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Benadryl? (Childrens liquid) *Update* Changed to Piriton instead :)

~ILoveMyBunny~

~ILoveMyBunny~

Alpha Buck
Hello :wave:
I decided to make a separate thread for this as it's a new (and fairly urgent) question, but if anyone wants background original thread is here: http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/s...ms-nose-seems-dry-Was-treated-for-respiratory

I just got back from the vet with Lunar. She has been previously diagnosed (via swab) as having the Bordetella bronchiseptica bacteria, however she has never had any symptoms besides sneezing. After 15 days on Sulfatrim, the last 5 of which she was also on Baytril, the vet says that as she's been on it so long and shown no improvement he's starting to think maybe it is an allergy. I have to admit she does seem to sneeze more when she's eating her hay.
He told me to give her childrens Benadryl, 0.16ml twice a day. He looked it up in front of me in a book and it did indeed indicate that it was safe and gave the average dosage, which he recalculated for Lunar's smaller size and younger age.
However, you know what it's like to be a bunny owner. You have to double check everything to be sure it's safe :p
So just thought I'd check with all of you before I gave her her first dose? Is it safe?
He actually had a picture of a pink box but I could only get a yellow one. I think the only difference is flavour, the pink being cherry and the yellow being banana.

List of ingredients from leaflet:
Sorbitol (E420), Glycerol, Propylene glycol, Sodium saccharinate, Methyl parahydroxybenzoate ( E218 ), Propyl parahydroxybenzoate (E216), Banana flavouring, Sodium acetate, Glacial acetic acid and Purified water

Does anything there sound dangerous?
Thanks :)
 
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What country are you in? Benadryl in the UK has different active ingredients to benadryl in the US. As I understand it, US benadryl is ok, UK benadryl is not. I have previously used children's piriton syrup (dipheniramine or something) for bunny allergy on the advice of a bunny savvy vet and that active ingredient is listed in the Harcourt-Brown textbook of rabbit medicine as being safe.
 
Thanks, Suzi Wong. Yes, she's probably the most likely to know if it's safe. I suppose I could pm her, but I hate to bother her.
I'll see if I get another reply in the next hour or two and I might try if not.
I've tried googling it but seem to get conflicting answers. The majority seem to suggest it's okay but some were talking about adult Benadryl. The vet told me to get childrens. :?

Santa said:
What country are you in? Benadryl in the UK has different active ingredients to benadryl in the US. As I understand it, US benadryl is ok, UK benadryl is not. I have previously used children's piriton syrup (dipheniramine or something) for bunny allergy on the advice of a bunny savvy vet and that active ingredient is listed in the Harcourt-Brown textbook of rabbit medicine as being safe.
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Santa said:
What country are you in? Benadryl in the UK has different active ingredients to benadryl in the US. As I understand it, US benadryl is ok, UK benadryl is not. I have previously used children's piriton syrup (dipheniramine or something) for bunny allergy on the advice of a bunny savvy vet and that active ingredient is listed in the Harcourt-Brown textbook of rabbit medicine as being safe.
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Thanks Santa for your post, I should have said there are plenty of other knowledgable rabbity peeps on here
 
Even if it is the right one, the dose will be different between the adults and children's versions, so I think you'll need to talk to your vet again anyway if you can only find the adult one.

I've had a quick google and my earlier post is the case - Benadry in the US contains dipheniramine, which is safe for rabbits (in the UK, piriton children's syrup contains dipheniramine), however Benadryl in the UK does not contain dipheniramine, it uses a different antihistamine which has unknown safety in rabbits. This isn't very clear when you google it, as if you don't look very carefully, on face value it looks as if all benadryl contains dipheniramine. So I would say depending on where you are would depend on whether benadryl is the right choice or not. If you're in the UK I'd go back to your vet and ask for confirmation of the active ingredient you should be looking for.
 
Santa said:
Even if it is the right one, the dose will be different between the adults and children's versions, so I think you'll need to talk to your vet again anyway if you can only find the adult one.

I've had a quick google and my earlier post is the case - Benadry in the US contains dipheniramine, which is safe for rabbits (in the UK, piriton children's syrup contains dipheniramine), however Benadryl in the UK does not contain dipheniramine, it uses a different antihistamine which has unknown safety in rabbits. This isn't very clear when you google it, as if you don't look very carefully, on face value it looks as if all benadryl contains dipheniramine. So I would say depending on where you are would depend on whether benadryl is the right choice or not. If you're in the UK I'd go back to your vet and ask for confirmation of the active ingredient you should be looking for.
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Santa, I'm in the UK. I read about 15mins ago that the US and UK versions use different ingredients but I thought it was the US one that was unsafe?
I have seen a lot of people say Piriton is good, but worried that if I use that the vet might not like it as he told me to use Benadryl.
Oh dear, I don't know what to do now. I'm glad I checked on here before just giving it to her, though. I suppose I could go out again and get the Piriton? Can you just get it at a supermarket or pharmacy? We had some trouble getting the Benadryl. Local pharmacy didn't have any. Morrisons pharmacy questioned us on who it was for. When we said a rabbit she refused to sell it to us as they can't sell medication for use with pets. I suppose it's a good thing, stop people self-treating their pets, but a bit of a pain when you've legitimately been told by a vet to use it.

I did manage to get the childrens one as directed, but it's a different flavour than the one on his screen.

Edit: The thing I came up with earlier that was mentioned as possibly not being safe (or being untested?) was Cetirizine. I didn't see it in the ingredient list on the one that I've got.
However I've just realized the active ingredient list is above it *slaps self for stupidity*.
And the active ingredient is indeed Cetirizine Dihydrochloride..
*Sigh*
If Piriton is safe (and I've seen it mentioned quite a few times today as being used by other bunny owners), could I just go out and get that? I suppose I'm a little nervous about going back to the vet as I've already questioned him on a lot of things :oops:

Edit again: Ah, that's the thread I saw. It was actually you that asked the question, Santa! :lol: And it was Jack's-Jane that mentioned the Cetirizine.
Ugh... Well I'm not giving it to her now. So what should I do? Do you think it would be wrong to just go and buy the Piriton?
 
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I would get back to your vet - I think you could easily legitimately say that the pharmacist advised that different benadryls have different active ingredients so you wanted to double check that the one you got was ok because it's not the same as the one you were shown. It depends on what the vet says to that or whether you're comfortable just being open and saying that 'a friend' of yours (best not say it's from a random bunny forum :lol:) has said that uk benadryl is different and piriton is one that has an ingredient listed as safe for bunnies. I don't know if this link will work but it's a page from FHB's (updated by Molly Varga) textbook showing that the piriton/US benadryl ingredient is bunny safe

https://books.google.co.uk/books?id...Q-A#v=onepage&q=chlorphenamine rabbit&f=false

The pharmacist was correct not to sell it to you for a bunny - technically you should have a prescription for it if it's not for a human and they could get into trouble for selling it if they know it's being used for a different purpose to the one they're licensed to dispense it for. Because I know this, I must admit I have never confessed to a pharmacist who it is really for :oops:
 
Santa, that's a brilliant idea. It's all about how you word these things... And sadly I have no idea how to! :lol:
Okay, I'll try that.
And yes, I agree with the decision the pharmacist made. I'm kind of glad in a way that they're careful not to sell it to anyone using it on pets as it would encourage a treat-it-yourself attitude. Though she could have been a little more polite about it.
Nevermind, not concerned with that now. I'll see what I can do with the vet.
He's going to hate me... :oops:
 
My Mum's just reminded me (I completely forgot!) that he actually said Piriton before changing it to Benadryl. I've asked if she's sure and she said that was definitely the first thing he said
 
As I vet I used piriton but never Benadryl but I have not done much small animal for a while. What is the active ingredient? I can check my formulary if there is any information but I would ring your vet to clairfy as with off label use there is no definate advice or doses so it is usually vet preference and colleague advice.
 
Bionic Bunny said:
As I vet I used piriton but never Benadryl but I have not done much small animal for a while. What is the active ingredient? I can check my formulary if there is any information but I would ring your vet to clairfy as with off label use there is no definate advice or doses so it is usually vet preference and colleague advice.
Click to expand...

The active ingredient is Cetirizine Dihydrochloride. This thread mentions it: http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?177156-Benadryl-for-bunnies It seems some of Jack's-Jane's young buns possibly could have died from it :( And I've found a few other things around the internet since that make it sound risky. So there was no way I was giving it to her.

I went back to the vet and he told me to use the Piriton. Problem is I'm slightly confused by what he's written down as the doseage! So I think I'll need to make a separate thread.. :oops:
 
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