First Aid Kit

[Renee750il]

LC212 reminded me of something in a post at one of Ali's photos. The vet clued me in on something very important to have on hand for your dog, particularly in the spring and summer months: Benadryl. Dogs are notorious for snapping at bees, wasps, hornets and any number of stinging insects that can cause a potentially life threatening reaction. My Bear got hold of a hornet and his nose and mouth started swelling. The vet told me to give him Benadryl. This is the important part: ONE MILLIGRAM PER POUND OF BODY WEIGHT. I started with half that dose, as I generally try not to overmedicate, and it worked quite well. He weighed just over 100 pounds, so I gave him (2) 25 mg capsules. The swelling went down quickly and the pain seemed to be alleviated as well.

DO NOT, I REPEAT, DO NOT GIVE BENADRYL TO YOUR CAT. It is only safe for dogs. Check with your vet the next time you talk to him or her as well and get the okay to give it to your dog if you should ever need to.

[Danielle]

What are some other essential items that you should have on-hand in an emergency kit for your dog?? It's always good to be prepared so I'm hoping someone could give me a useful list?!

[Debi]

I'd also appreciate a list. My vet is an hour away, so it would be good to have things on hand to treat as best you can prior to getting to the vet.

Benadryl is such a good thing to have on hand. THANKS!!!!

I suppose the usual things such as bandages, etc., but would you wash out a cut (exception would be a puncture wound) the same way you would for humans? Would you ever use anything such as peroxide?? or should you just not touch anything and get to the vet a.s.a.p.?

[Renee750il]

I'm sure that with all the experience and smarts on this forum we can compile the essential Canine First Aid Kit.

Benadryl - 1/2 to 1 mg per pound of body weight
Betadine
Neosporin Ointment
Hydrogen Peroxide (yup, Debi, wash out those cuts)
Sterile solution eyewash
Bandages
Bandage tape
appropriately sized splint (to immobilize a limb on the way to the vet)
Aloe Vera gel (burns)
Sterile gauze pads (to clean wounds, etc.)
Ice packs (in the freezer, lol)
Ascriptin or other enteric coated aspirin

There's a start. I should know what to use to induce vomiting, but I'm really not sure. We'll have to do some research on possible poisoning first aid . . .

[Renee750il]

Here, Gus! I knew there was a thread like this in here

[Gustav]

Thank you muchly!!

[Ash47]

Renee,
Recently my boss told me that you should never use Peroxide to wash out the cuts on anythings' skin. Be it human, dog, cat, monkey... The Peroxide has an adverse effect, and cleans out the wound so much, that it works against the white blood cells and kills them. We use a "miracle worker" at work called Nolvasan. I am not quite sure where you get it. Maybe you could google it. But you dilute it in water and put it in a squirt bottle. It thoroughly cleanses the wound and doesn't burn.
But, Peroxide is what you do use to induce vomiting. Had to use it on Roxy when she ate a Flinstones Vitamin. You give a 1/4 teaspoon or 1/2 or whole teaspoon every 15 minutes until the vomiting occurs. The only restriction is do not do this when the dog has swallowed a poison such as Anti-freeze. That would be an instance to go to Emergency Clinic for them to pump the stomach.

Hope this all helps!! :-)

[bubbatd]

Renee.... your list is equal to mine....I also have pepto bismol tablets on hand , but have only had to use it on one dog. There was a hotspot lotion I always had, but since using flea stuff haven;t had on hand, It's so much safer to be ready !!!

[Renee750il]

The reason you use peroxide, especially on deep cuts or punctures, is because the "bubbling" of the peroxide helps to remove debris and even some bacteria that have been driven into the wound. If there's debris in the wound and it's not cleaned out you can end up with an infected wound that has to be lanced open, drained and cleaned out again - an expensive, painful proposition. A healthy body makes more white blood cells and sends them to the area where they're needed to fight infection, so eliminating some that have made their way to the wound opening just isn't that critical. Better to get a thorough cleansing first. If someone really doesn't want to use peroxide, you can get a syringe full of clean water and irrigate the area thoroughly, but you'll have to check carefully to make sure you've gotten any debris removed - which can be difficult with a squirming dog

[Renee750il]

Oh! I should add Phazyme (simethicone) capsules to that list - for gas.