Chloramphenicol
“This page provides important general information for pet owners whose animals have been prescribed Chloramphenicol in Perth during a consultation by Dr Noor.”
Chloramphenicol for pets
(klor-am-fen-i-kol)
Description:
This medicine is an antibiotic, meaning it is used to treat infections caused by germs.
Other Names for this Medication:
- Chloromycetin®
- Viceton®
Common Dosage Forms:
For animals, this medicine may come as tablets in these strengths:
- 250 mg
- 500 mg
- 1000 mg
Antimicrobial Classification:
Highly Important
Key Information
- This medicine tends to work best when it is given with a meal.
- The taste is extremely bitter, which can make giving it by mouth hard.
- If your animal throws up after receiving this medicine, call your veterinarian.
- This medicine is most often given three times a day.
- If doses are missed, the medicine may not work the way it should for your animal.
- Give all of the antibiotic for the full time your veterinarian prescribed, even if your animal seems back to normal.
- In uncommon cases, this medicine can be very harmful to people.
- When you handle this medicine, wear gloves.
- The side effects seen most often are stomach upset, vomiting, and diarrhea.
- Cats may be more likely to have serious side effects from this medicine (for example, harm to the bone marrow, which makes blood cells, and harm to the liver).
- This medicine is not allowed for animals that will be used as food (this includes chickens that lay eggs and animals used for dairy).
How is this medication useful?
- It is used most often for illnesses spread by ticks, such as Rocky Mountain spotted fever.
- This medicine is also used for infections involving the brain and the eyes.
- It can also be used for abscesses (pockets of infection) and for some infections that no longer respond well to other antibiotics.
- In horses, this is one of the few antibiotics that can be given by mouth without causing severe diarrhea.
- In some cases, the FDA allows veterinarians to prescribe products that contain chloramphenicol for other animal species or for other health problems.
- The FDA does not allow this medicine to be used in animals that produce milk or eggs, or animals raised for meat, when those foods will be eaten by people.
- You and your veterinarian can talk about why this medicine is the best choice.
What should I tell my veterinarian to see if this medication can be safely given?
Many different factors can change how well this medicine works for your animal.
Tell your veterinarian about the following so you can make treatment choices together:
- Because this medicine needs to be given three times a day, tell your veterinarian if your daily schedule makes that difficult.
- Some medicines can affect how this medicine works.
- Tell your veterinarian and pharmacist about everything your animal receives, including vitamins, supplements, and herbal products.
- Also share the dose you give and the time you give each one.
- Tell your veterinarian about any health problems your animal has now, or has had in the past.
- If your animal has been treated before for the same illness or problem, tell your veterinarian what was used and whether it helped or did not help.
- If your animal is pregnant or nursing, discuss the possible risks of using this medicine.
- Tell your veterinarian and pharmacist about any side effects your animal has had from medicines in the past, including allergic reactions, poor appetite, diarrhea, itching, or hair loss.
How long until I will know if this medication is working, and how long will the effects of this medication last?
- This medicine should begin working within 1 to 2 hours.
- Even so, you may not be able to see the effects directly.
- Your animal should start to seem better within 1 to 2 days.
- This medicine does not last long in the body.
- Its action usually ends within 24 hours.
- However, the helpful effects may last longer if your animal’s kidneys and/or liver are not working as well.
When should this medication not be used or be used very carefully?
No medicine is completely safe for every patient.
Your veterinarian will talk with you about any special concerns for your animal.
If your animal has any of the issues listed below, talk with your veterinarian about the possible benefits compared with the possible risks:
- Do not use this medicine in animals that have an allergy to it or to similar medicines (for example, florfenicol).
- Do not use this medicine in animals that will be eaten by people, or animals that will produce foods (such as milk or eggs) that people will eat.
- Use extra care with animals that have kidney or liver damage.
- Use extra care with young animals, especially kittens.
- Use extra care with animals that have blood-related problems, including anemia (low red blood cells).
- Use extra care with nursing animals, because this medicine passes into milk and can be harmful to young animals.
What are the side effects of this medication?
Side effects that usually are not serious include:
If you notice the signs below, you usually do not need to panic unless they are strong, getting worse, or not going away. If that happens, contact your veterinarian.
- Stomach upset, vomiting, and diarrhea.
Side effects that may be serious or indicate a serious problem:
If you notice any of the signs below, contact your veterinarian right away.
- Being unusually tired, bruising, or bleeding can be a sign that the bone marrow (the part of the body that makes blood cells) has been harmed.
- Eating less than normal or not eating at all can be a sign that the liver has been harmed.
If my animal gets too much of this medication (an overdose), what should I do?
- If you see an overdose happen, or you think one may have happened, call your veterinarian or an animal poison control center for advice.
- A consultation fee is charged for these services.
How should this medication be given?
For this medicine to work as intended, give it exactly the way your veterinarian instructed.
Always read the prescription label so you confirm you are giving it correctly.
- Give chloramphenicol with food.
- If your animal is receiving a specially made liquid version (a compounded liquid), measure it with care.
- Your veterinarian or pharmacist can provide special measuring spoons or syringes to help.
- If giving the medicine is difficult, contact your veterinarian or pharmacist for ideas on how to give the dose and how to make medication time less stressful.
- This medicine may be prescribed for different lengths of time.
- Make sure you clearly understand how long your veterinarian wants you to keep giving it.
- You may need prescription refills before the full treatment is finished.
- Do not stop this medicine without speaking to your veterinarian first, because there may be important reasons to continue.
What should I do if I miss giving a dose of this medication?
- If you forget a dose, give it as soon as you remember.
- If it is almost time for the next dose, do not give the missed dose.
- Instead, give the next dose at the regular time.
- Then continue with the normal schedule.
- Do not give two doses at once and do not give extra doses.
How should I store this medication?
- Keep this medicine in the original prescription container, or in another approved container used to organize doses (such as a pill minder).
- Store it at room temperature.
- Protect it from light.
- If your veterinarian or pharmacist prepared a special compounded form for your animal, follow the storage directions and the expiration date provided for that product.
- Store it where children and other animals cannot reach it.
Can handling this medication be hazardous to me, my family, or other animals?
- People can have serious harmful effects if they are exposed to chloramphenicol.
- Wear disposable gloves when you handle this medicine.
- Do not use the same gloves again.
- After you use the gloves, throw them away in the trash.
- Do not let the medicine touch your skin, your eyes, or moist body areas such as the inside of the mouth, nose, or ears.
- If your animal vomits after you give a dose, wear gloves when you clean up and throw away the vomit.
How should I dispose of this medication if I don’t use it all?
- Do not put this medicine into the toilet.
- Do not pour it into a sink.
- If your area has a community medicine “take-back” program, use that option.
- If there is no take-back program, combine the medicine with coffee grounds or cat litter so it is unpleasant to children and animals and not recognizable to someone searching through trash.
- Put that mixture into a plastic bag that can be sealed so it will not leak.
- Throw the sealed bag into your household trash.
- Do not keep leftover medicine to use later.
- Do not give leftover medicine to anyone else.
What other information is important for this medication?
- This medicine is not allowed for animals that produce milk or eggs, or animals raised for meat, when those foods will be eaten by people.
- This medicine may not be permitted in some animal competitions.
- Before entering your animal in a competition while your animal is receiving this medicine, check the rules.
- If you have more questions about this medicine, contact your veterinarian or pharmacist.
“Disclaimer: The information on this page is provided as general educational material only. Every animal’s health situation is unique, and treatment decisions must be based on a full veterinary assessment. Always follow the specific instructions given during your consultation, and contact the prescribing veterinarian if you have any concerns.”