healTh FocuS
26 http://www.facebook.com/TellTailMagazine Tell Tail^ n^ Aug 2017 - Oct 2017
O
ne day we got an
emergency call for a
dog. He was unable to
walk and had seizures
every few hours. A clinical
examination showed blindness and
absence of the vital visual reflexes
in both the dog’s eyes. While
understanding the history, the owner
confessed that she had self-treated
the dog with Ivermectin, a drug
commonly used to treat mange.
She mentioned that a veterinarian
had prescribed this drug for a
similar skin condition a few yearsago. The owner self diagnosed the
skin problem
as mange and
attempted
to imitate
the previous
treatment.
The dog was
diagnosed with
Ivermectin toxicity.
This was only
because self-
treating may have seemed to be a
more convenient option rather than
making the effort to take the dog toa veterinary clinic.
Our pets rely on us to take care
of them and to make the correct
choices for their health. In the
process of relieving the animals off
their suffering, many pet parents and
animal lovers opt to self medicate
their pets/homeless animals with
human medicine in order to avoid
paying vet bills, or simply because
they believed that their pet’s health
problems weren’t serious enough to
visit the veterinarian.
Correct dosage will decide
whether a drug is a remedy or aSelf-medicating your pet: doing
more HARM than GOOD?
Dr Shambhavi
SabnisPhoto: Vijet Kurtkoti, Model Moti