Thursday, January 24, 2008

Hydrogen Peroxide and other stuff you should have on hand

Per Ann’s question, here is the deal on hydrogen peroxide. First make sure you use 3%!!

The appropriate dose of hydrogen peroxide is one teaspoon per 10 pounds of body weight. If you have an oral syringe, one teaspoon equals 5 cc or 5 ml. Once given, walk your dog around or gently shake the stomach area to mix the peroxide with the stomach contents. Vomiting should occur within 15 to 20 minutes. If no vomiting occurs, you can safely repeat the three percent hydrogen peroxide once. If it is still not effective, your dog may need to be seen by a veterinarian for stronger vomiting meds.

Once the hydrogen peroxide is given, it is important to watch your pet so that he does not re-ingest the substance. If there is concern about toxicity, collect and take a sample of the vomitus to your veterinarian.

I personally keep a small bottle on hand at all times! And I use a children’s ear irrigator (or whatever you call those bulbs you can get in the baby aisle at CVS) to administer it. Ike once ate some prescription medicine and scared the daylights out of me. I have his dosage written on my peroxide bottle (2 TSP) with permanent marker so that I do not need to scurry on the web should he eat something terrible.

Some other useful information (and again, I mark the dosage for my dog in permanent marker on the container or packaging):

Dogs can be given baby aspirin. The dosage is 5 or 10mg/lb. of body weight twice a day.

Dogs can be given Pepto Bismol if they have an upset stomach (again I use the ear irrigator) ½ TSP for every 10 pounds.

They can also be given Peptic AC – but you might want to ask your vet what the ratio would be for their weight. When I had Ike tested for allergies he had to go on an elimination diet. He started suffering from acid reflux because he was going too long between meals and snacks. He would wake me up in the middle of the night sounding like he was puking! Scary stuff.

I have a small bin that contains the above items, as well as a syringe, Pad Heal, vet wrap, and some other animal first aid items like styptic. Additional recommendations are welcome.....

If you haven’t already got such a bin in your home – I would recommend starting one! Then you can bring it on trips too.

5 comments:

Katrin said...

But here is a little warning- somethings you do NOT want to induce vomiting on becuase it can cause MORE damage coming back up! Chicken bones, glass, acidic substances, etc are all these. Please, please contact your VET 1st before giving it if you are unsure. Know your vets # AND a 24hr emergency clinic # or have them readily available at all times. If you are unsure about your nearest ER clinic, talk to your vet's office when they are open and in a non-emergency situation to see which one they recommend the most.

Jules said...

See, I knew I should have called you! But I was worried you wouldn't be up!

Katrin said...

Julie, I wake up around 6am. Sometimes Maribeth calls me on her way to work- at 5:30am (those times I'm rather groggily picking up the phone and saying "hello??") I may not be out of bed at then, but most times I'm vaguely, if not fully, awake.

Call when ever you need!

ann-and-partner said...

This is great! I'm going to email my sisters and give them this info too. This weekend I'll start my kit. Marking the weight is a very good idea. Thanks girls!!!

Jules said...

I forgot to add saline solution!

This is very good for flushing out a wound (Thanks Zeek, my $1K g-pig!).