As we said in our previous article, Vets And Kennel Cough, if you take your sick dog to the vet’s, they will most likely prescribe antibiotics.
So let’s look at some of the more popular antibiotics they might give your dog.
Sulfa/Trimethoprim
First on the list is a range of combination drugs called sulfa/trimethoprim, and you may find these under brand names such as Bactrim Rx, Tribrissen Rx, Ditrim Rx, Sulfatrim Rx and SMZ-TMP.
Side-effects of trimethoprim-sulfa are apparently rare, but you need to be aware that there is a potential for some serious ones.
It’s also important to know that these side-effects (or syndromes, or contra-indications, as they’re also known) are called “idiosyncratic reactions”.
What this means, in plain English, is that “their occurrence has nothing to do with the amount given but instead are about an unpredictable individual’s sensitivity to any dose.”
In other words, your vet has absolutely no way of knowing whether what they prescribe will cause any of these side-effects or not – so administering them is a gamble, a gamble with your pet’s life.
So, here’s what you might find from using this range of antibiotics:
- blood dyscrasias (which can lead to immune deficiency, a tendency towards bleeding, and other blood-related disorders)
- dry eye (i.e. an inability to produce tears)
- hemolytic anaemia
- hepatitis (i.e. liver failure)
- joint inflammation (a problem which particularly affects Dobermans)
- skin rashes
- sulfa bladder stones.
Doxycycline
Next on our list is doxycycline, where the shopping list of side-effects is extensive:
- bloody stools
- blurred vision
- diarrhea
- difficulty breathing
- difficulty swallowing
- feeling tired
- fever
- headaches
- heartburn
- hives
- indigestion
- itching
- liver damage
- loss of appetite
- nausea
- photosensitivity (i.e. a skin reaction to sunlight)
- rashes
- severe stomach cramps
- swelling in the mouth or throat
- vision changes
- vomiting
- wheezing
- and more.
While we’re on the subject of prescription drugs, let’s move on to some of the chemical-based cough suppressants that vets may also prescribe:
Hydrocodone
Hydrocodone is what’s known as a semi-synthetic opioid, and is usually compounded with other less-effective non-opioid drugs such as paracetamol (otherwise known as acetaminophen) or ibuprofen.
Again, the side-effects are similar to those we’ve already covered:
- anxiety
- bloody, black, or tarry stools
- blurred vision
- change in amount of urine
- change in the amount of urine produced
- chest pain
- confusion
- constipation
- dark urine
- depression
- diarrhea
- difficulty breathing
- difficulty urinating or inability to urinate
- dizziness
- drowsiness
- dry mouth, throat, or nose
- excitability
- fainting
- fast or irregular heartbeat
- fever, chills, or persistent sore throat
- flushing
- gas
- hallucinations
- headache
- hearing change or loss
- heartburn
- hives
- increased sweating
- itching
- loss of appetite
- mental or mood changes
- nausea
- nervousness or anxiety
- numbness of an arm or leg
- one-sided weakness
- rapid or pounding heartbeat
- red, swollen, blistered, or peeling skin
- redness of face
- ringing in the ears
- seizures
- severe dizziness, lightheadedness, or headache
- severe drowsiness
- severe headache
- severe or persistent stomach pain or nausea
- severe vomiting
- shortness of breath
- slow or shallow breathing
- speech changes
- stiff neck
- stomach pain
- sudden or unexplained weight gain
- swelling of hands, legs, or feet
- swelling of the mouth, face, lips, or tongue
- thickening or mucus in nose or throat
- tightness in the chest
- tremor
- trouble sleeping
- unusual bruising or bleeding
- unusual joint or muscle pain
- unusual tiredness or weakness
- upset stomach
- vision changes
- vomiting
- weakness
- yellowing of the skin or eyes.
Butorphanol
Butorphanol is another common cough suppressant that is also used as an analgesic, and being a chemical (it’s another synthetically-derived opioid), it too has a massive list of possible side-effects:
- abnormal dreams
- agitation
- anorexia
- anxiety
- blurred vision
- bronchitis
- chest pain
- confusion
- constipation
- cough
- depression
- dizziness
- dry mouth
- dysphoria
- dyspnea
- ear pain
- edema
- epistaxis
- euphoria
- floating feeling
- hallucinations
- headache
- hives
- hostility
- hypertension
- hypotension
- impaired urination
- insomnia
- lethargy
- nasal congestion
- nasal irritation
- nausea
- nervousness
- palpitations
- paresthesia
- pharyngitis
- pruritus
- rhinitis
- sensation of heat
- shallow breathing
- sinus congestion
- sinusitis
- somnolence
- stomach pain
- sweating/clammy
- syncope
- tachycardia
- tinnitus
- tremor
- unpleasant taste
- upper respiratory infection
- vasodilation
- vomiting
- withdrawal symptoms.
Now, as we’ve said elsewhere, your vet may tell you that the chances of any of these side-effects occurring are very low, but if it happens to be your dog that’s the one in a million, does that really matter?
Hopefully, we’ve demonstrated that trying to treat kennel cough with chemicals is a bad idea – some of these side-effects are identical to the very symptoms that the drugs are trying to treat (e.g. coughing), while others are even worse.
