There’s a lot of opinion floating around on this
subject, from what appears to be well-researched and well-intended information,
to claims that are obviously nothing more than layman hearsay and professional fear-mongering.
Since I’m not a medical professional I’ve refrained from writing about this
subject, but as a skeptic, voracious researcher and opinionated blogger, I
thought I should at least share what I’ve learned in my search for truth.
The common, but
unfounded, claim that animal drugs are not safe for humans because they’re made
from substandard or unregulated materials is simple not factual. The FDA
regulates every drug sold in U.S. for quality, safety and environmental impact regardless
if they’re intended for humans or animals.
Specifically…
http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/CFRSearch.cfm?CFRPart=211&showFR=1&utm_campaign=Google2&utm_source=fdaSearch&utm_medium=website&utm_term=21
C.F.R. part 211.&utm_content=2
Though the FDA’s
record of always getting this right may be questionable, they are more reliable
than nothing at all. I would only deal with FDA approved drugs, human or other,
as drugs regulated outside of the U.S. can have far less stringent requirements
for trial testing and safety, if any at all.
Some drugs specifically
designed for animal use may contain the same active ingredient as the human
equivalent, but may also contain inactive ingredients that were not trial
tested for human consumption -making side-effects and allergic reaction
possibilities of some of these drugs unpredictable for humans. However, many of
the animal drugs on the market are the exact same, FDA approved drugs for
humans, only they have been packaged and labeled for animal use.
The easiest way to
verify if a drug marketed for an animal is also safe for human consumption is
if it comes in pill form.
A drug marketed for
animal use may be labeled “Not for human consumption”, but if it’s a pill, you
can easily find out if it’s actually a human drug too. By law -the color, shape,
and markings of each pill must be unique. This helps Poison Control hotlines,
hospitals, doctors, etc., determine what someone might have ingested, overdosed
on, or is causing side effects, regardless of what package it comes in.One example is a pill-form antibiotic marketed for fish called “Fish Mox”. The label may state “Not for human consumption” or “For aquarium fish only” but the capsule identification markings on these pills can be verified by a pill identification data base as being the same high-grade amoxicillin that’s used for human consumption. Not just the same active ingredient, but the same pill, only packaged and marketed for pet owners.
So there you have
it, stick with pet meds you can easily identify and obtain information about
and you’ll at least be sure of what you’re taking.
The
most serious risk in all this is self-diagnosis. If you have a cold for
instance, antibiotics will not help you and can even be detrimental to your
health. Using antibiotics for the wrong reasons can cause bacteria to become
resistant, making future infections more difficult to treat. Antibiotics are also
each very different and are only effective against certain bacteria -without a
lab test it’s difficult to determine which antibiotic will be effective.
If you plan to
stock-pile drugs, it’s important to stockpile relevant information along with
them. Do your research now while the information is available. Create a hard
file (of actual paper) for every drug you have -its drug interactions,
recommended treatment for, and dosage recommendations.
A “Physician’s Desk
Reference” is not cheap, but can help you better understand what you might be
doing. If you’re part of a group of people preparing to be self-sufficient, at
least one person in your group should be seriously educating themselves as much
as possible. No amount of personal research can compare to legitimate medical
training, but it’s surely better than winging it on a sick child.
On The Flipside-
Not all human drugs
are safe for animals. Just one extra-strength Tylenol, for example, is enough
to kill a cat. NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) like ibuprofen or
naproxen are the most common cause of pet poisoning in small animals, and can
cause serious problems even in minimal doses. Pets are extremely sensitive to these
drugs and may cause stomach and intestinal ulcers and even kidney damage. Never
assume what’s safe for a child is safe for a small animal, that’s not how it
works. If you have animals, do the necessary research for their care as well.
“An apple (cider vinegar tonic) a day, keeps the doctor, and
his horse pills, away.”
One of my cats needed anti-biotics after he got an abcess. The vet gave me a little bottle of pink liquid that I had to keep in the fridge. It was bubble gum flavored amoxicillin, the exact same thing they give to kids. Heaven knows the cat did not appreciate the bubble gum flavor!
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