5.2 Medication Basics
Pharmacology is the study of drugs used to treat, diagnose, and prevent conditions and diseases in animals and humans.
Medications are defined as substances that can treat or prevent disease. In Canada, these are regulated by Health Canada and must go through an approval system. Drugs can be administered in the veterinary clinic by a DVM or RVT, or a client might bring the medication home to continue treatment of their pet. Most medications can be filled in the clinic pharmacy, but some prescriptions need to be sent to other pharmacies.
A veterinary drug has been approved for use in veterinary medicine for the treatment of specific species (Kustritz, 2022).
Prescription Medications
Prescription medications are any medications that must be prescribed by a doctor. After an exam, the veterinarian will determine whether a medication is needed or not. Once a prescription has been completed, it can be filled by the DVM or RVT. It will then be explained and given to the client to administer to the patient at home.
Controlled medications are a group of drugs that have the risk of addiction or abuse by humans. There are regulations as to how these drugs must be stored in the clinic and how they can be prescribed and dispensed.
Over-the-Counter Medications
Over-the-counter (OTC) medication is any medication that a client can purchase for their animal without a prescription. These medications can be purchased at the veterinary clinic, pet store, and some retail department stores.
Example
An example of an OTC medication would be flea shampoo, as seen in Figure 5.2. It is recommended that all OTC medications be discussed with the patient’s DVM because of risks and side effects.
Types of Drugs
All medications have a generic name, which is the universal name used worldwide for the drug. Brand names, also known as trade names, are created by the companies that sell the medication, so these will vary between companies. Brand names are usually easier to pronounce, which makes the drug easier to sell.
- A drug can be sold under its generic name or under a brand name.
- Generic and brand name drugs must have the same active ingredients, but the inactive ingredients may differ.
- Generic and brand name drugs may differ in size, shape, and colour.
- Generic drugs are typically less expensive than brand name drugs.
| Brand Name | Generic Name |
|---|---|
| Gravol | dimenhydrinate |
| Benadryl | diphenhydramine |
| Cerenia | maropitant |
| Metacam | meloxicam |
Example
The brand name in Figure 5.3 is Gravol, and the generic name is dimenhydrinate.
Compounded drugs are generic drugs that are altered by a pharmacy and are less regulated than generic and brand name drugs. Generally, veterinarians use compounding pharmacies to make drugs that have different concentrations, flavours, or formulations than is otherwise available to make administration easier. Compounding a drug is generally only done if there is no other alternative on the market.
Acronyms
OTC: over the counter
Additional Medication Terms
Absorption: When the medications enter the body and travel from the site of administration into the blood circulation
Adverse effect: Also known as a side effect; an unintended pharmacological effect that occurs when a medication is administered correctly. For example, Benadryl is given to reduce allergies, but it makes you drowsy—the drowsiness is a side effect.
Concentration: Also known as strength; the amount of a drug per unit of medication
- e.g., the concentration of a liquid is often listed as mg/mL (that is, how many mg of the drug are in 1 mL of liquid); a tablet might be 250 mg (that is, there is 250 mg of the drug in every tablet)
Contraindication: A reason why a drug would NOT be recommended for use
- e.g., the anti-inflammatory pain medication meloxicam hard on the kidneys, so kidney disease in a patient might be a contraindication to using the drug
Dosage: The amount of a medication to be given based on the weight of the animal
- e.g., 2 mg/kg
Dose: The amount of a drug to be given with each administration
- e.g., 1 tablet, 25 mg, 5 mL
Drug: A medication or other substances that have a physiological effect when introduced to the body
Elimination: The process by which the body eliminates waste or excess
Indication: The reason to use a particular medication
- e.g., vomiting is an indication for an anti-emetic
Metabolism: The breakdown of a drug molecule by enzymes in the liver (primarily) or intestines (secondarily)
Exercise
Attribution
Unless otherwise indicated, material on this page has been adapted from the following resource:
Chippewa Valley Technical College, Egert, A., Lee, K., & Gill, M. (2023). Fundamentals of nursing pharmacology – 1st Canadian edition. BCcampus. https://opentextbc.ca/nursingpharmacology/, licensed under CC BY 4.0
References
Root Kustritz, M. (2022). Veterinary preventative medicine. University of Minnesota. https://pressbooks.umn.edu/vetprevmed/, licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0
Image Credits
(images are listed in order of appearance)
Vet use only label by Kelly Robertson, NorQuest College. Used with permission.
Shingoli shampoo Tick n flea front by Shingoli, CC BY-SA 4.0
Kids Gravol by Kelly Robertson, NorQuest College. Used with permission.
Medications or other substances that have a physiological effect when introduced to the body
