From:
mjanke@miamiferret.org
Date: 2005-02-19 22:04:28 UTC
Subject: RE: Flagyl and Baytril-my fert needs HELP!
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <6162667.1108850668917.JavaMail.root@thallium.smartgroups.com>
Author wrote:
> For example Cloramphenicol has special precautions since that can cause aplastic anemia in some people, so not only should it not be tasted but it shouldn't even be touched. We had to wear gloves to give it and it was prescribed only as a last resort.
I've done a bit of research on chloramphenicol, having used it before with my ferrets, and found plenty of references to support the possible problems with it. One says...
"Chloramphenicol therapy should be restricted to serious infections when other drugs are not as effective or are more toxic, because it RARELY causes the potentially lethal complication of aplastic anemia."
One study said 1 in 76,000 people developed aplastic anemia.
These were in cases where the drug was prescribed in amounts that would normally be given to humans over a course of time, not a simple taste of less than a drop or touching a pill.
I've given (and tasted) Cloramphenicol that I've given my ferrets. I never wore gloves or took any other special precautions nor have I ever been advised to do so by my vet.
That doesn't necessarily make my vets right or me smart, and perhaps I've just been lucky, but I believe the very tiny amount of exposure one gets by a simple taste causing a problem is... well, you'd probably have a better shot at winning the lotto unless you're the one in a million that would be affected by a few thousandths of a milligram of the drug.
Still, caution is always a good idea.