Can I Take My Pet's Medication?

Pet Toxicology Experts Warn Humans of Potential Dangers

MINNEAPOLIS, Dec. 11, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Have you noticed that some of your pet's medications appear to be the same as human medications, but a few are less expensive? It's not your imagination, and it may have you asking, "Can I take my pet's medication?"

The price of prescription drugs in the U.S. is significantly higher, sometimes two to four times, compared with prices in other high-income industrialized countries. As a result, many people travel to Mexico or Canada in search of lower prices, but some may consider sharing their pet's prescription to save money. Despite the tempting cost savings, the toxicology experts at Pet Poison Helpline strongly urge against it and here's why.

"According to a recent study in JAMA Internal Medicine, some of your dog's drugs may be less expensive than your own similar medication," said Dr. Renee Schmid, a senior veterinary toxicologist and director of Veterinary Medicine at Pet Poison Helpline. "While that may make you consider switching to your pet's drugs, there are many factors that make that very dangerous. For example, veterinary-specific medication is often not studied in humans and dosing, metabolism, elimination and other factors can be very different between animals and humans, creating potentially negative outcomes."

There are also often significant differences between the medications that are prescribed to humans versus animals. They may have the same or similar-sounding name, but the dosage differences can be an issue.

"One of the most common types of pain relief medications are NSAIDs, which are prescribed to both humans and pets," Dr. Schmid explained. "One potential problem is that taking your pet's NSAID pain medication can interfere with your own pain medication regimen. Another concern is that pet NSAID medications are developed based on the unique needs of animals and studied for safety extensively in the intended species, so the safety for humans may be very different. Humans and pets can have different reactions to the same substance. For example, think about how healthy grapes and raisins are for human consumption. However, if ingested by your pet, these foods can cause kidney failure."

Medication that targets specific organs can also be very different between humans and animals.

"There are significant dosing/strength differences in thyroid medication between dogs and humans," Dr. Schmid added. "If a human were to take their pet's medication for hypothyroidism, they would likely ingest an amount high enough to cause elevated thyroid hormone levels and potential life-threatening hyperthyroidism. There can also be dangerous effects from heart medication when it isn't prescribed to you and your specific situation. Medication developed for the treatment of certain heart conditions in pets may be ineffective or cause serious side effects if humans were to take the same medication and dosing."

Pet Poison Helpline is in a unique situation regarding potential toxins that involve both humans and animals. It is owned by SafetyCall International, a recognized leader in human and animal adverse event reporting and regulatory compliance services.

"Because we are part of SafetyCall, we have a unique collaborative environment where human and animal health experts can consult with each other using our proprietary database of hundreds of thousands of products," Dr. Schmid added. "Combined, we are a total solution provider for human and animal product safety."

"Although we've been discussing humans taking pet medications intentionally, it can also be easy to mix up medications," Dr. Schmid warned.  "We see a lot of cases each year of pet owners accidentally giving their medications to their pets. To avoid a potential poisoning, keep your medications in a separate location from your pet's medications, and make sure all medications are out of reach of pets and children."

"There have also been recent news reports suggesting it is safe to administer certain human over-the-counter medications to pets, such as aspirin and Pepto-Bismol," Dr. Schmid warned. "Many over-the-counter human medications that may have been used routinely in the past have been replace with safer products that were developed to provide better efficacy and fewer negative effects in animals.  Also, dosing amounts vary dramatically depending on the size and age of the pet. We strongly discourage giving your pets any medications or supplements that weren't prescribed by a veterinary professional."

Pet Poison Helpline created Toxin Tails to educate the veterinary community and pet lovers on the many types of poisoning dangers facing pets, both in and out of the home. All the pets highlighted in Toxin Tails have been successfully treated for the poisoning and fully recovered.

About Pet Poison Helpline 
Pet Poison Helpline®, your trusted source for toxicology and pet health advice in times of potential emergency, is available 24 hours, seven days a week for pet owners and veterinary professionals who require assistance treating a potentially poisoned pet. Per incident and subscription service options are available. We are an independent, nationally recognized animal poison control center triple licensed by the Boards of Veterinary Medicine, Medicine and Pharmacy providing unmatched professional leadership and expertise. Our veterinarians and board-certified toxicologists provide treatment advice for all species, including dogs, cats, birds, small mammals, large animals and exotic species. As the most cost-effective option for animal poison control care, Pet Poison Helpline's fee of $85 per incident includes follow-up consultations for the duration of the case. The company also offers pethelpline^(SM) and pethelplinePRO^(SM) subscription services directly to pet lovers. Based in Minneapolis, Pet Poison Helpline is available in North America by calling 800-213-6680. Additional information can be found online at www.petpoisonhelpline.com.

Contact: Curtis Steinhoff
Pet Poison Helpline®
(602) 300-8466
[email protected]

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SOURCE Pet Poison Helpline