FDA Warns of Illnesses and Deaths in Pets Exposed to Prescription Topical Pain Medications Containing Flurbiprofen

The pet owners had applied the cream or lotion to their own neck or feet, and not directly to the pet, and it is not known exactly how the cats became exposed to the medication. The products contained the NSAID flurbiprofen and the muscle relaxer cyclobenzaprine, as well as other varying active ingredients, including baclofen, gabapentin, lidocaine, or prilocaine.

Report by Paula Antolini
April 21, 2015 10:14AM EDT

topicalcreamtube

FDA Warns of Illnesses and Deaths in Pets Exposed to Prescription Topical Pain Medications Containing Flurbiprofen

April 17, 2015 – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is alerting pet owners, veterinarians, health care providers and pharmacists that pets are at risk of illness and death when exposed to topical pain medications containing the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) flurbiprofen. People using these medications, should use care when applying them in a household with pets, as even very small amounts could be dangerous to these animals.

The FDA has received reports of cats in two households that became ill or died after their owners used topical medications containing flurbiprofen on themselves to treat muscle, joint, or other pain. The pet owners had applied the cream or lotion to their own neck or feet, and not directly to the pet, and it is not known exactly how the cats became exposed to the medication. The products contained the NSAID flurbiprofen and the muscle relaxer cyclobenzaprine, as well as other varying active ingredients, including baclofen, gabapentin, lidocaine, or prilocaine.

Two cats in one household developed kidney failure and recovered with veterinary care. Two cats in a second household developed signs that included reluctance to eat, lethargy, vomiting, melena (black, tarry, bloody stools), anemia, and dilute urine. These two cats died despite veterinary care. A third cat in the second household also died after the owner had stopped using the medication. Veterinarians performed necropsies on the three cats that died and found evidence in the kidneys and intestines that were consistent with NSAID toxicity.

The FDA recommends that people who use topical medications containing flurbiprofen take care to prevent their pets from being exposed to them, even in ways that may seem unlikely to cause problems.

–Store all medications safely out of the reach of pets.

–Safely discard or clean any cloth or applicator that may retain medication and avoid leaving any residues of the medication on clothing, carpeting or furniture.

–Consult your health care provider on whether it is appropriate to cover the treated area.

–If you are using topical medications containing flurbiprofen and your pet becomes exposed, bathe or clean your pet as thoroughly as possible and consult a veterinarian.

–If your pet shows signs such as lethargy, lack of appetite, vomiting, or other illness, seek veterinary care for your pet and be sure to provide the details of the exposure.

–Understand that, although the FDA has not received reports of dogs or other pets becoming sick in relation to the use of topical pain medications containing flurbiprofen, these animals may also be vulnerable to NSAID toxicity after being exposed to these medications. Some people may be applying these medications to their pets in hopes of aiding them through pains, but this is not advised. Instead, discuss a course of medication, such as CBD for Pets, with your veterinarian.

Veterinarians who have patients who show signs of NSAID toxicity should ask whether anyone in the household has used topical pain medications containing flurbiprofen.

Health care providers who prescribe topical pain medications containing flurbiprofen and pharmacists who fill these prescriptions should advise patients with pets to take care to prevent exposure of the pet to the medication.

Pet owners and veterinarians can also report any adverse events to the FDA

*****

Contact FDA

240-276-9300
240-276-9115 FAX
Issued by: FDA, Center for Veterinary Medicine

Communications Staff, HFV-12

7519 Standish Place

Rockville, MD 20855

 

59 Comments

  1. Hey! I know this is kinda off topic but I’d figured I’d ask.
    Would you be interested in exchanging links or maybe guest authoring a blog article or vice-versa?
    My blog addresses a lot of the same topics as yours and I think we could greatly benefit from each other.
    If you might be interested feel free to send me an email.
    I look forward to hearing from you! Superb blog by the way!

  2. Magnificent beat ! I wish to apprentice while you amend
    your site, how can i subscribe for a blog web site?
    The account helped me a acceptable deal. I had been tiny bit acquainted of this your broadcast offered bright clear concept

  3. I get pleasure from, cause I found just what I was looking
    for. You have ended my four day lengthy hunt!
    God Bless you man. Have a great day. Bye

  4. I truly love your blog.. Great colors & theme.
    Did you create this web site yourself? Please reply back as
    I’m hoping to create my own blog and would like to know where you got this from
    or exactly what the theme is named. Kudos!

  5. I am extremely impressed with your writing
    skills as well as with the layout on your weblog. Is this a paid theme or did you modify it yourself?
    Anyway keep up the excellent quality writing, it is rare to see a nice blog like this one today.

  6. My partner and I stumbled over here different web address and
    thought I might as well check things out.
    I like what I see so now i’m following you. Look forward to looking into your web page yet again.

  7. Wow that was strange. I just wrote an extremely long comment but after
    I clicked submit my comment didn’t show up.
    Grrrr… well I’m not writing all that over again. Anyway, just wanted to say wonderful blog!

  8. Simply wish to say your article is as astounding.
    The clarity on your submit is simply spectacular and i could suppose you are a professional in this subject.
    Fine along with your permission allow me to seize your feed to
    stay up to date with coming near near post.
    Thanks 1,000,000 and please carry on the gratifying work.

  9. Have you ever thought about including a little bit more than just your articles?
    I mean, what you say is important and all. However imagine if you added
    some great graphics or video clips to give your posts more, “pop”!

    Your content is excellent but with images and clips,
    this website could definitely be one of the best in its field.
    Good blog!

  10. I have been browsing online greater than three hours nowadays, yet I never discovered any fascinating article like yours.
    It is pretty worth sufficient for me. In my view, if all web owners and bloggers made just right content material as you probably did, the web can be a
    lot more helpful than ever before.

  11. Good day I am so grateful I found your webpage,
    I really found you by error, while I was browsing on Bing
    for something else, Nonetheless I am here now and would just like to say kudos for a remarkable post and a all round interesting blog
    (I also love the theme/design), I don’t have time
    to read through it all at the moment but I have saved it and also
    included your RSS feeds, so when I have time I will be back to read much more, Please do keep up the superb job.

  12. Greetings! I’ve been following your site for a while now and finally got the
    courage to go ahead and give you a shout out from Kingwood Texas!
    Just wanted to tell you keep up the great work!

  13. It is the best time to make a few plans for the longer term and it is time to be happy.
    I have read this post and if I may I want to suggest you few interesting issues or advice.
    Maybe you could write next articles referring to this article.
    I want to read even more things approximately it!

  14. Aw, this was a really nice post. Finding the time and actual effort to make
    a top notch article… but what can I say… I put things off a whole
    lot and don’t seem to get nearly anything done.

  15. Hello would you mind sharing which blog platform you’re working with?
    I’m going to start my own blog in the near future but I’m
    having a difficult time selecting between BlogEngine/Wordpress/B2evolution and Drupal.

    The reason I ask is because your layout seems different
    then most blogs and I’m looking for something unique.

    P.S My apologies for being off-topic but I had to ask!

  16. I am not sure where you are getting your information,
    but great topic. I needs to spend some time learning much
    more or understanding more. Thanks for fantastic info I was looking
    for this information for my mission.

  17. A person essentially lend a hand to make significantly posts I might state.
    That is the first time I frequented your website page and
    to this point? I amazed with the analysis you made
    to create this actual publish extraordinary.
    Great task!

  18. I’m not sure exactly why but this site is loading incredibly slow
    for me. Is anyone else having this issue or is it a problem on my end?
    I’ll check back later and see if the problem still exists.

  19. Hello there, There’s no doubt that your web site might be having browser compatibility issues.

    When I take a look at your site in Safari, it looks fine but when opening in IE, it has
    some overlapping issues. I merely wanted to give
    you a quick heads up! Aside from that, excellent website!

  20. You really make it appear so easy with your presentation however I in finding this matter to be really
    something which I think I might never understand. It kind
    of feels too complex and very broad for me. I’m taking a look ahead for your subsequent submit, I will attempt to
    get the hang of it!

  21. Greetings from California! I’m bored at work so I decided
    to check out your site on my iphone during lunch break.
    I enjoy the information you present here and can’t wait to
    take a look when I get home. I’m amazed at how fast your blog loaded on my mobile ..
    I’m not even using WIFI, just 3G .. Anyhow, good blog!

  22. I think this is among the such a lot significant information for me.
    And i am glad studying your article. However wanna commentary on some
    common things, The website taste is ideal, the articles
    is in point of fact nice : D. Good task, cheers

  23. First off I would like to say wonderful blog! I had a quick question which I’d like to ask if you don’t mind.
    I was interested to know how you center yourself and clear your thoughts before writing.
    I’ve had trouble clearing my thoughts in getting my ideas out.
    I do take pleasure in writing however it just seems like
    the first 10 to 15 minutes tend to be wasted just trying to figure out how to
    begin. Any ideas or hints? Kudos!

  24. I was wondering if you ever thought of changing the page
    layout of your site? Its very well written; I love
    what youve got to say. But maybe you could a little more in the way of content so people could
    connect with it better. Youve got an awful lot of text for only having 1 or two pictures.
    Maybe you could space it out better?

  25. Thanks a lot for sharing this with all of us
    you really recognize what you are talking about! Bookmarked.
    Kindly also discuss with my website =). We will have
    a hyperlink trade arrangement among us

  26. Hey there would you mind sharing which blog platform you’re using?
    I’m planning to start my own blog soon but I’m having a difficult time deciding between BlogEngine/Wordpress/B2evolution and Drupal.
    The reason I ask is because your layout seems different
    then most blogs and I’m looking for something unique.
    P.S My apologies for being off-topic but I had to ask!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.