I'll now answer Jerry Jackowski's comments by answering another post first
>From: "Michael F. Janke" <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Benadryl dosage
>I just got the latest issue (Jan/Feb '99) of "Ferrets" magazine and was
>reading an article on communicable diseases in ferrets.
>
>In the article they brought up the topic of reactions to vaccinations. It
>said that if you ferret had a reaction at home, you could administer 3 cc's
>(or 1 teaspoon) of childrens benadryl before going to the vet.
>
>Isn't that an awful lot?...
Let's see how difficult it is for a writer with a PhD or an editor of a
magazine to check these dosages. I am not a veterinarian, but I know how
to look up information which is readily available (something responsible
editors or folks with PhDs should be able to do).
To begin, right on the package of Benedryl it says that "Each teaspoonful
(5 ml) contains: Diphenhydramine Hydrochloride 12.5 mg." From that I'd say
that 3 cc (a pharmacist confirmed with a quick phone call that 1 cc is the
same as 1 ml) is not the same as a teaspoon (which is 5 cc). Since it says
this right on the bottle I'd say that the time to check this fact is at
most 1 minute. Two, if you call a pharmacist to confirm cc's vs. ml's.
I'm sure you could also locate this conversion information in most basic
dictionaries.
On to more medical topics as opposed to basic units of measurement.
The respected resource for ferret medicine is _Ferrets, Rabbits, and
Rodents: Clinical Medicine and Surgery_ edited by Elizabeth V. Hillyer,
DVM and Katherine E Quesenberry, DVM. (We published ordering info for
this book in issue #18, pg 65 of Modern Ferret because we feel that every
veterinarian who takes care of ferrets should have a copy - and if they
don't, then one of their ferret clientele should buy it for them.)
For vaccine reactions, FR&R recommends (on page 17 under canine distemper
reactions) a range of 0.5 to 2 mg per kg of diphenhydramine hydrochloride
(Benedryl) for ferrets.
There is 12.5 mg of the active ingredient (diphenhydramine hydrochloride)
per 5 ml (it says so on the package). You can call Parke-Davis (their 800
number is on the package) or your local pharmacist to make sure that this
is the only dosage of liquid Benedryl available (it is). This takes about
3 minutes.
Starting with the 3cc's of Benedryl.
3 cc's (or 3 ml) of Benedryl contain 3/5 of 12.5 mg of diphenhydramine
hydrochloride which is 7.5 mg.
If you give 2 mg per kg, then 7.5 mg is enough for a 3.75 kg ferret
Looking in your dictionary (this only takes a minute) you can see that
a kg is roughly 2.2 pounds. Thus this would be an appropriate dosage for
a 8.25 pound ferret.
If you give .5 mg per kg, then 7.5 mg is enough for a 15 kg ferret.
Thus this would be an appropriate dosage for a 33 pound ferret.
Giving a whole teaspoonful (5 ml) you are giving 12.5 mg of diphenhydramine
hydrochloride.
If you give 2 mg per kg, then 12.5 mg is enough for a 6.25 kg ferret.
Thus this would be an appropriate dosage for a 13.75 pound ferret.
If you give .5 mg per kg, then 12.5 mg is enough for a 25 kg ferret.
Thus this would be an appropriate dosage for a 55 pound ferret.
I know my Knuks is just barely a pound. I certainly wouldn't want to dose
her with enough medicine for a 55 pound ferret - especially if she was
already ill with a vaccine reaction.
I don't know what happens if you overdose a ferret to this degree
(especially one that is already suffering from a vaccine reaction), but I do
know it is not recommended in FR&R. Having someone with a PhD (who is not a
veterinarian) suggest this would make me want to see some documentation
that this dosage is not going to harm a ferret (even a healthy one). It is
certainly not something an editor should let get by without questioning -
especially since all the research involved took only a few minutes and it
is certainly a situation where the incorrect recommendation could be
life-threatening.
The ferret community is rather fortunate in that before Mary started Modern
Ferret she was a medical editor and writer (for human medicine) so that she
fully understands the seriousness of double checking references on things
like medicine dosages. Even on articles written by veterinarians, we
check their recommendations against resources like FR&R. Even the best
veterinarian (which the author of the Ferrets article is not) can make a
typographical error. It is the editor's responsibility to ensure that the
information being published is correct.
The author also fails to mention that if you have administered medication
to your ferret you should tell your veterinarian so that your veterinarian
doesn't accidentally overdose or mis-medicate your ferret.
So to Michael Janke's question:
0.2 ml of Benedryl contains 0.2/5 of 12.5 mg of diphenhydramine
hydrochloride which is 0.5 mg.
If you give 2 mg per kg, then 0.5 mg is enough for a 0.55 kg ferret.
Thus this would be an appropriate dosage for a 1.21 pound ferret.
If you give 0.5 mg per kg, then 0.5 mg is enough for a 1 kg ferret.
Thus this would be an appropriate dosage for a 2.2 pound ferret.
Thus I would say his veterinarian is much more in the ballpark of
recommended dosing than the "well-researched" article.
To further verify this, we contacted the National Animal Poison Control
Center for their opinion. They looked up the dosage in the Exotic Animal
Formulary published by the AAHA and said the dosage should be 0.5 to 2 mg
per kg (the same as what our research showed). They added that you should
make sure that you are using plain Benedryl (antihistamine only) and not
Benedryl with other active ingredients added (such as decongestants). They
said that low doses can cause sedation (drowsiness) and high doses can
cause excitability, tremors, and seizures (common side effects of high
doses of antihistamine). Their opinion was that a pet owner should not
exceed the recommended dosage unless operating under the instruction of
their veterinarian - especially if the ferret is having a vaccine reaction.
This cost $30 (a small price to pay to not overdose a ferret) and 5 minutes
of our time to get a professional opinion.
Later in the article the author states "Kits need three vaccinations, two
to three weeks apart. Vaccinations should be administered during the kit's
fifth or sixth week of life, then annually thereafter."
It looks like an editor "for brevity" cut out the mention that you start
vaccinating in the fifth or sixth week (though the FR&R says 6-8 weeks) and
then every two or three weeks following (FR&R says 3-4 weeks) until you
have properly vaccinated your ferret (last shot at 13-14 weeks). Then you
can vaccinate them annually. As if explaining how to vaccinate against
distemper was not important enough to leave an extra sentence or two in.
Better yet, one could just look at the ad from United Vaccines (the
vaccine manufacturer) on page 13 of the same issue and see that their
recommendation is 1st shot at 8 weeks, 2nd shot at 11 weeks, and 3rd shot
at 14 weeks.
I'll admit that I make mistakes too. However, the amount of misinformation
in seemingly "well-researched" articles from Fancy Publications (be it
their books or their magazines) is really way too high for me to feel that
it is just innocent human errors. I think there are errors due to a lack
of concern for the well-being of ferrets. I only used this particular
article as an example since another FML poster asked about it. An editor
who cared would put in the few minutes of research I described to determine
the correctness of the information they were publishing. I'd want the
information I publish to be good enough to use on my own ferrets.
It isn't as if Fancy Publications isn't an experienced publishing company -
they've been around for a very long time and should really know better.
Regarding other items in Jerry Jackowski's post from 8 Dec 1998:
>A publication that you and your wife recommend reading
>(see Chapter 12 of The Ferret An owners guide to a happy healthy pet.)
We did not recommend it. The editor of the Howell Books series recommended
it. Although we think the book is good overall, there were many aspects of
it which we were not permitted to have a say in. There were several photos
slipped in by the editor which we had not seen before (fortunately - none
with ferrets in wood chips or ferrets playing with foam balls,
unfortunately a ferret eating some strange object). We managed to get them
to change some of the side bar & info box comments including a photograph
of Marshmallow leaping in the air to grab a dangling toy - which they
called the "ferret dance of joy." Our final decision was to not allow
outside people who don't know about ferrets edit our work. There is too
much danger of someone who is misinformed writing or depicting something
wrong. That's why we publish the magazine ourselves and are intent on
self-publishing all future works.
>Ferrets USA was the first and only special interest publication about
>ferrets that we knew about. We have gotten a lot of useful information
That may be. But we were the first magazine to come out and survive.
_American Ferret_ (no relation to the AFA publication) came out in
September/October 1986 and lasted one issue. Their failure convinced pet
magazine publishers to avoid ferrets. American Ferret took a lot of money
from a lot of people - so much so that in 1994 people were still bitter
about it. Many of our early subscribers complained about how they bought
subscriptions to American Ferret only to have it disappear, and thus they
didn't want to trust us. We were the only ones who believed in ferrets
enough to try launching a magazine. After we successfully stayed in
business, Fancy felt it was time to test the waters.
>Animosity within our ferret community will not benefit anybody. To reach a
>common goal we need to be constructive and rational.
I don't think Fancy Publications is in any way a part of "the ferret
community." They are not ferret owners and don't show any concern for
ferrets - from publishing inaccurate medical information to publishing
names of ferret owners in California.
Fancy does have several writers who are from "the ferret community" - I
have not seen any of those writers defend Fancy's actions (like the famous
chicken-stalking photo) or prevent future mis-information (like the
Benedryl dosage info above). Or perhaps their concerns have fallen on
deaf ears.
In fact, Jeanne Carley seemed to be the person most outraged by the
chicken-stalking photo. And her article in the current Ferrets USA was the
one in which the wording was changed to imply that she is a ferret owner.
I know from our experience when we interviewed her that she was careful to
stress several times that she is not a ferret owner. I would imagine that
she does the same with every magazine she talks to - so why would a Fancy
editor alter her words? Certainly no member of the ferret community would
want to damage her legalization efforts.
>What is it that people want? Do you want to see Ferrets USA cease and
>desist? Do you think it would be a positive thing for the ferret
>community?
I know that Fancy Publications wants Modern Ferret to fold. Do you think
that would be a positive thing for the ferret community? Before they
launched their Ferrets magazine, Norman Ridker, the owner of Fancy
Publications, had dinner with us and described his company's history of
decimating the competition. We have taken a lot of hits - both from them
and from segments of the "ferret community" - and we've continued to
publish. We think it is important to have a publication about ferrets that
puts ferrets first. This isn't a game here - there are a limited number of
dollars being spent on ferrets and it might not be enough in the long run
for multiple publications (or even any publications) to survive.
It would be a positive thing for Fancy to publish responsibly - which they
show no intention of doing. Did you ever wonder why we don't publish
city/state for some people when we run their photos? It's because they
live in an obvious FFZ and we don't want to risk pointing them out - I know
I wouldn't want someone to finger my ferrets if I lived where they were
illegal. (We will mention address only if the person specifically says it
is OK/requests it.) Yet Ferrets USA & Ferrets both happily point out folks
in CA without giving it a second thought. Have you forgotten their article
where they dismiss the notion that wood chips are bad for ferrets, etc.?
Where is the responsible publishing?
I hope that at least the Benedryl dosage portion of this post was useful to
most ferret owners and I apologize for the length. There are several other
glaring errors I have seen in the Fancy material that could easily have
been verified with just a few minutes of research. I don't know why
ferret owners who know better would let them get away with that. I don't
understand why the editor(s) do not perform simple fact checking - a basic
function of the job and a crucial part of publishing accurate information.
- Eric
P.S. For all the stuff that went on about the chicken-stalking photo, has
anyone ever seen a copy of the book that actually has that photo removed?
I know my copy has the photo in it.
Modern Ferret Magazine - For ferret owners. By ferret owners.
Mary & Eric Shefferman & the fuzzies: Sabrina, Marshmallow,
Knuks, Trixie, Bosco da Gama, Balthazar, Cauliflower, and Koosh
http://www.modernferret.com
[Posted in FML issue 2520]
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