What Medications Can I Use At Home?
This is a tricky question that we get all the time. It’s very important to remember that dogs and cats are not miniature people–many human drugs can be very dangerous when given to our pets. The most notorious are aspirin, ibuprofen, and tylenol. We all have these medications at home and most of us routinely use them for ourselves without much thought. But a very small amount of any of them can be deadly to a cat! And all 3 can be very irritating to a dog’s intestines. We have much more effective and safe pain medications for our animals!
Benedryl has many uses in veterinary medicine. But the doses used are different than you would think. Pepto bismol can be dangerous because some animals can’t handle the salicylates it contains. Immodium is useful in some cases of diarrhea, but again the dose is different than for humans.
Does it seem like I’m being evasive? I am. The veterinary practice act states that I need a valid patient/client/vet relationship in order to give any advice. In essence if I give out advice about over-the-counter medications and something goes wrong, I can be held liable. So only patients that I have knowledge of get dosage information. This goes for our staff as well since they are an extension of myself. I routinely use and recommend many over-the-counter products, as well as nutritional supplements, but only when an animal is under my direct care. So by all means call to discuss at home remedies–so long as you are a current client with a current patient.
Tags: disease, Education, healthcare, prescription