#nsaids
How in the hell do people get off Effexor!? I go ONE DAY without it and my body revolts against me. Hell on Earth was the three days I went without it waiting to get it refilled.
Like people who actually get off it have my eternal admiration.
@drferox@spoonie-living@spooniestrong
Any spoonies/animal people know how to keep cats safe when using pain relief creams or hormone topical gels? Apparently both can cause illness, and there’s been a couple other articles going around Tumblr on the topic.
There’s a couple precautions I’ve found so far:
- Waiting for the cream to dry
- Covering the area
- Washing hands before interacting with pets
- Keeping the gel itself as well as the area it was applied to out of reach of the cats
But one of the stories mentioned a cat that got a little bit on their tail and even with washing it- still got so severely ill that they died.
I have approximately 0 idea how these medications even work. Heck, I don’t know if they’re still active on fabric surfaces after they’ve dried, or if taping down gauze is an effective method of coverage.
Is the only safe method to just not use pain relief creams/gel hormones?
Honestly I’d appreciate any input at all. I want to keep my cats safe, above all else, but I’d also really like to be able to use these things without stressing so much I feel like I had to rush my cats to the vet if they so much as dare to snore funny
Here are some questions we absolutely don’t have any answers to. Readers with scientific and medical knowledge, care to weigh in? Particularly on the plausibility of the scary story mentioned, the nitty gritty of dried creams/gels, and effective coverings.
Science geek here (but not a doctor or veterinarian), and I might be able to shed some light on these mysteries.
In order to give any sort of scientific information, we need to specify exactly what type of cream we’re talking about. In a bit of googling, Flurbiprofen -containing creams were the most common type mentioned, so I will focus on that.
Okay, basics first. What is Flurbiprofen? It’s an NSAID, a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug. As the name says, these are medications that reduce inflammation but are not steroids. The biggest medical concern with all NSAIDs (in humans and animals) is kidney toxicity. Another serious concern is gastrointestinal bleeding and injury.
Your body can process a certain amount of Flurbiprofen. As long as the amount in your blood doesn’t exceed the amount your body can safely process, your kidneys will be fine. An overdose occurs when you consume more Flurbiprofen than your body can process. If left untreated, this leads to kidney failure and possibly death.
The same basic logic applies to your pets. They also can safely process a certain amount of Flurbiprofen. The problem seems to be that, due to metabolic differences between humans and cats, cats can only process a very, very small amount of Flurbiprofen safely.
The poisoning instances the prompted the FDA advisory all occurred in cats, and the exact mechanism of exposure is not known in these cases. I also found an article in a veterinary journal reporting on a case study of Flurbiprofen poisoning in dogs, but these dogs ate an oral medication containing Flurbiprofen, not a cream.
So now let’s talk about how cats or dogs might be exposed to NSAIDS in their humans’ topical creams. This really applies to all NSAIDs, not just Flurbiprofen, though Flurbiprofen seems to be the ingredient causing the most problems.
There are two basic routes of exposure: the pet can eat the cream, or the cream can be absorbed through the pet’s skin.
Generally speaking, the percentage of an NSAID absorbed is much, much higher if it is eaten then if it is just absorbed through the skin. I’m going to make an educated guess, therefore, that these poisoned pets were licking or eating the creams. (Of course, we have all seen cats and dogs lick their own skin, so any cream that gets on the animal’s skin or fur is a potential hazard.)
So, what does that mean for the safety of pets and how humans can mitigate risks?
Letting cream dry is not a bad idea. It gives time for the active ingredients to absorb into the human’s body and reduces the risk of the cream accidentally being left behind on clothing or furniture. But, the cream is not in any way inactivated just because it’s dry. As soon as an animal licks it, it’s now moist again and could be absorbed through the skin or G.I. tract.
In principle, covering treated area should be effective. If the animal can’t get to the cream, then they can’t eat it. But, depending on the body part in question, this might be really hard in practice. Also remember that you need to carefully dispose of or wash whatever you use to cover the treated area.
Washing your hands after applying cream is a good idea in general. Depending on exactly what the cream is made of, you may need a harsh soap to counter the oily nature of the cream and really get it all off your hands. A nail brush or similar to get any cream stuck under your fingernails is probably a good idea too. And, if your cat likes to jump around the kitchen and get in the sink, make sure you wash down the sink after you’re finished washing your hands.
Obviously keeping the actual creams out of reach of pets is necessary.
Finally, what about that story where the cat got a little bit on its tail, was washed, and still died? Well, my educated opinion is that this is probably a seriously exaggerated story. I don’t think there is any way that, in the course of a couple minutes, enough Flurbiprofen was absorbed through the cat’s skin (in a small surface area) to cause toxicity.I can see a couple ways this story might be “true,” if inaccurately portrayed.
First, it’s possible that the cat was washed but not well enough. As noted, these creams are deliberately hydrophobic, so we can take a harsh soap to really get them off. That’s the kind of soap you probably wouldn’t want to use on your pet and the fact that your cat is covered in fur will not help either.
Aside: If you ever find yourself in the unfortunate situation of having accidentally gotten a little bit of Flurbiprofen cream on your cat, I would recommend immediately bathing the cat with something like dish soap. Make sure the cat does not lick itself or any of the water during this process! I would actually recommend giving the cat two or three consecutive baths to make sure you get all of the medication off. In the final bath, you would probably want to go back to your cat’s normal shampoo to help soothe any skin irritation from the harsher soap. You could also consider putting a ‘cone of shame’ on your cat for a few days, just to be sure that they are not licking any residue. And, of course, if you notice any symptoms, take the cat to the vet immediately.
Second, it’s possible that there was a different route of exposure that the owner never realized. Maybe the cat actually licked the cream off of the owner’s skin or found a contaminated applicator for the cream in the trash or something else entirely.
What’s the bottom line?
Yes, Flurbiprofen is really, really toxic to cats. If you have a cat in your household, you do have to seriously consider the risk posed by these medications. If I had a cat and my doctor recommended this medication, I would pursue just about any alternative medications/therapies before bringing Flurbiprofen into my home.
Yes, Flurbiprofen is toxic to dogs too, but there haven’t been any reported cases of toxicity in dogs from a topical cream.
Having said that, the actual incidence of Flurbiprofen poisoning in cats and dogs seems to be pretty low. Of course, some cases might be missed or misdiagnosed. But I only found 5 documented cases in cats (in just 2 households) and 2 documented cases in dogs (in just 1 household). This is a risk, but it’s not an epidemic.
