Caring For Your Pet With Transdermal Medicine

Do you have a pet that is resistant to taking medication? It can be difficult to administer pills to many pets, as it requires getting your pet to open its mouth and accept the pill. If you don't want to fight your pet in order to get it to take its medication, you might want to consider talking to your veterinarian about transdermal delivery of the medication.

What is Transdermal Delivery?

Transdermal delivery of medication involves giving the medication to your pet through its skin. This is not the same as administering the medication through injection by a needle. Rather, the drug is simply placed directly on your pet's skin with the help of a patch or, in some cases, the medication may be in gel form and can be rubbed into your pet's skin. After the medication is on your pet's skin, it is then absorbed into its blood stream.

Why Use Transdermal Delivery?

The most common reason to use transdermal delivery is to give medication to a pet that is resistant to taking medication in other ways. In some cases, however, transdermal medication is the only option. For example, a pet that is very ill and is unable to take the medication orally may benefit from transdermal medication.

What Kind of Medication is Available?

There are many medications that are available for transdermal delivery. These include:

• Fentanyl
• Insulin
• Ketoprofen
• Methimazole
• Metoclopramide
• Phenobarbital
• Thyroid Supplements

There are many other drugs that are available in this form. So, if your pet needs to take medication and you think this is the best method for delivery to your pet, be certain to discuss it with your vet.

What are the Drawbacks to Transdermal Delivery?

While transdermal medication is a good option for some pets, there are some drawbacks to this form of medicine delivery. One of the drawbacks is the fact that little research has been conducted on using this method with pets. Although it has been successfully used for quite some time with humans, there is no certainty that it is actually making through the skin of pets or if it is benefiting the pet in any way. Dogs, for example, have relatively thick skin. Therefore, the absorption of the medication is unpredictable and the rate of absorption is uncertain.

Another disadvantage to this method is the fact that some medications cannot be made into transdermal formulations. This may be because the dose is too high or simply because the drug is too potent or too risky to be applied in that manner. In addition, some medications simply do not work well when administered in this manner. Antibiotics, for example, are not effective when administered in low, steady doses. In fact, this increases the risk of the bacteria becoming resistant to the medication and making matters worse.

It is also possible for some pets to experience an allergic reaction to transdermal medications. Since the base commonly used for these medications is soy lecithin, it is possible for pets with soy allergies to experience problems with this medication. Furthermore, the fact that pets regularly groom themselves with their tongues makes it possible that they will ingest the medication when it is applied in this manner.

CS Swarens is the president of Find a Pet Online. 800 998-7065

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