Advice straight from a vet.
WHAT TO DO IF YOU PET HAS BEEN POISIONED.
I try not to get involved in message boards especially the
www.ambergriscaye.com site. I find they are a lot of gossip with very little accurate information.
Now I am hearing third hand that there has been quite a discussion on a message board on what to do if your dog is poisoned. Naturally the participants never thought of approaching a vet.
My initial response was this: Why has no one emailed me or called me and asked me this question if it is so important to them? Why has no one from a newspaper come to ask me these questions and publish an article? I have made myself more than available. I have my cell phone number published and have made myself available 24 hours a day for questions and assistance for people with pets all over Belize.
That said, here is some information for concerned pet owners:
Symptoms of poisons in our pets:
vomiting
diarrhea
bleeding from nose or mouth, blood in urine, diarrhea or vomit
stumbling, falling
changes in mentation - lack of responsiveness, confusion, panic
tremors, seizures, muscle twitching or spasms
elevated body temperature
low body temperature
salivation
listlessness
If your pet shows these signs they may have ingested a toxin. Or they may have an infectious disease or some other illness. Only a veterinarian will be able to make an educated assessment of what has happened.
Toxin ingestions that I have seen or suspected in the last two years I have been in Belize:
organophosphate insecticide
strychnine
rodenticide ("rat bait")
toad
unknown (this is most of them)
The first thing you should do if you think your pet was poisoned and he is showing any of these symptoms is get him to a veterinarian as soon as possible. If you cannot reach a veterinarian you should do the following:
1) take your pet's temperature rectally. If it is 105 or higher you should immediately cool him down with cool water. Once the temperature reaches 103 you should stop. Continuing can result in an excessive drop in body temperature and hypothermia. Never use ice cubes. If your pet's tempurature is less than 99 degrees he is in shock. At this point the body is shutting down and only emergency treatments for shock by a veterinarian has the possibility of saving him.
2) If your pet has not vomited you may induce vomiting by giving hydrogen peroxide. Several tablespoons by mouth will often do the trick. If you induce vomiting when your pet is seizuring or neurologically affected in any way he could choke on the vomit and die, so only induce vomiting if your pet is awake and alert and has a swallow reflex.
3) Give activated charcoal by mouth. This is not the same as the charcoal we cook with. It will bind the toxins that remain in the GI tract. Again, you should not do this if your pet is showing any neurologic signs.
4) The "Antidote" - People on the message board want the "Antidote" information. The "antidote" to organophosphate insecticide toxicity is called atropine. The dose is 0.02-2 mg/kg, depending on symptoms and the amount ingested. It is given SQ, IM, or IV. However, a word of warning: Atropine will not cure your dog. Just ask Michelle and George. Their dog Audrey was poisoned last year and they went to Belize City for treatment because I had not arrived back from Costa Rica yet. She received atropine and was discharged. She later seized on the plane back to San Pedro. She arrived at my hospital limp and blue and struggling to breathe. Miraculously we were able to save her with Oxygen, IV fluids for shock, and pentobarbitol (an IV anesthetic used for seizures).
I understand that people in San Pedro are very self-sufficient, but one thing that must be understood is that TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE. A dog who is seizuring and has a temp of 105 may survive. If you mess around at home trying to save him for 30 minutes his temp may rise to the point that he may not be saved. He may suffer from hypoxia as the seizures deprive his brain of oxygen, or any one of many other deadly possibilities may develop.
It is foolish to do anything other than drive directly to the vet if one is available.
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