无糖口香糖能要狗的命：食品药品管理局说木糖醇10到60分钟内就能让狗的血糖骤降
美国食品药品管理局（FDA）兽医中心提醒，家里常见的无糖口香糖对人只是少点热量，对狗却可能是致命的。让它危险的成分叫木糖醇（xylitol），是一种糖醇类甜味剂，也会标成桦糖（birch sugar）或木糖（wood sugar），FDA 近年接到的狗中毒报告里，很多都和口香糖有关，最新的一起和无糖「瘦身」冰淇淋有关。
木糖醇藏身的地方比想象中多：无糖口香糖、薄荷糖和无糖糖果、烘焙食品、止咳糖浆、儿童和成人嚼服维生素、漱口水、牙膏、部分花生酱和坚果酱、非处方药、膳食补充剂和无糖甜点。家里自己烘焙时买的大包装木糖醇粉、自家做的蛋糕松饼派，也可能被狗翻出来吃掉。
人和狗的差别在胰岛素。人吃木糖醇不会刺激胰腺释放胰岛素，狗却会快速吸收木糖醇，胰腺随之大量释放胰岛素，血糖在吃下后10到60分钟内就可能骤降，来不及处理会危及生命。症状先是呕吐，接着活动减少、虚弱、走路打晃、站不稳、倒地和抽搐；有些狗的严重反应要过12到24小时才出现，所以看起来没事也不能掉以轻心，要送医留院观察。FDA 还提醒，猫似乎对木糖醇不那么敏感，但雪貂吃下后也会出现低血糖和抽搐，同样要当心。
防范就三件事：买食品和日用品先看成分表，只要写着木糖醇、桦糖或木糖就收好，放到狗够不着的地方，柜台上的东西狗也可能跳上去翻；给狗刷牙只用宠物专用牙膏，绝不能用人的牙膏；拿花生酱喂药或当奖励之前，先确认成分表里没有木糖醇。怀疑狗已经吃下含木糖醇的东西，不要等症状，立刻打电话给兽医、急诊动物医院或动物中毒控制中心。（来源：美国食品药品管理局）
Sugar-Free Gum Can Kill a Dog: FDA Says Xylitol Can Drop a Dog's Blood Sugar Within 10 to 60 Minutes
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Center for Veterinary Medicine warns that ordinary sugar-free chewing gum, a minor calorie saving for people, can be deadly for dogs. The dangerous ingredient is xylitol, a sugar alcohol sweetener that also appears on labels as birch sugar or wood sugar. FDA says many of the dog poisonings reported to it in recent years involved chewing gum, and the most recent report it cites involved sugar-free "skinny" ice cream.
Xylitol hides in more products than most owners expect: sugar-free gum, mints and sugar-free candy, baked goods, cough syrup, children's and adult chewable vitamins, mouthwash, toothpaste, some peanut and nut butters, over-the-counter medicines, dietary supplements and sugar-free desserts. Bulk xylitol bought for home baking, and the cakes, muffins and pies made with it, can also end up in a dog's mouth.
The difference between people and dogs is insulin. In people, xylitol does not stimulate the pancreas to release insulin. In dogs it is absorbed into the bloodstream more quickly and can trigger a potent release of insulin, so blood sugar can fall rapidly and profoundly within 10 to 60 minutes of eating it, and untreated hypoglycemia can quickly be life-threatening. Signs start with vomiting, followed by decreased activity, weakness, staggering, incoordination, collapse and seizures. In some cases serious effects do not appear for up to 12 to 24 hours, so a dog that looks fine may still need to be hospitalized for monitoring. FDA notes that cats appear to be spared the worst of it, but ferrets have developed low blood sugar and seizures after eating xylitol products and their owners should be careful too.
Prevention comes down to three habits: check ingredient labels for xylitol, birch sugar or wood sugar, especially on anything advertised as sugar-free or low sugar, and keep those products well out of a dog's reach, remembering that some dogs are adept at counter surfing; use only pet toothpaste for pets, never human toothpaste; and check the label before giving a dog nut butter as a treat or as a way to hide a pill. If you think your dog has eaten a product containing xylitol, call your veterinarian, an emergency clinic or an animal poison control center right away rather than waiting for symptoms. (Source: U.S. Food and Drug Administration)
来源：美国食品药品管理局
发布：GSM·美国（发布链接）
图片来源：Wikimedia Commons 摄影，CC BY 4.0：兽医在诊所为一只白犬做检查（示意：犬只就医检查）
GSM Global · 本篇英文版 English edition of this story
