From:
dr_bruce_williams
Date: 2002-01-22 21:58:00 UTC
Subject: Re: Be careful when using ointments
--- In Ferret-Health-list@y..., Moxie <moxieent@t...> wrote:
> I read in our club newsletter that bacitracin ointment is poisonous
to
> ferrets. There was one case where a ferret licked it off and died.
> Always be sure to check with your vet before applying a substance
to
> your ferret.
> Moxie and Chance
Dea Moxie: I am hopeful that htis message finds chance feeling
better.
I am unfamiliar with bacitracin toxicity in the ferret. Oral dosing
of rats with bacitracin may lead to life-threatening bacterial
overgrowth in the intestine, and it may cause contact dermatitis in
humans, but I have not previosuly seen any documented cases of
toxicosis in ferrets.
Neomycin, which is used with bacitracin and polymyxin in the ointment
Neosporin, may cause hearing damage or even renal diseas if ingested
in large qualitites.
Any more information which you could shed on this case would be
enlightening....
With kindest regards,
Bruce Williams, dVM