Very, very scary!!! Bad drug reaction...

[Faiths CremelloWB]

So in all my years of horse ownership and years of breeding I have never had a horse have a bad reaction to Penicillin. Well until last night. I have heard about this happening but never experienced it. I have given numerous penicillin injections (500+) and never more than a small bump on a few injection sites.

It is one of the scariest things I have come across with horses. I gave the injection to a mare (who last had a penicillin injection in the morning) and in a matter of 5 second she was like a fish out of water. Looked like she was having a seizure or maybe a heart attack. It was awful. After the initial 10 seconds of scrambling to stand, hitting all walls, she was on the ground. Trying to get up and could not so really panicking, I could see it (fear) in her eyes. Once she was down I went in the stall and tried to calm her down because at that point I had no clue what was happening. I just wanted to try and relax her, if I could. After about 1.5 min on the ground she relaxed a little for about 20 seconds and then was scrambling to get up again. It was just awful to watch and not be able to help. I had to be very careful to not get in her way (she could get up and fall towards me or on me) and try to calm her down at the same time. About another minute and she was on her feet trembling and sweating. Still not sure about where her legs were and if she could stand. So again I was very alert to get out of the way should she go down again. Another 30 seconds she was a bit better and then the vet showed up. He gave her some good meds to make her feel a bit better. Gave me a different antibiotic to give her for now and told me to not give her Penicillin for awhile. I am thinking, yeah like I ever want to give Penicillin again.

My sister was here and called the vet the second the mare was panicking. Odd things is, he was just around the corner and at my place in maybe 6 min. After checking her over and giving her some steroids and an anti-inflammatory he was on his way. He must have saw a bit of stress in me as I was walking back to the barn and gave me a honk. I walked back over to the truck and he handed me two Smirnoff Ice, one for me and one for my sister. I have a drink maybe 3 times a year, well this was one of them. I love me vet!

The mare is good now besides some hair missing in places from falling down and trying to get up. This is the same mare who lost her foal this past winter due to pneumonia. She is still far from back to herself after the pneumonia. My poor mare, Golden Belle.

Anyone else ever have a horse have a reaction like this to Penicillin? Did you ever give the horse Penicillin again? Did it ever have a second reaction?

[SmartAlex]

Yikes...

That's one prepared Vet :D Of course there will be some speculationhere about a vet who A. Carries Smirnoff Ice in his truck. B. Maybe Needs to carry Smirnoff Ice in his truck. But still... that's one prepared Vet! LOL!

Glad to hear your mare is OK. Some people have a reaction to penicillin, so I wouldn't be suprised to hear that some horses have an allergy.

[sid]

I saw this happen to a horse where I boarded many years ago. When you've seen it, you never forget it. Awful.

There are so many more effective antibiotics available now, I never use PenG at all.

[Jleegriffith]

It is always a possiblity and very scary when it does happen. I have witnessed it once with a layup horse we had and all we could do was get out of the way and shut the stall door and wait. It is my least favorite drug to give for many reasons but this being one. Glad it turned out alright.

[talloaks]

I had the same reaction with my old TB mare many years ago. Fortunately I was able to get my vet here to give her the meds to counter act the penicillin reaction. Never gave her penicillin again. Really a scarey situation!! My mare did all the things you described with your mare. Once they have a reaction like that you can never safely give them penicillin again. Hope your mare gets better soon so she can get back into baby production!

[Carrera]

I've heard of this happening if a vein is accidentally hit and the penicillin goes directly in. If this happens (again this is what I've been told, never happened to me) is to get the horse up and moving so the drug can get thru the system as quickly as possible.

But again, I'm no vet!

[Vitriolic]

Knock on wood, I have never had a drug reaction, but just heard of a perfectly healthy horse with a few hives dropping dead from an antihistamine. I don't know which one it was.

I hope she is okay and I'd definitely never use it again on her, but ask the vet and let us know what he says, please. (Maybe you should ask him early in the day. ;) Can I have his number. ;) )

[SBH]

At my old barn several years ago, we had a horse react to penicillin. She busted out of her stall, bounced around the barn walls, fell down and flopped around like a fish. We thought she was dead, but a couple of seconds later she jumped up and ran into the paddock next to the barn and started grazing...it was the scariest thing! Several years later ,we were giving another horse penicillin and she reacted as well. Unfortunately this time we were not so lucky...she died. I will never give penicillin after these two experiences! Tucuprim is my friend!!!!

[Laurierace]

Was this procaine penicillin? If so it wasn't a reaction to the penicillin itself which would be more likely to result in massive hives and difficultly breathing and such. If it was procaine penicillin you hit a blood vessel and the procaine went directly to her brain causing the symptoms that you witnessed. In that case you can give her the drug again, just be extra careful. Stick a clean needle into the horse, not the needle you used to draw the drug up out of the bottle. Watch it for 30 seconds or so and see if any blood appears in the hub before you attach the syringe. Once you attach the syringe draw back to check for blood again. Check once again if you reposition the needle. I know this seems elementary for someone who has given as many injections as you have but you have witnessed first hand the need for the precautions.

[jej]

To be honest, this sounds like the penicillin was accidentally injected into a vein. This happened to me once - I didn't aspirate prior to injecting and the horse reacted exactly this way. The horse was fine 10 minutes later - thank God, I thought he was dying.

I used penicillin subsequently on this horse with no problems - BUT- it certainly taught me to aspirate prior to injecting ANYTHING!

[RAyers]

It sounds like you nicked a vein. That was why we used to carry epi when giving pen shots at the vet clinic years ago. You don't even have to aspirate blood (but you should ALWAYS pul back on the plunger to check) to get this reaction.

[MrWinston]

[QUOTE=Laurierace;4287786]Was this procaine penicillin? If so it wasn't a reaction to the penicillin itself which would be more likely to result in massive hives and difficultly breathing and such. If it was procaine penicillin you hit a blood vessel and the procaine went directly to her brain causing the symptoms that you witnessed. In that case you can give her the drug again, just be extra careful. Stick a clean needle into the horse, not the needle you used to draw the drug up out of the bottle. Watch it for 30 seconds or so and see if any blood appears in the hub before you attach the syringe. Once you attach the syringe draw back to check for blood again. Check once again if you reposition the needle. I know this seems elementary for someone who has given as many injections as you have but you have witnessed first hand the need for the precautions.[/QUOTE

I had a very minor one many years ago, just snorting and shaking. My rule was to only administer in the stall so that you could easily get out of the way and keep the horse confined. My guess is that what happened to me was a result of the horse shifting a little while I was squeezing the syringe in. So, if the horse moves, aspirate again.

[Kiwayu]

My first pony had a Pencillin reaction...VERY SCAREY!!!

Thank god, my vet gave her the pen shot and she had the reaction in front of her. I've never seen the vet run to her truck and back so fast in my life. I sure won't use the stuff ever again.

[LSM1212]

I haven't seen this w/ penicillin... but something similar happened to my guy when he was given a Legend shot. He had been getting them for over a year (loading dose and then once a month).

The Vet administered it. He didn't do the floppy fish thing. He stay on his feet the entire time. But he started to back up and his head was straight in the air. It looked like he was having a seizure. The Vet grabbed his halter and we both just talked to him and my Vet tapped on his forehead saying "stay with us now" as my guy was swaying back and forth. After a few minutes, it passed. And my guy was fine.

But it was the scariest thing I've ever seen (up until he had emergency colic surgery) ;)

The Vet said he must have just nicked a vein and it went to my guy's brain. Now I know it could happen to anyone but I have to admit, shortly after that, I started using a different Vet (but there had been a few other very small incidents before this anyways).

[TrueColours]

Epinephrine is the drug given to get them OUT of the reaction as quickly as possible. I always keep a bottle on hand but the biggest factor is getting it into their system quickly while they are thrashing and throwing themselves around

An old vet I used said the best way to give it if you cant get a vein, is in the tongue because it is such a vascular area but I guess the trick is grabbing the tongue and injecting it as they are careening around

Ive only had it happen once and we walked the mare - as mentioned by someone else - in the arena - to allow it to get through her system as quickly as possible and to allow it to dilute as much as possible as well

And yes - 99% of the time the reaction you described is due to nicking a vein or blood vessel and not a direct reaction to the penicillin itself but to the procaine going in there in such a concentrated amount

Hope she pulls through okay. She's been through a lot already ... :(

[betsyk]

So I have a related question: how would you tell the difference between a procaine reaction and an anaphalactic reaction to the penicillin itself? is it like people, where the airway constricts and they can't breathe when it's anaphalaxis? is epinephrine the treatment for both? does a human epi-pen have enough in it for a horse?

I ask because my guy, who had lymphangitis earlier this summer, responded well to the penicillin he got so I suspect if he gets another bout of lymphangitis he'll be prescribed penicillin again, and I'll be the one to give the shots. We board at a big barn and I know a couple of the other boarders carry epi-pens for latex and bee sting allergies. Am I blending too much human and veterinary medicine here?

[Rhyadawn]

Twice, and if I ever have it happen again it will be too soon!

First was a cute little welsh pony mare. She had the sniffles, but the vet was concerned as there was some nasty flu going around.

Second was a Tb mare that I was watching while her owner was away. She had been given penicillian many times and then had this reaction. Freaked the heck out of me!!!

[chai]

That is terrifying. You are so lucky that your vet was so close by...what are the odds of that? He sounds like a great vet, and what a cool guy to have something for the owner's nerves, too!
I have only had to do penicillin injections once...knocking on wood...I hated it because the shots were huge. I was very happy when the course of treatment was over.

I hope your mare has recovered fully. Poor girl, she's had a rough year.

[Faiths CremelloWB]

Vet said Procaine reaction. But as anything is possible I could have hit blood. I did pull back and do every time I give anything. I do right side at night and left in morning. There was no blood at injection site right after taking the needle out or after her episode.

Beside the central nervous system symptoms she was having a heck of a time breathing and really sweated up. But the breathing I think was just from all the panicking etc... I am sooooo thanful she was in a stall. I could not even begin to imagine how I would have been able to control her out in the open. It would have been disasterous for sure!!

And I am thankful the vet had some medication for us as well!! I caught him at the end of the day on his way home (going by my farm) with goodies for people at his place. I hope they did not mind my sister and I having one. It was greatly appreciated!!


It was just awful and I hope to never see anything like it again.

[KnKShowmom]

I haven't seen this w/ penicillin... but something similar happened to my guy when he was given a Legend shot. He had been getting them for over a year (loading dose and then once a month).

The Vet administered it. He didn't do the floppy fish thing. He stay on his feet the entire time. But he started to back up and his head was straight in the air. It looked like he was having a seizure. The Vet grabbed his halter and we both just talked to him and my Vet tapped on his forehead saying "stay with us now" as my guy was swaying back and forth. After a few minutes, it passed. And my guy was fine.

But it was the scariest thing I've ever seen (up until he had emergency colic surgery) ;)

The Vet said he must have just nicked a vein and it went to my guy's brain. Now I know it could happen to anyone but I have to admit, shortly after that, I started using a different Vet (but there had been a few other very small incidents before this anyways).

Um, Legends is an IV injection so where was this guy giving it????

[jetsmom]

You can get a Procaine reaction from barely nicking a small capillary. Even the most eperienced vets can have this happen. You wouldn't even see the blood when you aspirate.

If you give a Penicillin shot, do it in a stall with you by the door. You DON'T want to be trapped in the back of the stall if one gets a procaine reaction. The horse acts like it is seeing demons and will literally try to climb the walls. They won't even know you are there, so any hope of them having "manners" and not invading your space, goes out the window. If they start to have a reaction get out of the stall fast.

Epi works if they have an Anaphalactic allergic reaction, which can happen with any horse no matter how many times they have had Pen before.

[pupakin]

Um, Legends is an IV injection so where was this guy giving it????

Sounds like in this case the vet hit the artery rather than the vein. I have seen the same type reaction from an IV shot that was placed in an artery rather than vein.

[Faiths CremelloWB]

You can get a Procaine reaction from barely nicking a small capillary. Even the most eperienced vets can have this happen. You wouldn't even see the blood when you aspirate.

If you give a Penicillin shot, do it in a stall with you by the door. You DON'T want to be trapped in the back of the stall if one gets a procaine reaction. The horse acts like it is seeing demons and will literally try to climb the walls. They won't even know you are there, so any hope of them having "manners" and not invading your space, goes out the window. If they start to have a reaction get out of the stall fast.

Epi works if they have an Anaphalactic allergic reaction, which can happen with any horse no matter how many times they have had Pen before.
So true!!! I am very thankful she was in her stall. Probably saved her life. And you are right about her not knowing where I was. She was all over the walls and trying to get out the feed door window before she went down. When she was down she was really panicking. I tried calming her down as best I could with my voice and keeping my distance. As soon as she got to her feet and threw a halter on quick and held her with myself close to the door.

I usually always give Penicillin in the stall. Now I always will and when my vet says to use it, I will ask if something else would work. Try and stay away from it as much as I can.

[EventerAJ]

Sounds like in this case the vet hit the artery rather than the vein. I have seen the same type reaction from an IV shot that was placed in an artery rather than vein.



Agree.

Small veterinary point here...
Nicking a "vein" isn't so bad. Nicking an ARTERY is what causes the problems. Veins are already returning blood to the heart/lungs, where substances will be mixed and diluted with the rest of the blood volume. Arteries (A = *away* from heart) are going directly to tissues, where a concentrated dose of a drug is less tolerable. Especially the brain-- brain does NOT like undiluted drugs! That's why you want to avoid the carotid at ALL costs-- direct pipeline to the brain.

Thank you for sharing your scary experience. I've used Pen a handful of times, and have never witnessed an actual reaction. Good to know the horse is ok, and lucky your vet was so close by! Often those panic-driven moments are the exact time when the vet is unable to answer the phone and you're freaking out... ;)

[foggybok]

Agree.

Small veterinary point here...
Nicking a "vein" isn't so bad. Nicking an ARTERY is what causes the problems. Veins are already returning blood to the heart/lungs, where substances will be mixed and diluted with the rest of the blood volume. Arteries (A = *away* from heart) are going directly to tissues, where a concentrated dose of a drug is less tolerable. Especially the brain-- brain does NOT like undiluted drugs! That's why you want to avoid the carotid at ALL costs-- direct pipeline to the brain.

Thank you for sharing your scary experience. I've used Pen a handful of times, and have never witnessed an actual reaction. Good to know the horse is ok, and lucky your vet was so close by! Often those panic-driven moments are the exact time when the vet is unable to answer the phone and you're freaking out... ;)

That's sort of true. In the case of Xylazine and such, the problem is when a person is trying to hit the jugular and hits the carotid and it goes, as you said, straight to the brain. They will react just like this. In the case of procaine, it is different, even getting it into a vein can be a problem since it isn't meant to get into the general circulation. I know someone that injected procaine Pen directly into a vein and got the same reaction as the OP. Bad mistake....

If you are injecting in a muscle, that blood flow doesn't go to the brain, it goes through the muscle then back through the heart and lungs, but you can still get a procaine reaction by hitting a vein.

[Fairview Horse Center]

This definitely sounds like you nicked a vein. I check and recheck, every time the horse moves, shifts his weight, or the needle shifts slightly. Actual alergic reactions to PPG are pretty rare, but the blood reaction makes people think it is an alergic reaction. If it was, the horse would likely be dead.

PPG actually is an excellent drug, and combined with Gentocin is probably broader spectrum than anything else. Another plus is that you can treat a horse with that combination for less than $50 as opposed to $500 or more with alternative drugs.

[Faiths CremelloWB]

This definitely sounds like you nicked a vein. I check and recheck, every time the horse moves, shifts his weight, or the needle shifts slightly. Actual alergic reactions to PPG are pretty rare, but the blood reaction makes people think it is an alergic reaction. If it was, the horse would likely be dead.

PPG actually is an excellent drug, and combined with Gentocin is probably broader spectrum than anything else. Another plus is that you can treat a horse with that combination for less than $50 as opposed to $500 or more with alternative drugs.

True. But I can say that if I have another choice of drug, after going through this, I will chose the other drug.

I do pull back and this mare stands like a rock. So if I did hit blood, there was no way around it with this mare. I mean if the needle moved, it was so tiny I did not even feel it.

[rhymeswithfizz]

You can get a Procaine reaction from barely nicking a small capillary. Even the most eperienced vets can have this happen. You wouldn't even see the blood when you aspirate.



Yup. This happened to me as a pony clubber, as I was holding the horse FOR the vet. I watched the whole thing, barely got out of the way, scarred for life. Pretty much turned me off of the idea of vet school too!!

Decades later, when I had to give my own horse daily penicillin for a nasty facial injury for 2 weeks, even though he was a saint for it, I dreaded it every single time.

[LSM1212]

Um, Legends is an IV injection so where was this guy giving it????

Ooopppsss... my bad. Nicked an artery. Of course he was giving it in the vein. :winkgrin:

[fooler]

So true!!! I am very thankful she was in her stall. Probably saved her life. And you are right about her not knowing where I was. She was all over the walls and trying to get out the feed door window before she went down. When she was down she was really panicking. I tried calming her down as best I could with my voice and keeping my distance. As soon as she got to her feet and threw a halter on quick and held her with myself close to the door.

I usually always give Penicillin in the stall. Now I always will and when my vet says to use it, I will ask if something else would work. Try and stay away from it as much as I can.

Happened at my old barn about 20 years ago. BO, who developed strong allergy to penicillin after bad case of pneumonia, gave shot to a home-bred who was on penicillin for an injury. The mare had shots before with no reaction, but this time she reacted & badly. Unnerved both BO, owner and the Vet. They changed to different penicillin or anti-biotic. My memory is bad, but it seems there was discussion regarding plain and Procain penicillian - if that is possible.
Also my late nephew who died in 1968 from leukemia developed an allergy to penicillin. There are others I know who must use non-penicillin based anti-biotics.

[Horsegal984]

Side note too, you can usually buy epinephrine at TSC and if you're going to be giving procaine penn. injections many vets will be willing to leave a dose for you, just in case. Assuming your relationship with them is good enough that they can trust you with it, but if they trust you with PPG they'll probably give you epi.

I'll never forget right after I started tech school I boarded at a barn with a really nice guy, but very typical old cattle farmer. He'd been doing this all his life, and he'd always treated his horses like his cows and they were fine. Had a strangles outbreak and half the barn wound up on PPG shots twice a day. I tried to explain why you should aspirate and check for blood, but he'd never had problems. I said just in case, there's a bottle of single dose epi in the fridge. Wasn't two days later I come out and he's all riled up because he had the exact same reaction you did, scared the life out of him. But he did start taking my advice a little easier after that! Still blew me off whenever I'd suggest something, then I'd come out later and find he did it my way lol. And I learned as much from him as he did from me in the long run!

Katherine
Vet Tech

[Laurierace]

How would epi help with a procaine in the vein reaction? I was always under the impression that was more of an overdose type situation as in way too much gets to the brain as opposed to an allergic reaction.

[BeastieSlave]

I've had it happen to me. I thought I had surely killed our pony. By the time the vet got to the barn she was up and fine. He told me I must have gotten near a vein. WTF?! :eek: If I pull back and don't see blood, how am I supposed to know if I'm near a vein? It's too much for me....
My vets know I'll do just about anything to avoid giving pen now.

[jetsmom]

My understanding is that Epi won't do anything for a procaine reaction...only anaphalactic shock.

Pretty much the only thing you can do for a procaine reaction is get out of the way, and hope horse is in a safe area where they can't hurt themselves very badly. By the time the vet gets there they will usually be fine.

[Laurierace]

My understanding is that Epi won't do anything for a procaine reaction...only anaphalactic shock.

Pretty much the only thing you can do for a procaine reaction is get out of the way, and hope horse is in a safe area where they can't hurt themselves very badly. By the time the vet gets there they will usually be fine.

That is my understanding as well so then why is our resident Vet Tech suggesting epi in this situation? Not arguing, I just don't understand.

[tothepointe]

Was this procaine penicillin? If so it wasn't a reaction to the penicillin itself which would be more likely to result in massive hives and difficultly breathing and such. If it was procaine penicillin you hit a blood vessel and the procaine went directly to her brain causing the symptoms that you witnessed. In that case you can give her the drug again, just be extra careful. Stick a clean needle into the horse, not the needle you used to draw the drug up out of the bottle. Watch it for 30 seconds or so and see if any blood appears in the hub before you attach the syringe. Once you attach the syringe draw back to check for blood again. Check once again if you reposition the needle. I know this seems elementary for someone who has given as many injections as you have but you have witnessed first hand the need for the precautions.

Just a question for you. Why would you stick the needle in first and then attatch the syringe. I only have experience with giving IM injections to people not horses but we draw up the drug, change out the needle, stick and then aspirate to check placement then push the drug.

Is it to prevent the vacum caused by aspirating?

[tbgurl]

Wow, that's horribly scary!

I have only given vaccinations myself...could that reaction happen with vaccines, too? I always aspirate to check for blood, but from reading here it seems that that doesn't always matter. :eek:

[Fairview Horse Center]

Just a question for you. Why would you stick the needle in first and then attatch the syringe.

With horses, you always stick the needle in first, because they tend to move and jump. You don't want a needle with a syringe attached waving around, causing tissue damamge, and occasionally being flung into the dirty stall. With just a needle, he horse can jump, and you can work with them a minute to get them to settle before attaching. They are much less likely to go crazy from a small needle sticking out of them, than a large "weighted" syringe. You also get that first look that you have not hit blood. I always use a slip needle, not a twist on needle to be able to attach and push easily.

My drug of choice was always Aximycin, with contains PPG, until it was no longer manufactured due to it no longer being labeled for cows (showing up in the meat). I have literally given thousands of those injections as it was pretty much the only antibiotic my old vet used, and never had a reaction.

BOY do I miss that drug! Single injection, once a day for 5 days cured pretty much anything.

[Horsegal984]

That is my understanding as well so then why is our resident Vet Tech suggesting epi in this situation? Not arguing, I just don't understand.

Honestly, not sure if it does anything. However I was advised if you're giving PPG injections you should always have it on hand. May well have been for anaphylaxis and I misunderstood, as this was several years ago.

And from here I gladly defer to Ghazzu! :winkgrin:

Katherine
Vet Tech

[jetsmom]

Honestly, not sure if it does anything. However I was advised if you're giving PPG injections you should always have it on hand. May well have been for anaphylaxis and I misunderstood, as this was several years ago.

And from here I gladly defer to Ghazzu! :winkgrin:

Katherine
Vet Tech

I'm guessing for anaphalaxis, as that can happen to any horse no matter how many times it may have been given Pen in the past. Also good to have on hand when vaccinating, as any horse can have an anaphalactic reaction, even if it has been fine in the past.

[PalominoMorgan]

Never given penicillin to my horses but worked as a herdsman on a dairy. For a while we had a run of heifers (mostly) having annaphalactic (sp?) shock after getting a dosage of penicillin (usually for metritis.) Udders turned purple, cows starting gasping for air. We had the right drugs on hand to correct the situation but it was a big mystery why it was happening. Made us nervous to give shots. Had to leave cows in headlocks for 15-20 minutes to make sure nobody had a reaction.

[Plumcreek]

Was this procaine penicillin? If so it wasn't a reaction to the penicillin itself which would be more likely to result in massive hives and difficultly breathing and such. If it was procaine penicillin you hit a blood vessel and the procaine went directly to her brain causing the symptoms that you witnessed. In that case you can give her the drug again, just be extra careful. Stick a clean needle into the horse, not the needle you used to draw the drug up out of the bottle. Watch it for 30 seconds or so and see if any blood appears in the hub before you attach the syringe. Once you attach the syringe draw back to check for blood again. Check once again if you reposition the needle. I know this seems elementary for someone who has given as many injections as you have but you have witnessed first hand the need for the precautions.

I will add to this what my vet told me: When you draw back to check for blood, do it a second time after twisting the needle half way around. The needle can slice through a capilliary or blood vessel but be tight enough so that no blood comes up when you draw back the first time. When you do the half turn, it moves enough or the slanted part of the needle tip repositions enough to allow the blood to come up if it is there. This is a simple check that I now always do (actually I turn it twice now, being a complete Procaine Penn nervous type).

Once I had an "-aine" drug reaction when being put under for surgery on the table. I saw the drug being pushed in the tube, then started hearing bells ringing loudly in my head that quickly turned to horrendous crashing sounds. I was barely able to communicate this and instantly was given something else to put me out. I can sort of relate, in a small way, to what the horses experience - must be terrifying for them.

[Laurierace]

Just a question for you. Why would you stick the needle in first and then attatch the syringe. I only have experience with giving IM injections to people not horses but we draw up the drug, change out the needle, stick and then aspirate to check placement then push the drug.

Is it to prevent the vacum caused by aspirating?

In the case of this particular drug you use a clean needle ie not the needle you used to draw it up into the syringe and put it in all by itself so you can watch it to see if any blood appears in the hub. That is just one extra precaution you can take to help ensure that you didn't nick a vein or a capillary.

[jpeg]

Just to share my experience - About three years ago, I went through Potomac Horse Fever with one of my boys, and was giving regular IM shots of Gentocin & Penicillin. Here's what my vet advised when administering 30cc of Penicillin: give 15cc S-L-O-W-L-Y into the muscle, then draw needle halfway out and re-direct needle at a different angle into the muscle, push needle back in, and give the remaining 15cc S-L-O-W-L-Y in the the new direction.

Knock wood, I had no problems and my boy recovered fully, but my hands shook every time I had to give that shot.

[Laurierace]

Just to share my experience - About three years ago, I went through Potomac Horse Fever with one of my boys, and was giving regular IM shots of Gentocin & Penicillin. Here's what my vet advised when administering 30cc of Penicillin: give 15cc S-L-O-W-L-Y into the muscle, then draw needle halfway out and re-direct needle at a different angle into the muscle, push needle back in, and give the remaining 15cc S-L-O-W-L-Y in the the new direction.

Knock wood, I had no problems and my boy recovered fully, but my hands shook every time I had to give that shot.

Yeah but if you don't pull back to check for blood again after you redirect the needle you could be in trouble. Don't forget that crucial step.

[Fairview Horse Center]

About three years ago, I went through Potomac Horse Fever with one of my boys, and was giving regular IM shots of Gentocin & Penicillin.

Potomac Horse Fever is treated with Tetracycline. It is not sensiive to Gentomycin and PPG.

[Fairview Horse Center]

I actually check several times during an injection, even if the horse has not moved a breath. I also always hold the needle still with one hand, while pushing with the other, but I have even seen vets that don't use the 2-hand method for injections. I do it for ALL injections.

[jpeg]

Potomac Horse Fever is treated with Tetracycline. It is not sensiive to Gentomycin and PPG.


Yes, my vet did give him two doses of Oxytetracycline, and then I continued on w/the Gentocin & Penicillin. His treatment actually began w/G & P when he became ill, and his bloodwork showed clearly he was really battling something, but we were not entirely sure what it was at that point. Then, approx. 24 hours later he was given his first dose of Oxytet.

And yes, thank you, Laurie, I didn't mean to leave out the very important step of drawing back to see if there's blood. :)