Anti venom

Re: Anti venom

Nicola Smith — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 10:52:54 GMT

We got some from Dunlops, keep 1 box in as we are close to cannock chase, and if don't need it ourself another prcatice may ring round trying to find some. Cost about £30 and had 18 months on the date.

Re: Anti venom

chris beasley — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 15:20:13 GMT

We have had one in lately, it was bitten in the shoulder. Owner thought it was a abcess. It was too late to use anti venom. Now the skin has sloughed off an area of around10cm.

Only problem is that the dog is due to fly to america on 9th - not sure 9hrs + on plane is a good idea!

Re: Anti venom

loobylou — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 09:18:34 GMT

Thanks for the replies. Both our local hospital and the department of tropical medicine in liverpool told us there was a shortage and we wouldnt be able to get any.
The dog is being treated symptomatically and fingers crossed sounds to be doing ok at the moment.

Re: Anti venom

Cat Woman — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 08:50:14 GMT

80% of the ones we see are on the face, with fairly substantial swelling. All are painful, all are subdued & drowsy. All have responded to dex/abs/vetergesic. One had IV fluids overnight, cos he was too sore to eat/drink. Never had one that hasn't responded well & made a full recovery. Luck?

Re: Anti venom

Emma Purnell — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 08:46:19 GMT

[quote user="Cat Woman"]

We see adder bites all the time & have never needed anti-venom. Most snake bites do not invenomate when they bite, so generally dex & abs are sufficient with vetergesic if very painful. Anti-venom is expensive & its shelf life is short, so vets tend not to stock it & hospitals won't let you have it.

[/quote]

We have seen a few bites but the one we needed anti-venom for we definately needed it. The dog had a huge toxic reaction, severe swelling and was amazingly poorly. Once we got in and gave the anti-venom the recovery was amazing.

Good luck getting some for the poor dog that needs it whatever!

Re: Anti venom

rachel w — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 20:40:00 GMT

We get ours from NVS had to order it Nov last yr and wait until about march before we recieved it as it was on back order, we stock 1 box as we only see one or two cases a yr

Re: Anti venom

Cat Woman — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 20:11:01 GMT

[quote user="Hannah25uk"]apparently our supplier is going to start stocking it[/quote]

Interesting. Still unsure of the need for it though. Maybe we have been lucky with our cases over the last 15yrs not needing it, despite maybe 10 adder bites each year.

Might phone our wholesalers & see what they have planned (Dunlops) just out of interest.

Re: Anti venom

Hannah25uk — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 20:04:28 GMT

we was looking into this today apparently our supplier is going to start stocking it (centaur) last about 2 years and costs around £50-60 but you need a special medicine form to be able to obtain it.

Re: Anti venom

Vicky RVN — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 19:44:07 GMT

We have always managed to get it from our local hospital. We've had a few cases i've known of being close not far from the forest. Not had any this year though, touch wood!

Re: Anti venom

Cat Woman — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 18:38:16 GMT

Re: Anti venom

Maisy — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 18:16:05 GMT

We were told hospitals weren't going to supply veterinary practices with anti-venom anymore due to shortages. Its really difficult to get hold of at the moment.

Re: Anti venom

Emma Purnell — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 17:54:39 GMT

We had a similar case earlier in the year, had to get it from a local hospital but it was VERY expensive - around £200 to us just for a single vial. And we only got it because they said yes before they were told we couldn't have it by the powers that be!

Re: Anti venom

elz6152 — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 17:33:23 GMT

I tried to get hold of some at the end on last year but could not find it anywhere. Apparently there was a national shortage and hospitals always get preference over vets. Our local hospital in suffolk had 3 vials but they would not give us any. Our supllier told us to keep trying hospitals to see if any would five us a vial. We were unsuccesful.

I do believe that our supplier dunlops may have got some in stock now. You should give them a try.

Re: Anti venom

Katy — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 17:17:26 GMT

Presume they are talking about the department of tropical medicine in liverpool?