From:
Caitlyn Martin
Date: 2004-05-05 01:19:23 UTC
Subject: Pretreatment regimen priot to vaccination after an anaphylactic reaction (was: RE: reactions to two shots)
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <20003078.1083725818984.JavaMail.nobody@magnesium.smartgroups.com>
Hi, Roger, and everyone else,
Since this is a response to a two month old discussion
let me summarize:
Nyssa is a healthy, happy six year old spayed female
ferret. When she was two she had an anaphylactic
reaction (shock, collapse) to her rabies shot. In the
three subsequent years our vet has pretreated her with
a dexamethasone injection for three days prior to the
vaccination and with dexamethasone and benadryl about
an hour before giving her rabies shot. Aside from
being a bit sleepy she's had no adverse reactions
since our vet began this regimen. We're about to do
this for the fourth time in a few weeks.
--- Roger Vaughn <rvaughn@pobox.com> wrote:
>
> Given that you're doing it only for Nyssa who had
> the severe reaction, it's well worth the
> inconvenience. I just can't imagine doing it as a
> routine pretreatment, which is kind of what I was
> thinking.
It's not routine. Our vet does this only for ferrets
who have had a severe anaphylactic reaction to allow
them to be vaccinated. Nyssa is living proof that the
regimen works. In some counties in our area a rabies
shot is a legal requirement. In others it can mean
the difference between quarantine and death for a
ferret who, rightly or wrongly, is accused of biting.
>
> Take your time on asking your vet about it.
I remembered to do it when we were scheduling Nyssa's
four upcoming appointments :)
> Now that I realize it is EACH OF three days, it
makes
> a lot more sense anyway. I'm willing to
> bet that the three day treatment gives a stronger
> immune-suppressive response than the normal single
> dose,
That's pretty much what our vet said. The half life
of dexamethasone is less than three days as you
pointed out in a previous post. What our vet is
aiming for is to desensitize the immune system prior
to the vaccination. He says he has no scientific
evidence as to why three days prior plus the day of
vaccination works best but he's tried other regimens
and this is the one he's had the best success with.
He's been treating ferrets for something like 34 years
so he does have a wealth of experience to draw on.
Anyway, I finally got an answer for you :)
All the best,
Caity and the super six