Can Humans safely use Vetinary Pharmaceuticals?

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I have heard that vetinary pharmaceuticals are suitable for human use. Several years ago I observed injections of penicillin(sp) being give to sheep where one of the sheep-herders also received an injection because he was complaining of some sort of illness.

I have seen a list of 13 vet pharmaaceuticals from Amoxicillin 250 mg, 100 caps at $5.95 to Tetracycline 250 mg, 1000 caps at $21.75. I understand that there is really no difference in purity, just a difference in price since there is less regulation.

I would like an opinion from a knowledgeable person.

Regards, Miles

-- Miles R. Walbrecht (walbrech@erols.com), September 30, 1998

Answers

Somewhere lurking here we have a MsPharm, I think, who will probably be more than happy to catch me if I'm wrong but......

Vet meds are just as potent, and pure as human meds. HOWEVER, before you think about using them, you should consider the following:

DO YOU KNOW WHY YOU NEED THIS PARTICULAR MED?

DO YOU KNOW HOW IT SHOULD BE USED?

DO YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU ARE WRONG?

DO YOU KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A SERIOUS VIRAL URI AND PNEUMONIA/BRONCHITIS??

OR A VIRAL URI AND A BACTERIAL URI??

ARE YOU GOING TO USE ANTIBIOTICS ON COLDS (VIRUSES)??

OOPS. . . SORRY. . . URI = Upper Respiratory Infection

to be truly useful, you need to have a MD, DO, or PA/SA, or NP around to help with the decisions on which meds and when, then you need to have the Vet or the Vet Meds. (and probably a scrip from the Vet!!).

CR (EMT-P Street and clinical)

-- Chuck a Night Driver (rienzoo@en.com), October 01, 1998.


Seems like the doses would need very careful checking: vet's would have to be able to treat everything from a 10 lb cat (smaller than most infants) to a 2000 lb horse (bigger than most people). So the medicine wouldn't necessarily be in "easy" to use doses for people or kids.

-- Robert A. Cook, P.E. (Kennesaw, GA) (cook.r@csaatl.com), October 01, 1998.

Despite having spent 25 years of my life on a farm I really don't have a complete answer to this question. BUT, it is well to remember that PCP is(was) a common horse tranquilizer.

-- Paul Davis (davisp1953@yahoo.com), October 05, 1998.

This nurse buys vet antibiotics frequently..prone to bronchitis and know the med/dose I need to clear it up. I buy fish antibiotics...always figure a tank of fish will croak faster than anything so they must be pure. Mostly use the amoxicillin but do get Tetracycline for my allergic husband. Many people I know(lots of nurses where I work)shop where I do..Jeffer's Vet supply. Maybe this will help someone. They sell in huge volumns so everything I've ever gotten there has a long expiration date,too. An excellent little book on using vet supplies is Survivalist's Medicine Chest by Ragnar Benson.

-- Diana R. Smith (windance@train.missouri.org), January 11, 1999.

Thank you very much for the info. This was on my list, and I thought I would have to go to Mexico.

-- Bill (bill@microsoft.com), January 12, 1999.


Don't forget Bag Balm. It's not a prescription item, it's a topical balm, generally available, very effective. Quick search for this on the web will find a number of reasons people use it.

This link is for ladies only: http://www.spinning.com/pcnews/Read/1100.html. (Naturally I haven't read it....)

-- Tom Carey (tomcarey@mindspring.com), January 12, 1999.


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