal. Is this true and how long will it take for her mouth membranes to stay pink? How come its taking her so long to act like she used to and will she ever be the same....Did she get brain damage or something. Thank You Sandy from NY

Answer
It is very unusual to have jaundice or liver disease from parvo.  I would suggest having the vet run a blood chemistry panel to see what the liver enzymes are doing. Often liver disease can cause mental dullness from buildup of toxins in the blood and brain.  That is not related to parvo.