As a veterinarian I am always looking for natural alternatives and years ago I was drawn to Zymox, especially given the concern of overuse of antibiotics and the development of bacterial resistance to commonly prescribed oral and topical medications. Most ear infections may usually be a secondary manifestation of underlying allergies. And given how common ear infections are in our dogs and cats today, the cost involved in needing a prescription for topical antibiotics can be expensive. That’s why I find products such as Zymox Otic and Zymox Otic HC to be a wonderful and economical nonprescription alternative for our animal companions with frustrating ear issues.
| Making use of the fact that certain enzymes derived from milk have the ability to kill bacteria, fungi, and viruses, this product literally digests pus, wax, and discharge in the ear canals. The product is best used NOT at the time of using other ear cleaners or topical antibiotics, because these other products like Otomax or Mometamax will often inactivate the effective bacteria and yeast killing enzymes in the Zymox Otic products. Zymox Otic is not for use in the eyes or topically on the skin as a topical antibiotic for skin infections. Both Zymox Otic products can indeed be used as preventatives for ear problems in both dogs and cats. |
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Intervet/Schering-Plough Animal Health, the manufacturer of Vetsulin (porcine insulin zinc suspension) recently sent another letter to veterinarians as a follow up to the Vetsulin Alert/Importance of Diabetic Pet Transition letter that was sent to veterinarians last November. This letter is reminding veterinarians of the dwindling supply of Vetsulin and encourages them to transition their diabetic patients to other insulin products including protamine zinc insulin for cats (ProZinc).
*As a reminder to all PetMeds clients with a diabetic pet, do not switch from one type of insulin product to another unless under the directions of a veterinarian. Changing from one insulin to another may require an adjustment in the dose and/or the use of a different insulin syringe.
I want to make sure everyone currently using Vetsulin to control their pet’s diabetes understands the issue that is impacting them.
As you may know, the FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine and Intervet/Schering-Plough Animal Health (the maker of Vetsulin) issued a “Product Alert” on Vetsulin late last year. The issue is with the long-term stability of the product over time. The company is presently working to determine whether there is any significant loss of potency or a delayed onset or extended duration of action. At this time, the company does not believe the efficacy and safety of Vetsulin is affected.
However, all veterinarians have been asked to alert their clients to:
- Monitor their pets on Vetsulin for any unusual signs; and
- Transition their pet to an alternative product as soon as posible
Transitioning your pet as soon as possible is important because Vetsulin will no longer be available in the very near future and all supplies in the U.S. will be depleted while Intervet/Schering-Plough Animal Health works with the FDA to resolve this issue. Therefore you should make an appointment with your veterinarian immediately so that the veterinarian can initiate this transition process.
Posted by admin on February 19, 2010 – 11:50 am
Along with monthly Interceptor, Heartgard Plus is among the most commonly prescribed monthly heartworm preventatives by veterinarians. While both are very effective against protecting against heartworms, Heartgard seems slightly more effective in treating and preventing roundworms and hookworms, while Interceptor offers the protection against whipworms, which occur more sporadically across the United States.
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Puppies and/or kittens can be safely started on Heartgard typically at age 8-12 weeks, especially important during a time when roundworms and hookworm infestations are common. Heartgard Plus does seem to have a long shelf life of 1-2 years. It comes in very convenient dosing package sizes of up to 25 pound dogs, 26 to 50 pound packaging/dosing, and 51-100 pound packaging and dosing. It is quite safe to use the up to 25 pound size even in small breeds, as owners often wonder if splitting the pill is needed in toy breeds, which is not necessary. |
Side effects are indeed rare, but on occasion pets can have rare digestive, dermatologic, and even more rare neurological side effects. If any of these should occur, I would ask your veterinarian for a prescription for monthly interceptor as an alternative. It is safe to be on Heartgard Plus if another dewormer is needed in a dog, such as Panacur C.
Rimadyl is one of the most widely prescribed non-steroidal anti inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) for dogs, being prescribed for either short term pain/inflammation relief, and in some cases long term pain and inflammation. It is most commonly prescribed for musculoskeletal joint (arthritis) or back problems, but is commonly prescribed to dogs for post operative pain, especially as pain relief is being increasingly recognized and accepted as a standard of care in veterinary medicine.
| The typical dose of Rimadyl is 1 mg per pound twice daily but it can also be given as a single dose of 2 mg per pound once daily. It is not for use in cats. It is often important to have blood work and/or urine done before using this drug, especially in older pets to make sure there are no pre-existing liver, kidney or blood disorders that may contraindicate its use. |
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When dogs are prescribed it long term, it is also important to monitor blood and urine every 3-6 months. While rare side effects of liver failure have been reported and got much overdone press several years back, most dogs tolerate Rimadyl fairly well, and I find that giving it with food tends to cut down on any upset stomachs.
Occasional side effects include:
- loss of appetite
- nausea
- vomiting with digestive tract bleeding
- rare liver/kidney side effects
It should not be given with aspirin or related products such as other non-steroidal anti inflammatory prescription drugs like Metacam or Previcox. However, it is safe to use with certain other pain medications such as the recently increasing use of the safe mild opioid derivatives Tramadol.
In this post I will address some of the common questions asked about using the commonly prescribed topical ear antibiotic and antifungal product Mometamax. Given that most dogs with ear infections often have a combination of bacteria and/or yeast, this product is one of the most versatile products available in the veterinary pharmacy and available by prescription from 1800PetMeds. The combination of ingredients not only decreases the underlying allergic reaction, but the overgrowth of various bacteria and yeast involved in the majority of canine or feline ear infections.
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Although it is not labeled for use in cats, (as with many drugs used off label in our pets), many veterinarians have prescribed this product widely to cats without any ill side effects. While it won’t kill ear mites, this product can also be used topically for yeast, local ringworm or bacterial infections. One of the biggest advantages over its nearly identical sister product Otomax, is that Mometamax can be used only once daily, thus increasing client compliance. My two favorite topical ear medicines in our pets include Mometamax and Zymox. |
While Mometamax is a prescription topical antifungal and antibacterial, Zymox is a nonprescription topical which in my experience and opinion is as equally effective through a different mechanism in killing yeast and bacteria in the canine or feline ear canal. Side effects of Mometamax are rare, with the most serious being rare deafness in pets whose ear drum is not intact (this is best determined by veterinary exam of the ear canal before starting this medication), allergic reaction consisting of increased redness, discomfort and ear itching, and even more rare facial swelling.
When used appropriately this product can be used for most common ear infections in our pets, and its long shelf life of at least a year in most cases, makes it a valuable part of the medicine cabinet in those pets with recurrent ear inflammations or infections.
An emerging topic both in veterinary and human medicine is the recent concern of overuse of antibiotics. With the emergence of resistant bacteria known as MSRA (methicillin resistant staph bacteria) and other resistant bacteria, many medical experts are cautioning health care practitioners to use antibiotics wisely, and only when there is clear evidence of bacterial infection.
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When antibiotics are indiscriminately used in medicine, especially for nonbacterial conditions, that is what leads to this unfortunate set of circumstances. While antibiotics can certainly be life saving drugs, there are certain principles and ideas to keep in mind when and if these drugs are used. The first and most important is to use the most appropriate and least number of antibiotics for a particular body infection.
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For example, in urinary tract infections of dogs and cats there are certain bacteria that are more likely to be seen, which will influence which drugs veterinarians should choose. Many times staph infections and/or E coli bacteria are involved with these urinary tract issues, which are usually easily resolved with prescription antibiotics such as drugs of the penicillin class like Amoxicillin or Clavamox, as well as cephalosporins like cephalexin. It is not necessary to use the “big gun” antibiotics on simple urinary tract infections such as Baytril, as this practice can lead to bacterial resistance. If a pet has recurrent urinary infections, then sterile urine collected by the veterinarian and submitted to a laboratory for a urine culture will generate a list of which, if any antibiotics should be prescribed. This is especially important in cats with urinary tract inflammation, known as feline urologic syndrome (FUS), where greater than 90 percent of the time, even cats with active straining and blood in the urine do NOT have any bacteria involved in their condition.
If an infection is localized to the airways, then antibiotics such as Doxycycline and Baytril are often preferred due to their coverage against bacteria commonly involved with infections of the airways. And while many veterinarians will prescribe multiple antibiotics for pets with any infection, I highly discourage this practice due to the risk of bacterial resistance, and patient side effects most commonly involving the digestive tract. Even in pets with nonspecific fevers, this indicates that a pet has inflammation, and not necessarily an infection. For example, many cats with sneezing and nasal discharge most commonly have viruses such as calici virus and/or feline herpes virus involved with their symptoms and would benefit from immune boosters like Vetri-DMG liquid from and/or echinacea and goldenseal rather than the indiscriminate use of antibiotics. Over the counter products like L-lysine can also be of help in these cats. One of the more disturbing trends I have seen in recent veterinary graduates is the overuse of multiple antibiotics for any illness in a pet.
I hope that with increasing articles about the risks of antibiotic resistance in medical journals, and the increasing public awareness about this concern, that antibiotic use of the future will be wisely and not overused.
Heartgard Tablets, a non-flavored, non-chewable product, has been discontinued by the manufacturer. This product was a great alternative for those dogs with beef allergy that needed heartworm prevention.
If your dog has a beef allergy, and especially if your pet has been taking these tablets, you should contact your veterinarian to discuss alternative heartworm prevention medication.
Heartgard Plus (heartworm and intestinal parasite prevention), and Heartgard Chews (heartworm prevention only) are readily available. Only the non-flavored, non-chewable tablet is discontinued.
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With the strains of an economic slow down in our country, as well as the increasing cost of veterinary exams, many animal guardians are often looking to their own medicine cabinets in easing discomfort in their dogs and cats. And while it is always important for an animal guardian to check with their local veterinarian before administering any over the counter medication at home, this is extremely critical for cat owners who often don’t realize that cats have very unique manners of handling medications. This means that some medications, while normally well tolerated by humans or dogs, can cause health and life threatening consequences in our feline friends. |
This is especially true when it comes to the pain relievers aspirin and Tylenol. Because of unique liver metabolism, cats do not handle aspirin very well if given at high doses, and even one adult Tylenol tablet (325 to 500 mg) could be lethal and deadly to cats. Even minimal levels of exposure to Tylenol can quickly cause depression, vomiting, difficulty breathing, brown discoloration of the gums, respiratory distress, and swelling of the paws and face.
Fulminant liver failure can occur with even minimal dosages. If you’ve made the mistake of giving your cat ANY Tylenol and/or your cat has been given aspirin that causes some of these symptoms, immediate and emergency medical attention is needed. In fact, to demonstrate how sensitive cats are to these nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents, when cardiologists prescribe aspirin to cats with certain types of heart disease, it’s at the reduced dose of one half baby aspirin every second to third day.
The take home point of this blog post is to never self medicate your cat at home, unless you FIRST check with your local veterinarian or emergency veterinary facility. Interestingly, one of my favorite all time antioxidant supplements Proanthozone, has actually been shown to reduce Tylenol damage to cats who have been exposed. Proanthozone has a wide variety of usages in dogs and cats including as anti-inflammatory, as well as pain reducer. Many of our feline friends can be given dramatic pain relief with safe nutritional supplements such as Yucca Intensive and Cosequin for Cats,. However, as in the case with any supplements, I always recommend feline guardians consult with their veterinarians before administering any over the counter supplements or medications.
Customers who have a pet or pets with diabetes and are using Vetsulin Insulin should be aware that the FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine has issued an advisory regarding Vetsulin.
There is NO recall of this product. However, pet owners are advised to monitor their pets for the following symptoms:
- hyperglycemia
- increased thirst, or urination
- weight loss
- disorientation
- signs of weakness
If the pet has any of these symptoms, pet owners are advised to call the manufacturer’s Technical Services Department at 800-224-5318. Customers should also contact their veterinarian.
