Ibuprofen is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) commonly used in humans to treat fever, pain, and inflammation. Its free sale allows self-medication, both in oneself and in our pets. It is relatively safe for humans, but can be extremely harmful to pets.
How can my dog or cat get poisoned by ibuprofen?
An More common mistake than it seems is to administer ibuprofen to our pet, mainly dogs and cats, before consulting a veterinarian. It may seem strange to you, but centers like the Pet Poison Helpline receive more than four thousand calls each year for ibuprofen exposure in dogs.
Very small doses of the drug can already cause effects adverse events and poisoning. They can be produced by the administration of the owner, by the reach of our pet to the drug or because another administered medication contains part of ibuprofen.
There is a long list of medicines that contain ibuprofen and its salts. Naproxen (also linked to poisoning in pets) is included in other drugs. That is why they must check the ingredients of the drug prescribed by the veterinarian that we are going to give to our pet.
The consequences can be more or less important depending on the size of our pet
In smaller dogs and cats it is easier for poisoning to occur when coming into contact with ibuprofen. Barely a few milligrams of ibuprofen can already be toxic to cats and small dogs. The larger their size, the more options they have to avoid poisoning.
A Chihuahua or a Yorkshire must be much more careful than a Great Dane or a St. Bernard. Just as small cats weighing ten pounds or less will have worse prognosis than larger cats five kilos or more.
What to do to avoid ibuprofen poisoning?
There are nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs similar to ibuprofen for pets. The FDA, short for the Food and Drug Administration, has a list of such drugs for dogs and cats. In any case, the ideal is to consult our veterinarian before administering any of them to our pet.
Consequences of ibuprofen poisoning in our dogs and cats
Ibuprofen blocks some chemical processes in the body helping us to reduce fever, pain, etc. Those processes that are stopped are important to maintain functions of our intestines, kidneys and liver, among others.
When consuming ibuprofen, a buffer is produced that prevents it from being eliminated quickly, thus achieving its function for which it has been ingested. That makes us humans benefit from its administration, but exposes pets even more since the intestines reabsorb it over and over again.
Clinical signs of intoxication
We have already seen that the digestive tract, the kidneys and the liver are the ones that take the most negative part. Most commonly there is a irritation and ulceration of the gastrointestinal tract of our pet.
can appear ulcers and perforations (holes) in the stomach and intestines. We can observe it with a decrease in appetite, increased production of saliva, vomiting, diarrhea, dark stools and even blood.
The behavior of our dog or cat leads him to be sadder since it is usually accompanied by abdominal pain. It may also fail in some aspects of coordination or that we notice you in a state of numbness or prolonged fatigue.
Another way we have to notice is if you urinate too often, since there may be kidney damage from taking the drug. Depending on the dose, convulsions and coma and even death may occur.
The vet will watch for physical signs such as pale gums and mucous membranes, yellow discoloration of the skinor with chemical signals in a blood or urine sample.
What to do if our pet has ingested ibuprofen?
signs of toxicity appear two hours to six hours after drug ingestion. However, it will not be until days later (about four or five days) when serious complications appear.
Use the protocol BEST (the best), for the acronym in English:
- B.behavior changes: behavior changes
- ANDating less: loss of appetite
- yeskin redness: reddening of the skin
- Tarry stool: Black stools, diarrhea and vomiting.
If your pet shows these symptoms First and foremost, contact your vet since he is the specialist in the matter. If a short time has passed since the ingestion, the veterinarian could induce vomiting to expel it and will carry out all the necessary steps.
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