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It is very distressing to see your pet in any sort of pain. There are times when the medications prescribed to your pet come with a lot of problems: sometimes your pet refuses to take it, other times it isn’t available in the market, or the method of administration simply doesn’t work for you. If any of these scenarios are true for you, there is a better solution: Compounded Pet Meds.
For those of you who haven’t heard the term before, let me try to explain it to you in the simplest way possible. Compounding is the practice of mixing, combining, and altering the dosage/ingredients of a drug to make it more effective. In this article, we will help you learn about compounding pet medication, different types of compounded meds, and the benefits. Without further ado, let’s get started:
How Does Compounding Pet Medication Work?
Compounded pet medications can treat a bunch of symptoms: allergies, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, eye irritation, ticks, fleas, seizures, intestinal disorders, urinary incontinence, and more. Compounding pharmacists can help tailor the medication to suit the unique needs of your pets. It can be done in a number of ways. From increasing/decreasing doses on prescribed formulations to forming a discontinued med, changing the administration method, and/or adding flavor to the nasty-tasting meds, compounded pharmacists can do it all.
One of the major problems with animal meds is the taste. The compounded pharmacist can add different flavors as per your pet’s pallet. For instance, a tuna flavor for cats, chicken flavor for dogs, sweet flavoring for birds, and more. There are instances when your pet simply refuses to take medicine via mouth despite the altered flavor. In that case, the mode of delivery can be changed to ensure optimal health. medication suited for transdermal delivery.
Different Types of Compounded Pet Medications
Let’s discuss different types of compounded pet medications (they are the most popular ones, not all of them):
Chewable Pet Treats
Medication doesn’t have to be nasty. Believe it or not, compounded medication can be served in the form of tasty meat if that is something your pet enjoys. Any kind of flavor can be added to the chewable pet treats that your pets love.
Customized Strength Medications
Sometimes, the commercial meds can be very strong or not strong enough. If that is the case, your compounded pharmacist can work with your veterinarian to adjust the strength of medicine to fit your pets’ unique needs.
Sugar-Free Medication
If your pet is diabetic, most of the meds won’t suit them as they are loaded with sugar. Compounding pharmacists can offer a sugar-free version for your diabetic pet. This will ensure that they get the right drugs without risking the increase in sugar levels.
Transdermal PLO Gels
Your pets don’t always have to take medication orally. The medicine can be transformed into transdermal PLO gels. The administration is way easier. All you have to do is rub the gel into the pet’s skin which directly gets absorbed into the bloodstream.
How Do You Compound Pet Medicine?
Well, you need to be your pet’s advocate when it comes to compounding medication. Believe it or not, compounding medication will save you a lot of time and money on meds that aren’t as effective or your pet refuses to take. Compounding of medication is mainly done with basic ingredients that are commonly found in your pet’s food and supplements. Your pet’s safety is kept in mind with medication formulation. Let us illustrate with an example:
- Combining two drugs into one
- Converting an oral med to a cream or a gel that can be absorbed into the skin through a bloodstream
- Creating an ear drop by combining two or more solutions
- Adding an interesting flavor to meds
Types of Medication That Can Be Compounded for Animal Use
Sometimes, an animal can be prescribed the same medication that is used for human beings. Similarly, your pet might be prescribed to take antibiotics to get rid of the infection and given a pain killer to tackle the pain. It is very hard to remember all the different forms of meds and their timings. Moreover, your pet can get quite cranky while taking medication multiple times. Luckily, multiple medications can be compounded to create a single customized pill/gel/injection which makes the administration much easier.
Moreover, an effective ingredient can be added to the originally prescribed meds to enhance their efficacy. For instance, a milk thistle extract can be added to conventional anti-inflammatory meds for life protection. This prevents an additional step of giving milk thistle extract to your pets separately.
Common conditions that can be treated with compounded meds include but aren’t limited to hormonal imbalances, pain management issues (pain medication), skin issues, gastrointestinal problems, heart disease ·, and more.
Benefits of Compounding Pet Medications
Compounding medications for a pet are a great option for getting your pet on an individualized treatment plan that comes with custom dosing schedules. The number of prescriptions on the rise is alarming which has led to a higher risk of drug interactions and side effects. With compounding, you can get a customized treatment plan which maximizes the benefit and reduces the side effects. The top benefits include but aren’t limited to:
- A compounded pharmacist can alter dosing schedules into smaller quantities that result in better absorption.
- A compounding pharmacist can make the medication more palatable by adding the desired flavoring as per your pet’s taste. This is a blessing if your pet is a picky eater,
- Compounding pharmacist will also offer a nutritionally complete and balanced prescribed diet for your pet to ensure optimal health
- Offering alternatives to traditional meds with better active ingredients, minus any harmful ingredients, will enhance the efficacy and minimize any side effects.
- Smaller meditation quantities can prevent toxicity and drug interactions. This is something your compounded pharmacist can help you with.
- Sometimes, you can actually save money on your pet’s medication by opting for compounding.
We hope you found this information informative and helpful! If you have any questions regarding pet medications, leave them down in the comments section below.
