PSA prompted by a conversation with a coworker yesterday who was causing his dog a great deal of discomfort and harm by applying peroxide 2xd to open sores caused by suspected mange: PLEASE do not use hydrogen peroxide to clean your pet's wounds! While once used regularly for wound care because it will indeed kill bacteria, we now know that peroxide is a powerful oxidizer and also kills healthy cells, which can cause pain, worsening inflammation, and delayed wound healing. Minor cuts and abrasions on pets can be flushed with saline and monitored at home, and there are some over-the-counter antimicrobial rinses/sprays that may be appropriate, but injuries that are infected and wounds or sores that are not improving with home care will require veterinary intervention. Skin irritation caused by ectoparasites also requires treatment of said parasites in order to heal. Delaying veterinary attention will often result in more costly care and worse outcomes, so it is better to address wounds and parasitism promptly before complications arise.
Since someone mentioned how me documenting Ziggy's injury and care process could help people know emergency procedures for bird injuries, I thought I would take a moment to direct you all to @flock-talk's wonderful Parrot First Aid Pamphlet, which includes easy steps and illustrations for stabilizing an injured bird. You can print it out and make it into a booklet that you can keep on hand in case of emergency!
mildly off brand post for me but last night i learned that the american red cross offers an online training course on first aid/CPR techniques for cats and dogs for $25 USD. it’s COMPLETELY self contained to an online module, takes 1-2 hours depending on your reading speed, and will give you a two-year pet first aid certification.
it can be really scary when your pets are sick or injured, and for me personally, taking this class made me feel more secure and confident that i’ll know what to do in the event of a pet emergency! it teaches how to easily check your pet’s vital signs, how to administer cpr on cats and all different sizes of dogs, how to perform a canine/feline Heimlich maneuver, and how to administer basic first aid to several different types of injuries.
i’m not sponsored or anything but we all love our pets and i had NO idea this resource existed until last night so i wanted to share!!! 👍🏻
@irrellenphant said to @ask-drferox: Hello hello! I'm wondering about what every pet owner should have in their first aid kits. I have the typical vet wrap/styptic powder/hemostat/blunt scissors and gauze, but I'm wondering if I should have anything more specific, especially as I live a good 45 minutes+ from the emergency vet (and I'm assuming I only will need the kit when I can't get to my regular vet). I am a parrot and dog owner, but I suppose this could be a good post starting point for all critters!
A ‘first aid kit’ is a basic kit used to provide immediate relief until veterinary/medical treatment is available, to either preserve life or prevent worsening of the condition/injury. Most people live close enough to a vet clinic to just contact them, but some will try to use first aid over a Sunday night or public holiday to try to avoid expensive after hours services.
It’s not, as some people seem to think, a play-vet-at-home kit that should have antibiotics and all sorts of medication in it. A first aid kit really is the bare basics, not a mobile vet kit. The sort of things I’d carry with me are different to what I might expect people to have in their kits at home. That said, if you’re organizing yourself a pet first aid kit, there are some things you should always have that can be used for most terrestrial species.
Bandages: Self adhesive (co-plus, vet wrap), Adhesive (eg leukoplast), conforming gauze, padding (cotton, softban, combine or some other soft cotton based padding), and a sterile non-sticky dressing (eg melolin)
Scissors, for cutting bandages
An Elizabethan collar (cone) to prevent licking/chewing/plucking and something to tie it on
Tweezers or haemostats for removing grass seeds/splinters
Small battery powered fur clippers
Sterile KY lubricant (water based, safe to pack into most open wounds)
Saline for rinsing
Iodine liquid(dilute to clean and rinse wounds) or ointment (for topical application)
A blanket or towel or similar you could wrap the entire pet in if required (injured ferret? Burrito it and bring it in)
A muzzle (dogs in pain, you can’t blame them)
A slip lead (in case it’s not your dog, or the collar is gone, etc)
Gauze swabs for cleaning
Gloves for you
Tick remover, if you’re in that area
Thermometer, you can use digital human ones rectally or a human ear thermometer in a dog or cat.
A hard bar of soap for stopping bleeding nails, or an equivalent stypic powder
The USA seems to have this obsession with neomycin powder for some reason? I wouldn’t bother with such topical antibiotics for wounds, first aid is only to get the pet through a day or so, I’d rather you just use dilute iodine or manuka honey.
You don’t need a splint if you just apply a lot of padding to the bandage, at least for the first day. And first aid is only supposed to get you through a short period of time.
Some will say stock hydrogen peroxide, and as many of you know I am not a fan of using this to induce vomiting, I much prefer lectric soda but it has its risks as well and you should not attempt to induce vomiting without direct veterinary instruction to do so.
I tend not to have medications and prescriptions in a first aid kit, unless your vet has specifically advised you to keep something on hand, like anti-histamines, cortisone, nsaids, etc. Diabetics might benefit from having a jar of glucose in there, for example. Noise phobic dogs might benefit from having valium or other short term medication on hand. A first aid kit isn’t really a place for medication, unless under specific advice of the vet. I can’t express just how infuriating it is to be presented with a patient that the owner had given aspirin or paracetamol to the day before, because I have to wait days before I can safely give them something more effective, and patacetamol (acitominophen) typically kills cats.
Some first aid kits will come with surgical skin staplers, but this is usually aimed at bush dogs that are potentially getting torn open hunting. It’s not really something most pets would need, unless you’re absolutely in the middle of nowhere.
And of course, a list of the pet’s current medications and emergency vet contact numbers is a must. Because if you’re in doubt, call your vet.
