Animal, Plant & Soil Science Lesson C5-4 Administering Medication and Care

Interest Approach Ask a veterinarian or a veterinary technician to be a guest speaker and to demonstrate (with tools) how to properly administer medicine. The veterinarian could also demonstrate how to correctly dress a wound or how to properly bandage an animal.

Objectives Illustrate the methods (topically, orally, and injected), and identify the instruments (multi-dose hypodermic syringe, hypodermic syringe and needle, drench gun, balling gun) used to administer vaccines and pharmaceuticals.

Objectives Describe the types of injections, and determine the appropriate injection sites. Examine the components of a label found on animal medication, and interpret a veterinarian’s prescription. Demonstrate the ability to appropriately administer first aid and apply bandages (pressure and wound).

Terms balling guns drench guns epidural (intraspinal) first aid hypodermic syringe and needle injected/injectable intradermal intramammary intramuscular (IM) intraocular intraosseous infusion intraperitoneal (IP) intravenous (IV)

Terms multidose hypodermic syringe multiple injections per os (PO) subcutaneous (SQ) topical tourniquet

What methods and instruments are used to administer vaccines and pharmaceuticals? Methods and instruments used to administer vaccines and pharmaceuticals A. Methods 1. Topical medicine is administered externally rather than injected or ingested. a. It is usually in the form of a lotion, cream, powder, or solution. b. It is commonly administered to the areas around the ears, nose, or eyes.

What methods and instruments are used to administer vaccines and pharmaceuticals? c. Topical lotions are water based, thin, and absorbed quickly. They are often undetectable after application. d. Topical creams are thicker and are visible on the skin after application. Creams require more time for medicine absorption.

What methods and instruments are used to administer vaccines and pharmaceuticals? e. Ointments are the thickest form of topical medication. The medicine is suspended in a greasy substance that remains on the skin until the medicine is absorbed. f. When administering topical medicine, gloves should be worn. Then spread a thin layer of medicine over the wounded area.

What methods and instruments are used to administer vaccines and pharmaceuticals? 2. Oral medicine is administered by the mouth. a. This is the most common way of administering a medicine or drug to an animal. b. Oral drugs can be prescribed to be administered at different intervals and may need to be given before or after food. They can be in liquid or solid form. Questions about the frequency should be addressed by the veterinarian.

What methods and instruments are used to administer vaccines and pharmaceuticals? c. Oral medicine can be taken in the form of a pill or a liquid through a syringe.

What methods and instruments are used to administer vaccines and pharmaceuticals? 3. Injected/injectable medicines are administered into the body with a hollow needle and a syringe. The needle is sharp enough to pierce through the skin, muscle, or vein and allows the medication to exit the syringe sterilely. a. There are many different ways to administer a medicine through injection: intradermal, subcutaneous, intramuscular, intravenous, intraosseous infusion, and intraperitoneal.

What methods and instruments are used to administer vaccines and pharmaceuticals? b. Before administering the medicine to the animal, make sure the needle is sterile. c. Also make sure the proper dose is given because an overdose can hurt or potentially kill the animal. d. The temperature of materials injected into the animal should be at or below body temperature. If the medication has been chilled, you can roll the syringe between your hands to warm it.

What methods and instruments are used to administer vaccines and pharmaceuticals? e. When making an injection, make sure the area around the injection site is clipped or shaved to prevent the spread of germs into the body. If clipping is undesirable or not possible, thoroughly swab the area with a clean alcohol wipe before injecting.

What methods and instruments are used to administer vaccines and pharmaceuticals? B. Instruments used to administer vaccines and pharmaceuticals

What methods and instruments are used to administer vaccines and pharmaceuticals? 1. Multidose hypodermic syringes— These medical instruments are used to inject fluids into the body or draw them from it; they can be used multiple times. a. Syringes consist of a plunder, barrel, and various types and sizes of needles. b. Before filling syringes, the instructions on the medicine bottle should be read carefully.

What methods and instruments are used to administer vaccines and pharmaceuticals? 2. Hypodermic syringe and needles— These small syringes are used with hollow needles for injections of material into or beneath the skin. Hypodermic needles are often used to administer insulin to animals with diabetes. 3. Drench guns—These are used to administer calcium, niacin, de-wormers, and other drenches. They squirt liquid between the cheek and teeth so the animals swallow it without the risk of liquid entering the lungs.

What methods and instruments are used to administer vaccines and pharmaceuticals? 4. Balling guns—These are used to administer oral medication by use of a long barrel that places the medicine at the back of the throat. They are commonly used in cattle to deliver oral medications in pill form.

What are the different types of injections and injection sites? Types of injections and the appropriate injection sites A. Types of injections and routes of medication administration 1. Intradermal injections are given into the skin and are used in animals when administering an allergy test just like in humans.

What are the different types of injections and injection sites? 2. Subcutaneous (SQ) injections are given under the skin. They should be given in areas where there is loose skin (e.g., half way up the neck in front of the shoulder). Because of cancer forming at the vaccine sites in cats that received routine vaccines, it is now recommended to give SQ vaccines on the limbs, as far away from the main body as possible. Then if cancer forms, the limb may be amputated to save the animal’s life.

What are the different types of injections and injection sites? 3. Intramuscular (IM) injections are given directly into the muscle. a. In cattle, for example, IM injections should always be given in front of the shoulder instead of on the rump because injections leave scars that cause the meat to be condemned at harvesting facilities. The most valuable cuts from a cow are the areas behind the shoulder, so avoiding these areas will preserve the expensive cuts of meat.

What are the different types of injections and injection sites? b. These injections should be given deep into a muscle. The needle should be long enough to penetrate skin, subcutaneous tissue, and fat to reach the muscle. In addition, the needle should enter the skin perpendicular to the skin’s surface. It is necessary to pull back on the syringe plunger before injecting the drug to be certain the syringe is in the muscle instead of in a vein. If blood is aspirated, the needle should be redirected.

What are the different types of injections and injection sites? 4. Intravenous (IV) injections are given directly into the vein. Most anesthetic drugs are administered this way to allow a quick response to the medication. a. The vein used depends on the type of animal. b. The jugular vein is usually used with horses, cattle, and sheep. The jugular, cephalic, and saphenous veins are used in small animals.

What are the different types of injections and injection sites? 5. Intraosseous infusions are injections directly into the marrow of a bone. 6. Intraocular injections are given under the eyelid, into the cornea, or into the anterior chamber of the eye. 7. Epidural (intraspinal) injections are given directly into the spinal canal to provide pain relief to the hind region if a painful surgery is being performed in that region.

What are the different types of injections and injection sites? 8. Intraperitoneal (IP) injections are given in the peritoneal space or abdominal cavity. These injections are sometimes used to treat dairy cattle that are sick because of calcium depletion. 9. Intramammary injections are given into the mammary glands. These are common in dairy cattle with infections of the udder (mastitis). Antibiotics are given directly into the mammary gland to provide the most direct treatment route.

What are the different types of injections and injection sites? 10. Multiple injections require using different injection sites on the body (e.g. opposite sides of the neck), especially when repeating treatments over a number of days. 11. Per os (PO) is a medication that is given orally. Most medications in veterinary medicine are given orally unless they taste bitter or the animal is unable to eat due to intestinal disease, vomiting, or diarrhea. Another route is used when it will provide more immediate or better relief.

What are the different types of injections and injection sites? B. It is important to remove air from the syringe. After filling the syringe with the product to be injected, the syringe should be pointed upward and the barrel should be tapped to make air bubbles move into the syringe tip. The plunger should be pushed slowly and carefully to eject the air bubbles from the syringe before injecting the product.

What are the components of a label found on animal medication? How is a veterinarian’s prescription interpreted? It is important to read all of the components of a label found on animal medication and veterinarian’s prescriptions. A. Label components 1. The label of an animal’s medication must clearly list the name of the medicine, the dosage and duration, the expiration date, the warnings (dangers to humans, possible allergies), how to administer the medicine (orally; topically; injection; with or without food; what time of day to administer the medicine; and how often), number of refills, quantity contained in the prescription, the date of treatment, and withdrawal times (if used in an animal raised for human consumption).

What are the components of a label found on animal medication? How is a veterinarian’s prescription interpreted? 2. The prescription must be properly labeled with the patient’s name, phone number, and address along with the name of the doctor who prescribed the medicine.

What are the components of a label found on animal medication? How is a veterinarian’s prescription interpreted? B. Veterinarian’s prescriptions 1. Veterinary prescription drugs are labeled for use only by or on the order of a licensed veterinarian. Incidents involving the sale and use of prescription drugs without a prescription should be reported to the proper state authority and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

What are the components of a label found on animal medication? How is a veterinarian’s prescription interpreted? 2. Veterinary prescription drugs must be properly labeled before being dispensed. 3. Appropriate administration and treatment records must be maintained.

What are the components of a label found on animal medication? How is a veterinarian’s prescription interpreted? 4. When a doctor prescribes a medicine, he or she should also schedule a follow- up appointment, if necessary. In many cases the patient would not need to return. However, after a major illness or surgery, a veterinarian takes precautions and typically requests a recheck.

How do you administer first aid? How do you properly apply bandages? The ability to appropriately administer first aid and apply bandages (pressure and wound) properly could save lives. A. First aid is the immediate care or treatment of sick or injured animals until a veterinarian can be found to assist further. 1. Many types of dressings and bandages can be used to cover wounds: gauze, tape, prepared dressings, and cotton. 2. When animals are injured, the wounds must be cleaned and protected so the areas of injury will not become infected or further injured.

How do you administer first aid? How do you properly apply bandages? 3. If the animals could be in shock, unconscious, or bleeding internally, they should be handled with extreme care. Animals in pain may become frightened and try to bite. 4. Animals in shock are very sensitive and should be kept very still and in areas that are free from distractions until the veterinarian arrives to help.

How do you administer first aid? How do you properly apply bandages? 5. Animals with broken bones should be kept still to reduce pain and further injury; a temporary splint can be made to support the broken bones. 6. If animal eyes are protruding from the eyelids, the eyes should be kept moist with sterile pads and distilled water until the veterinarian arrives.

How do you administer first aid? How do you properly apply bandages? B. Applying bandages 1. Bandages should never be applied too tightly, unless the bandages are pressure bandages. 2. Tape should be applied to secure the bandage and to help prevent the tape from being removed.

How do you administer first aid? How do you properly apply bandages? 3. If animals are bleeding, use bandages rather than a tourniquet, which is a compressing device used to control circulation to an extremity for a period of time. If a tourniquet is used, it must be loosened for a few minutes every hour because total loss of blood flow can cause the structures below the tourniquet to die from a lack of blood supply.

How do you administer first aid? How do you properly apply bandages? 4. Bandages need to be changed regularly, and there are many signs that will determine if a bandage needs to be changed. If the bandage is saturated with pus and wound secretions, the bandaged area is extremely swollen, or the original bandage was improperly applied, a bandage change is necessary. 5. It is also important that all materials used to dress a wound are sterile.

How do you administer first aid? How do you properly apply bandages? 6. When applying a dressing to an animal’s leg or foot, the gauze can be wrapped around the leg. However, it may need to be twisted, depending on the contour of the animal’s body. To keep the bandage on the animal, it is best to split the gauze at the ends and tie it around the animal’s leg. Tape should be used to secure the bandage and gauze.

Review What methods and instruments are used to administer vaccines and pharmaceuticals? What are the different types of injections and injection sites?

Review What are the components of a label found on animal medication? How is a veterinarian’s prescription interpreted? How do you administer first aid? How do you properly apply bandages?