General Pet is your source for advice and information for a happy and healthy pet.
Author: Jacob Moon Canine use of Benadryl
(for veterinary information only)
BRAND NAME: BENADRYL
AVAILABLE IN
25 mg & 50 mg
CAPSULES
(Oral suspension is too high in alcohol content to be used for animals)
BACKGROUND
Histamine is an inflammatory biochemical that causes skin redness, swelling, pain, increased heart rate, and blood pressure drop when it binds to one of many "H1" receptors throughout the body. Histamine is a very important mediator of allergy in humans; hence a spectacular array of different antihistamines has proliferated. Histamine, perhaps unfortunately, is not as important a mediator of inflammation in pets which means results of antihistamine therapy are not as reliable in pets.
HOW THIS MEDICATION IS USED
Diphenhydramine has several important effects and thus several uses. Most obviously, diphenhydramine is an antihistamine and it is used for acute inflammatory and allergic conditions such as:
Snake Bites
Vaccination reactions
Blood transfusion reactions
Bee stings and insect bites
Diphenhydramine is frequently included in antihistamine trials for allergic skin disease. It is not one of the more effective antihistamines in this regard but its availability and inexpensiveness make it worth trying in many cases.
Mast cell tumors are tumors involving cells which contain granules of histamine. Patients with mast cell tumors experience chronic inflammatory symptoms due to circulating histamine. Antihistamines such as diphenhydramine may be helpful given long term.
Diphenhydramine has a strong anti-nauseal side effect which makes it helpful in treating motion sickness.
Diphenhydramine causes drowsiness in animals just as it does in people and can be used as a mild tranquilizer.
SIDE EFFECTS
With so many possible uses of this medication, it is difficult to separate out a side effect from a primary effect. Drowsiness is generally regarded as an undesirable side effect.
At doses higher than the recommended dose, human patients complain of dry mouth and experience difficulty with urination.
INTERACTIONS WITH OTHER MEDICATIONS
In the treatment of allergic skin disease, antihistamines are felt to synergize with omega 3 fatty acid supplements and, as a general rule for this condition, it is best to use these medications together.
Diphenhydramine should not be used with additional tranquilizing medications.
In animals that experience a hyperactivity reaction while taking Metoclopramide (Reglan), this effect can be reversed with a dose of Diphenhydramine.
CONCERNS AND CAUTIONS
It is important to realize that the name "Benadryl" is a brand name. It is easy to try to save money and try to buy over-the-counter diphenhydramine and end up with an inappropriate product. To emphasize this point, we show such a product below. It seems like it would contain diphenhydramine but, in fact, it contains a combination of diphenhydramine and other medications, including a dose of acetaminophen which could be lethal to a pet.
The information above regarding the Canine use of Benadryl is for vetrinary use only.
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