Ibuprofen - are you aware how toxic it is?

Posted by Clare Bristow

pain-killer Today's Salt Lake Tribune reports that a man has been arrested on suspicion of cruelty to animals after allegedly feeding a dog chicken laced with 1200 mg of ibuprofen. That dose could cause acute renal failure in a small dog.

Many people administer Ibuprofen for pain relief thinking it's safe. Unfortunately it's not; small doses given over a short period of time have proved fatal.

Based on the number of dogs treated, The ASPCA Poison Control Center rates Ibuprofen the number one reason for dog poisoning.

The poisoning arises from either the dog having consumed a large number of tablets after chewing through a packet or bottle of Ibuprofen or the dog being intentionally given the drug by a well meaning owner as a pain killer.

From the ASPCA database:

25-125mg per kg of body weight - symptoms include vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, loss of appetite, stomach ulcers;
more than 175mg per kg of body weight - the above symptoms plus blood in the stools, acute kidney failure;
more than 400mg per kg of body weight - the above symptoms plus seizures, coma, disorientation;
more than 600mg per kg of body weight - death.

The ASPCA has reported a case where 3mg per kg of body weight given every other day for six weeks proved fatal.

Ibuprofen sold over the counter contains anywhere from 50mg to 200mg per tablet; each prescription tablet may contain 800mg of Ibuprofen. Given a dog's propensity to eat everything in front of their noses, a packet of Ibuprofen tablets left within their reach can do a lot of damage.

Symptoms can take anywhere from 12 hours to several days to show. However, if you suspect your dog has ingested Ibuprofen take him to the vet immediately. Any tablets consumed must be flushed out of your dog's system as quickly as possible to improve his chances of a full recovery.

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One Response to “Ibuprofen - are you aware how toxic it is?”

Very sad - Page 2 - Southern Maryland Community Forums on April 3rd, 2008 5:32 am

[…] above symptoms plus seizures, coma, disorientation; more than 600mg per kg of body weight - death. LINK It never occured to me to give a dog human meds but I guess a lot of people do it intentionally. […]