Compounded medications are those which are specially prepared by a pharmacist and not mass-produced by a pharmaceutical company. While generally made for human use, these drugs also play a role in veterinary medicine. And if you have pets or animals of any sort, chances are that they will need to see a vet at some point, be it for something simple or serious. Regardless, here are some ways to determine if a compounded medication might better serve the needs of your animals.
Some animals are reluctant to swallow pills, or refuse foul tasting liquids, or become distressed when given injections. If your animals fall under any of these categories, a compounded medication may be a solution for you. For an animal that is hard to give pills to, you might ask your veterinarian about converting the medication to a pleasant tasting liquid, one that the animal may happily drink from a bowl or that may be added to another delivery source, such as a horse’s water bucket. If it is merely the taste of the pills that the animal objects to, you could request from a pharmacist to create a compound of the medication with an added flavor that you know your animal will enjoy and accept. The same can be said for liquids, and in most cases, injectable medications can be converted in to a different form. These are all great ways to learn how to administer medications to your animals in a manner that best suits them.
Along with the above suggestions, you may find that a medication that your animals have needed is no longer easily obtainable, if it’s obtainable at all. In many cases, a pharmacist can create a compound of the medication for you, provided your vet has written a prescription for it. Additionally, if you feel your animal may have allergies to the filler materials used in mass produced medications, ask your vet to run tests to determine what the allergen is, and then discuss with the pharmacist how to create a compound that is free of such. Just like people, animals can be sensitive to certain ingredients.
To determine the quality of the pharmacy used, ask questions such as do they frequently create compounded medications for animals, and if so do they understand appropriate dosages based on the type or size of the animal in question. What may be safe to administer to a horse could be fatal to a small dog, so make double sure the pharmacist knows fully what he or she is doing. Ask your vet for a recommendation and speak to any friends who may have chosen to go the compounding route for medications for their animals. Remember that your animals depend on your best judgment, so be sure to only select the highest quality compound pharmacy you can locate.
