Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as aspirin, ibuprofen and naproxen, work by inhibiting the activity of cyclooxygenase enzymes (the COX-1 and COX-2 isoenzymes). In cells, these enzymes are involved in the synthesis of key biological mediators, namely prostaglandins, which are involved in inflammation, and thromboxanes, which are involved in blood clotting.
Acetaminophen is a non-opioid analgesic and antipyretic agent used to treat fever, headaches and mild to moderate pain.
None of the OTC drugs mentioned in this chart should be taken on a daily basis over a prolonged period without consulting a physician.
I saw a post on my dash recently warning people to take their depression meds with food (since certain meds can put you at risk for stomach ulcers if you dont) and I just want to say: please read the phamphlets that come with your medications in full.
Some medications you're told to *not* take with food, some you should, and some you decide if you do or don't want to based on personal preference. Personally I hate taking meds on an empty stomach but 1 of my medications actually does specify that its more effective when taken without food.
Your doctor might either forget to warn you about a medicine interaction, or they may just not know. While doctors do know a lot about medicines they are not pharmacists. You should always read into the provided booklet to double check for warnings and interactions. For example, I didn't know that one of our medications recommends having a card or medical ID band to warn ER doctors about potential interactions. And I wouldn't have figured that out if we didn't read it!
If you're taking an over the counter medicine, the information could be on the box, or, certain bottles might have a "lift up to read" peel sticker that reveals more text under the bottom layer of the sticker. Heres what that label looks like on a bottle of excedrin migraine:
Generally the top layer of the label will have the most important info listed first, but Id reccomend reading the full thing anyway. In this case, the instructions to take (up to) 2 pills with a glass of water are on the bottom layer. Which is something you might miss if you didnt notice the "read more."
I'm confused about how safe aspirin is for dogs. I noticed that my local pet store was selling some canine aspirin but I was under the impression that NSAIDs aren't safe for dogs. Is the aspirin that pet stores sell actually safe to use or is a bad idea that they are even selling them in the first place? How dangerous is aspirin for dogs?
GV here.
There are some NSAIDs that are safe for dogs - just not OTC human NSAIDs, or even most prescription strength human NSAIDs. Can you use aspirin in a dog? Sure. But it won’t likely be helpful, you run the risk of destroying the dog’s liver, and you’re altering what drugs your vet can use when you bring the dog to them for actual treatment (we usually want to do a 3-5 day “washout period” between different NSAIDs to help prevent kidney/liver damage).
Both NSAIDs induced GI tract inflammation, but phenylbutazone might result in more severe inflammation in the lower GI tract.
TheHorse.com | 12 August, 2020
...
Richardson’s team compared the effects of firocoxib (a COX-2-selective NSAID) and phenylbutazone (a nonselective NSAID) on gastric ulceration in adult horses. They used fecal myeloperoxidase (MPO, a protein released during acute inflammation) as a marker of lower GI tract injury.
They randomly assigned 10 adult horses to one of each of the treatment groups (firocoxib administered at 0.1 mg/kg once a day or phenylbutazone administered at 4.4 mg/kg once a day) and five horses to a control group that received a placebo treatment. The team administered treatments for 10 days and collected fecal samples on Days 0, 10, and 20. They also scoped the horses for gastric ulcers on Days 0 and 10.
In looking at the results, horses in both treatment groups had significantly higher squamous gastric ulceration scores (in the upper region of the stomach) than the horses in the control group at Day 10. Similarly, both treatments resulted in significantly more ulcers in the glandular (bottom) portion of the stomach than in controls. However, said Richardson, on Day 10 horses receiving phenylbutazone had significantly more severe glandular ulcers than the horses given firocoxib.
She also noted that fecal MPO increased with both treatments but was only statistically significant in the horses given phenylbutazone. Because MPO is derived from neutrophils, the type of white blood cell involved in NSAID-induced intestinal injury in other species, these results suggest that GI disease caused by administration of NSAIDs is neutrophil-driven in the horse, said Richardson.
So while both phenylbutazone and firocoxib induced GI inflammation and injury, glandular ulcers were more severe and fecal MPO levels greater in the horses receiving phenylbutazone. These results suggest that firocoxib’s effects were less severe, said Richardson.
Please follow the link above for the full article which contains additional information on NSAIDs.
