How Much Penicillin to Give a Baby Pig
What is Penicillin?
Penicillin was the start naturally occurring antibody discovered against gram-positive and negative bacteria. Information technology was first discovered past a laboratory technician known as Alexandra Fleming in 1928.
This was an adventitious discovery as he had left cultured staphylococcus bacteria in an open petri dish. On returning from a 2-week vacation he found blue-green mound/fungi known every bit Penicillium notatum had contaminated the civilisation.
He noted a clear ring around the mould indicating lysis of the staphylococcus bacteria and had stopped growing. Since then a lot of piece of work has gone into improving penicillin and coming up with various antibiotics in the penicillin class for general public use.
Penicillin works past causing the bursting or lysis of bacteria cells. It breaks the bonds that link proteins called petidoglycans together. Petidiglycans are a form of meshwork that strengthens the prison cell wall that surrounds the plasma membranes of bacteria.
It besides helps maintain the construction and prevents foreign materials both fluids and particles enter the bacterial cell. During the reproduction of leaner, the cell wall forms holes that let the multiplication of cells.
Afterward cell partitioning, petidoglycans normally fill up in these holes and strengthen the cell walls of the newly formed bacterial cells. Penicillin works by breaking the bonds that link the petidoglycans together preventing the holes from closing.
This allows water which is of higher concentration than the fluid within the cells to rush in bursting the bacterial cells open leading to cell death. Penicillin is among the most widely used antibiotic worldwide both in human and veterinary medicine.
It has low allergic rates though its misuse can lead to resistance of bacteria to the drug. Penicillin can be given intravenously (penicillin Yard), oral (penicillin V), and intramuscular use (procaine penicillin and benzathine penicillin).
Can yous give a dog Penicillin?
Aye, penicillin is unremarkably given to dogs and is amongst the first line of antibiotics to be prescribed. Information technology's used to treat infections caused by a variety of gram-positive and gram-negative leaner i.east wide-spectrum antibiotics. Such bacteria include Streptococci, Staphylococci, Clostridium, Neisseria, and Listeria genera.
Penicillin in dogs is normally administered through injection and orally on rare occasions. Prescription of penicillin should be done after a thorough physical examination and laboratory tests having been conducted.
Laboratory samples may be nerveless e.g. blood, aspirates from abscesses, stool, cerebral spinal fluid, sputum, vaginal swabs, etc. for culture to identify the causative bacteria and to cheque if the isolated bacterium is susceptible to penicillin.
It is discouraged to give your dog human forms of penicillin as the dosage and concentration vary in dogs. It should, withal, be used under the guidance and prescription of a veterinarian with forms specifically formulated for veterinary use.
Penicillin is also prescribed after surgical operations to foreclose secondary bacterial infections. Penicillin can be given through deep intramuscular injection or intravenously.
Oral forms are either given in tablet or capsule class or through syrup on an empty stomach. When giving penicillin to your pet be sure to stop the prescribed dose to avert cases of bacterial resistance and to ensure the infection has cleared up.
Overdosing should also be avoided. It is also important to check if your dog is allergic to penicillin to avoid the event of an anaphylactic stupor.
What can Penicillin be used for with Dogs?
Penicillin in dogs is used to care for infections caused past gram-positive and gram-negative leaner susceptible to penicillin.
It is also prescribed postoperatively to prevent secondary bacterial infection. The Gram stain is used in laboratory tests to classify bacteria into two broad categories i.east. gram-positive and gram-negative.
The gram stain tests in which bacteria peptidoglycans will take upward the regal-colored gram stain even afterwards washing in the decolorization stage when observed under a microscope.
Gram-positive bacteria return a positive test to the gram stain by taking upwardly the imperial color.Gram-negative bacteria, on the other hand, take a sparse petidoglycan layer which is usually degraded past alcohol making it permeable during the decolorization stage.
This makes information technology not take up the regal crystal violet stain but alternatively retain the pink-red color of the counterstain (surfranin).
Common leaner susceptible to penicillin include:
- Clostridium: these are spore-forming, rod-shaped gram-positive bacteria unremarkably establish in soil and the intestinal tract in animals. These include:
- Clostridium botulinum– It causes a disease called botulism post-obit the ingestion of contaminated food and likewise found in wounds.
- Clostridium perfringens: This is a foodborne disease as a consequence of ingesting contaminated meat.
- Clostridium tetani: Causes tetanus.
- Streptococci: Isolated in the respiratory arrangement, urinary tract, peel, and the intestines. It includes:
- agalactiae – Causes mastitis
- anginosus – Found in abcess in the brain and liver
- pneumonia – Causes pneumonia
- Staphylococci: Gram-positive leaner isolated on the skin, intestines, and bone and muscle infections.
- aureus
- Neisseria – Gram-positive leaner. Neisseria meningitides causes meningitis.
- Listeria- Gram-positive bacteria that grow well in refrigerated temperatures. Listeria monocytogenes causes nutrient poisoning.
When to employ Penicillin on Dogs
Common weather treated with penicillin include:
- Bacterial pare infections: These are usually caused by staphylococcus and streptococcus bacteria affecting the top layers of the peel. Information technology is among the most common cases documented in veterinarian clinics. Information technology can occur together with flea or mite infestation and allergies. Signs of infection include:
- Reddening of the pare
- Loss of hair
- Itchiness
- pustules
- discharge
- Licking or bitter the area
- scabs
It is unremarkably found in Pitbulls, bulldogs, American Cocker Spaniel, French bulldogs etc.
Treatment is normally given at an outpatient basis and recovery occurs within a week or then.
- Respiratory infections: These infections are caused by streptococcus and staphylococcus bacteria. They affect the throat, nasal cavity, bronchi, and the trachea. It ordinarily affects dogs found in shelters, kennels, and crowded places. These infections are contagious and easily transmissible to other dogs.
Common signs of illness include;
- Coughing
- Sneezing
- Mild fever
- Sluggishness
- Off food
- Nasal and eye discharge
- Nasal congestion
- In serious cases, the dog may experience difficulty breathing
Handling should be instituted as shortly as possible to forbid worsening of the condition leading to serious complications such as death.
- Urinary tract infections: This is painful in dogs acquired by E.coli and staphylococcus bacteria. They travel up the urethral opening into the urethra from feces or a contaminated environment. Signs of infection include:
- Painful urination
- Blood in urine
- Licking the genital area
- Dribbling urine
- Frequent urination
- Gastrointestinal infections: These are usually caused by East.coli and staphylococcus bacteria. Occur every bit a result of the ingestion of contaminated food. Mutual signs of infection include:
- Diarrhea
- Vomiting
- Fever
- Going off food
- Lethargy
What are the side effects of Penicillin
Penicillin is a relatively prophylactic drug to use due to its long margin of safe. Side effects of penicillin are the body'southward immune reaction to the drug. Information technology may also exist the upshot of an allergic reaction.
Allergic reactions unremarkably cut across all classes of penicillin including amoxicillin, ampicillin, carbenicillin among others. Resistance to penicillin is as well a possible side effect of the drug.
Other cases occur equally a event of taking other medications meantime with penicillin or in the case of an overdose or misuse of the drug. Common side effects include:
- Diarrhea
- Injection site reaction e.g. redness, pain, swelling
- Nausea
- Black or hairy tongue
- Muscle pain
- Fever
- Seizures
- Twitching
- Facial swelling
- Loss of appetite
- Difficulty breathing
- Painful joints
- Flatulence
- Yeast infection due to disruption of the residuum of normal flora in the body. Penicillin VK alters the abdominal flora in the gut leading to the proliferation of Clostridium difficile causing inflammation of the colon.
- Vomiting
- Itchiness
- Rash on the ventral aspect of the body
Intravenous penicillin can besides cause serious side effects in dogs such every bit:
- tremors
- seizures
- blindness
- vocalization
- agitation
- cardiac arrest
- transient loss of vision
At loftier doses, information technology may atomic number 82 to:
- Metabolic acidosis
- Decrease or increase in blood calcium levels
- Increase in nitrogen blood levels
Drug to drug reactions can also occur when penicillin is administered concurrently with other drugs. These drugs affect the absorption, metabolism, distribution, and excretion.
Other drugs touch on the concentration of the drug at the site of action. Drugs that should not be taken together with penicillin include:
- aspirin,
- phenylbutazone,
- sulfonamides,
- indomethacin,
- furosemide
- Erythromycin
- warfarin
- Chloromphenical
- Tetracyclines i.eastward. doxycycline, oxytetracyclines
Misuse of penicillin can lead to resistance of leaner to the drug. This causes such bacteria to survive and reproduce in the presence of antibiotics. This deems infections caused by drug-resistant leaner hard to treat.
Such leaner adapt quickly and mutate to survive the effects of antibiotics. This can be through:
- Penicillinase: This is an enzyme produced by bacteria that enable them to breakdown penicillin. This can be spread during cell division of leaner (conjugation) through their Dna, therefore, reproducing more drug-resistant bacteria.
- Susceptible bacteria can also alter the structure of their cell wall such that penicillin does not demark to the petidoglycan therefore not causing lysis of the microorganisms. This is usually through mutation of their DNA in an endeavor to conform, survive, and propagate other bacteria.
- Other forms of drug-resistant leaner incorporate pumps inside their cells that enable them to export penicillin's out of the cell preventing cell decease.
One of the most common drug-resistant bacteria is methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) which is resistant to benzylpenicillin.
Antibiotic resistance can exist prevented by:
- Completing the unabridged dose of your prescription even when the dog is dorsum to his or her normal cocky.
- Fugitive misuse, overuse, or taking antibiotics unnecessarily e.thousand. using antibiotics to care for viral infections or on infections whose causative leaner is not susceptible or sensitive to penicillin. Before the prescription of whatever antibiotics, laboratory tests should be carried out to ensure that the causative bacterium is sensitive to the prescribed antibiotics.
- Practicing good hygiene practices such s disinfection to forestall manual of drug-resistant bacteria.
Penicillin'south should be taken with care in significant and lactating bitches as they may affect the growing fetuses and puppies respectively.
How much Penicillin to requite a dog?
Penicillin is commonly known as penicillin G, Pen G, or procaine penicillin. It is usually administered as an injectable (through the muscle or vein), oral tablet, or in liquid form as a syrup.
Oral formulations are rarely prescribed and should be given on an empty tummy as nutrient prevents the absorption of the drug through the gut. Syrups are usually formulated by mixing the penicillin powder with water.
Information technology should thereafter be refrigerated and disposed of after 14 days. Oral tablets, on the other hand, should be kept abroad from vivid light. Dosage for penicillin is given according to the weight of the dog.
Amoxicillin should be given at a dosage rate of 5mg per pound every 12 hours, ampicillin at a rate of 10mg per lb every 12 hours, penicillin Grand of 150 000 units at a rate of i cc per 20 lbs every 48 hrs subcutaneously, and procaine penicillin 300 000 units at a charge per unit of 1ml per 30 lbs subcutaneously.
Penicillin should be used nether the guidance of a licensed veterinarian after a thorough concrete examination and laboratory tests. This helps proper prescription preventing an overdose or misuse which may atomic number 82 to adverse side effects and drug resistance.
He will also guide on whether to give dispensed oral tablets either before or afterward meals or without food to prevent malabsorption of the drug. In the case of a missed dose, the guardian should be keen to give the next dose.
When is it not safe to utilize Penicillin?
Penicillin though a safe drug due to its wide margin of safety tin be contraindicated in sure situations. This includes:
- If the dog is allergic to all classes of penicillin such every bit amoxicillin (Amoxil), ampicillin (Omnipen, Principen), carbenicillin (Geocillin), dicloxacillin (Dycill, Dynapen), or oxacillin (Bactocill). This also includes allergic reactions to cephalosporins.
- Dogs with kidney and liver diseases should be given culling medication or given under the careful guidance of a veterinary every bit such conditions can interfere with metabolism (liver) and excretion (kidney) of penicillin'south. This too includes dogs with bleeding and blood clotting disorders every bit this can worsen the condition. Long term use of penicillin's oft leads to bleeding disorders as it slows downwards clotting time by causing a decrease in the production of claret platelets by causing os marrow low. Information technology is besides contraindicated in dogs with asthma or one with a compromised respiratory system.
- Penicillin's are also contraindicated in dogs under hormonal treatment equally prevents the assimilation of the hormones in the torso.
- Penicillin's should not exist administered in lactating bitches. Penicillin is commonly passed in milk which may affect the puppies leading to toxicity.
- Penicillin'south should be given at the correct dose every bit an overdose can atomic number 82 to an imbalance of normal flora in the gut leading to yeast infection.
- Penicillin One thousand should not be administered intravenously, subcutaneously, or intraperitoneally. This leads to expiry.
- Penicillin'due south should not be indicated for the treatment of viral infections or to bacterial infections of which the causative amanuensis is not susceptible to penicillin. This may lead to drug resistance.
- Human prescription of penicillin should as well not exist administered to dogs as information technology may lead to an overdose or adverse side effects.
- Concurrent use of penicillin'south with aspirin, warfarin, etc. is contraindicated.
Natural Antibiotic Alternatives for Dogs
Commercially produced antibiotics are all derived from nature. Some of the natural alternatives to antibiotics include:
- Dearest: Information technology contains hydrogen peroxide which is a potent clarified equally information technology hydrolyzes leaner. It also forms a protective layer on wounds which helps to maintain a moist environs that fastens wound healing. It also inhibits the growth of over 60 types of bacteria.
- Oregano oil. This contains strong anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial backdrop that assistance to kill bacteria. It is usually given orally, topically, and can be diffused. It should exist diluted or given together with coconut oil.
- Colloidal argent: This is a break that has long been used to combat bacterial infections. It fights fungal, viral, and bacterial infection by penetrating the cells and killing pathogens. Information technology also boosts amnesty to fight viral infections and repairs tissue damage in both wounds and burns.
- Plantain: Information technology contains both antibacterial and anti-inflammatory backdrop. Allantoin constitute in plantain helps in wound healing and stimulates the growth of new tissue cells. Plantain also helps to save inflammation, especially in insect and snake bites.
- Tumeric is usually mixed together with manuka honey. They both contain strong antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. It stimulates wound healing and treats peel infections. It is likewise a potent antioxidant and also helps to salvage gastrointestinal problems when taken orally.
- Calendula (Calendula officinalis): Has antibacterial and antifungal properties. It helps to boost immunity besides every bit stimulate the liver. It has also been plant to be benign in wound healing, and an constructive disinfectant.
- Herbs such as garlic, ginger, and rosemary also contain powerful antibacterial properties.
- Essential oils such as lavender, sweet marjoram, etc. can be used topically to treat wounds and skin infections as they accept antibacterial properties.
Conclusion
Penicillin is amongst the most normally used antibiotics in small-scale animals. It works by interfering with the construction of the bacterial jail cell wall by breaking the bonds that link the petidoglycans together.
This allows an influx of water of loftier concentration into the cell leading to cell lysis. Penicillin's are wide-spectrum antibiotics that human action against both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria such as staphylococcus, streptococcus, Listeria, clostridium, and Neisseria.
These bacteria cause pare infections, gastrointestinal infection, meningitis respiratory infection, urinary tract infections among others.
Before treatment, a licensed veterinarian should carry out thorough concrete exam and laboratory tests to confirm if the causative bacterium is sensitive to penicillin. This helps to avert misuse or overuse of the drug which can lead to drug resistance.
It as well allows the veterinary to dispense the correct dosage depending on the weight of the dog. The pet owner should ensure to follow through with the medication until the last dose.
Penicillin is contraindicated in dogs that are allergic to any class of penicillin. They should too be avoided in nursing bitches, those on hormonal treatment, dogs with haemorrhage disorders, kidney and liver failure/ infection as it interferes with its excretion and metabolism.
References
- Medical News Today. How do penicillins piece of work? https://world wide web.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/216798.php
- Penicillin. https://www.petmd.com/pet-medication/penicillin
- Can Dogs and Cats be Allergic to Penicillin? https://www.canidae.com/blog/2015/02/tin-dogs-and-cats-be-allergic-to-penicillin/
- Natural Canine Antibiotics. https://www.natural-domestic dog-health-remedies.com/canine-antibiotics.html
Source: https://petstruggles.com/can-dogs-take-penicillin/