Human Medication

[Guest oldNELLIE]

Hi everyone!

 

I would love to compile a list of OTC medications I can have on hand to use for Miss Nellie. I have read a number of threads that mentioned certain human medication that is safe / the same as what would be prescribed by a vet and I would love to have them listed all in one place as well as what is a safe dose to use on an average size greyhound.

 

So, what I think I know is Benedryl for sleepiness (NOT the allergy kind though, right?), but at what dose?

 

As a pain reliever...Tylonal? I can't remember for sure. And what about for gas / upset tummy? Is whatever is in Gas-Ex okay? Or Pepsid?

 

Thanks everyone for your help!

[Guest Energy11]

Hi!

 

Benedryl (not the allergy-sinus time) generic is fine. You can give 50 mg, every four to six hours for allergies or allergic reactions. The dosage varies, according to the dog or vet, as well.

 

NEVER, EVER Tylenol! You CAN give (1) 81 mg low dose aspirin, twice daily for pain (*I give Curfew's 1/2 with Pepcid AC generic (*for clot management), with Pepcid AC to ease it's effects on his stomach). I have been told by a few vets, NOT to give aspirin for pain management long term.

 

You can also give Imodium AD or it's generic, (1) ever 8-12 hours for diarrhea.

 

Pepcid AC or it's generic, 10 -20 mg, once or twice a day. (*good to give with antibiotics)

 

Gas-X or it's generic is fine to give. I actually give to "theoretically" help prevent bloat, with our 4 a.m. morning feedings, as the E-vet is an HOUR away! That will change in May. (1) to two daily for gas).

 

Triple antibiotic ointment is good in a pinch for wounds. I swear by Trypzyme-V spray or ointment for this purpose, as it helps prevent infection and promotes healing.

 

People give Peptobismol or it's generic (*I am not sure of the dosage on this).

 

I will look into compiling a list of acceptable "human meds" to present with our first aid seminar for June at Mt. Hounds, as well. This is a very good thing for people to have. Thanks for posting this!

 

Dee and The Five.

[Guest oldNELLIE]

Wow!

Thanks for the thorough answer.

[PatricksMom]

I would ask your vet ahead of time what she thinks about using some of these medications with your dog, what the doseages should be, and how long its okay to use them for.

 

I know my vet says 1mg/benadryl per lb of body weight, and she is fine with 325mg of buffered asprin--but not used more than around one day a month (to bolster arthritis meds). She usually recommends that we skip the antibotic cream because Patrick is an excessive licker and that only makes him worse, but do use it under bandages where he can't get at it. Other vets would tell you other things, and it's somewhat dependent on your dog's age, health issues, weight, etc.

 

Another non-medicine thing for wound care is epsom salts--they're great for reducing pain and swelling, and gently cleaning the wound in humans and dogs.

Edited March 9, 2010 by PatricksMom

[Guest MyBoys]

Along with never giving a dog Tylenol you should never ever give a dog Ibuprofen (Advil)

[greyhndz]

This an excellent source for dosages for almost medication, OTC or prescription, you can think of.

 

dog meds

 

The dosages are referred to as mg/kg. A kilo = 2.2 lbs, so divide the dog's weight by 2.2, then multiply by the # of mg (or the volume) recommended.

 

I'd discuss this with your vet, too - bring in your list once you've put it together, calculate out your dosages, and ask the vet to review it to make sure it looks correct.

 

Tylenol isn't forbidden - it's used frequently in combination with other pain meds (such as tylenol/codeine) for severe pain. I've used tylenol #3 for almost all of my osteo dogs, with good results. I would not administer it OTC by itself without discussing with your vet first.

 

I'm really not a pepto-bismol fan. The formula also contains subsalicylate, which is an aspirin derivative. A dog who's having GI issues shouldn't be given any type of salicylate. There are better meds for vomiting, mostly prescription. For diarrhea, immodium has always worked for me, as well as dietary modification.

 

I have a pretty extensive medical kit at home, but that's because I'm a medical geek so know how to use them. But for a standard home first-aid box, in addition to bandages, topical skin ointments/creams, etc., I keep benadryl, either ranitidine or famotidine (pepcid). I used to have a bottle of Ascriptin but never used it so won't bother buying it again. I also have immodium.

 

For acute pain, you could either use a small dose of Ascriptin (assuming there are no upset tummies), but it might be helpful to ask your vet for a Rx for one of the anti-inflammatories like Rimadyl to keep on hand. Here's a good, easy to read article about NSAIDs: linkie

 

And please check out GreytHealth.com, if you haven't already. Lots of good info on this site.

[Guest Energy11]

All the dosages I posted have been approved by two veterinarianis.

 

Some vets FORBID aspirin. My vet here doesn't even like me giving Curfew 1/2 of a low dose (81 mg) aspirin, but Dr. Couto suggested this for Curfew.

 

As one of the other posters said, it is always good to run any of these "human" medications, and their dosages, past your vets. Tylenol and Advil, and other (human) Ibuprophen products are NEVER okay, from what I have been told.

Edited March 9, 2010 by Energy11

[Guest oldNELLIE]

Thanks again everyone

 

So this is actually coming about due to a specific issue, so maybe I should ask about that directly. Nellie gets a late night feeding and usually has to go out in the night. She also gets her breakfast pretty early and then we all go back to bed (these are all things I have written about here before and not really part of my current question).

 

The last 2 nights after her breakfast Nellie has had bad gas. It has kept her from settling back down to go to sleep (as consequently, us ). Her am poop is a soft but she is feeling fine all day and evening, and her poops the rest of the day are fine. I would like to give her something for the gas, like gas-ex. I thought that I could but I wanted to be sure. Do you all have any thoughts on that?

[Guest Energy11]

I'd go ahead and try the Gas-X. Can't hurt.

 

You can also give her 10 mg/Pepcid AC or it's generic, with her food. That might help the gas as well.

 

If the above doesn't help, might be a food sensitivity/allergy problem, and time to change foods. Our Cari had diarrhea consistently after eating, and it turned out, she needed grain-free food. Now, no gas, no Big "D," and all is well!

 

Good luck! Gas is NO fun!

[RobinM]

this isn't over the counter but for UTIs clavomox is a greyt drug but VERY expensive. If you can have your doc call in 875mg of augemntin- that will do that trick for a co- pay!

[Guest EmilyandSioux]

If you are going out for a ru;n or exercise away from home you need to take a first aid kit with you. This is good for humans and dogs. Take several sections of newspaper and duct tape for broken bones and sprains. This will only work until you can get to medical help. It does make a good emergency splint(newspaper for stability and duct tape to hold it on). The duct tape you can also use to tape a cut together to get to the vet (put some cotton balls under it so it doesn't stick to the edges of the cut). Also take benadryl along for snake bites in the summer give it and get to the e-c ASAP.

[Guest Energy11]

If you are going out for a ru;n or exercise away from home you need to take a first aid kit with you. This is good for humans and dogs. Take several sections of newspaper and duct tape for broken bones and sprains. This will only work until you can get to medical help. It does make a good emergency splint(newspaper for stability and duct tape to hold it on). The duct tape you can also use to tape a cut together to get to the vet (put some cotton balls under it so it doesn't stick to the edges of the cut). Also take benadryl along for snake bites in the summer give it and get to the e-c ASAP.

 

Excellent advice!