Purpose of the drug
Pyrantel is an antiparasitic drug aimed at combating roundworms . The drug is effective against roundworms, pinworms, trichostrongylids, hookworms, intestinal eels, and trichinella. It is not suitable for exterminating and removing tapeworms; it has an extremely weak effect on whipworms. Suitable for both people and animals.
The drug is presented in the form of tablets, oral suspension and syrup. The most common form found is in tablet form, with three pinkish tablets sealed on one plate. The active ingredient is pyrantel pamoate. It works by blocking nerve impulses. The drug affects parasites, leading to their paralysis, inability to feed and attach to the intestinal walls, therefore, inevitable death and excretion. Maximum efficiency is achieved in the animal’s body after 3 hours. Therefore, the drug is considered fast-acting.
This is interesting! The action is aimed at adult and growing parasites, but the product is absolutely powerless against eggs. To completely cleanse the body, you should wait 3 weeks and repeat the procedure in order to remove the parasites that hatched from these eggs.
The drug is prescribed to cats of different ages. The difference in administration by humans and animals is only in the dosage, frequency and duration of administration. Due to its milder effects, pyrantel is often highly recommended by veterinarians for deworming in cats that are only a few months old. It is also suitable for animals with weak immune systems. However, you should not engage in self-appointment. Before you start giving medicine to an animal, you should make sure that it does not have parasites of another type. For example, nematodes, etc., against which pyrantel is powerless.
Indications for the use of the drug may be the following diagnoses in a cat: hookworm disease, ascariasis or hookworm disease. A qualified veterinarian can make an appropriate diagnosis based on laboratory tests and tests. During the research, the animal is checked for the presence of not only a certain type of parasite, but also their immature eggs.
The medicine itself is partially metabolized by the liver and is not absorbed into the bloodstream at all. Therefore, having acted strictly in the intestinal cavity, it is excreted together with feces. Another advantage of the drug is its ability to remove dead and paralyzed worms out, which prevents them from decomposing inside the animal’s body, and thereby poisoning it.
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Analogs
Anthelmintic drugs, in addition to the drug described, include:
- Helminthox;
- Nemocid;
- Pyrantela pamoate.
All three of these drugs act on both mature and immature forms of worms. However, they are completely ineffective against parasite larvae and eggs.
Among other widely used anthelmintic drugs, the following analogues of Pyrantel can be distinguished:
- Biltricide. The active substance is praziquantel.
- Nemozol. The active ingredient is albendazole.
- Decaris. The active ingredient is levamisole.
- Piperazine. The active substance is piperazine adipate.
- Pyrvinium. The active ingredient is pyrvinia embonate.
- Telmox 100. Active ingredient: mebendazole.
- Mendamine. The active substance is carbendacim.
Reference! The listed analogues have a huge list of side effects indicated in the instructions, and also have some toxicity.
Instructions for use
Regardless of the form of release of the final drug, detailed instructions are attached to it. Often, 10 milligrams of active substance are calculated per 1 kilogram of a cat’s live weight. This means that the animal must be weighed before adoption. In this way, the dose of any type of drug is calculated, be it a tablet or a suspension.
The recommended dose is administered once daily for 3 consecutive days. To effectively feed a cat, it is better to choose suspensions that can be drawn into a syringe without a needle and injected into the animal’s mouth closer to the root of the tongue. If the drug is purchased in tablet form, the required dose should be crushed in a small spoon. Then squeeze the cat’s mouth at the base with your thumb and forefinger and pour in the powder. You can help swallow the medicine by injecting a little water with a syringe after the powder.
Pyrantel, as an active ingredient along with other additives, is included in many antiparasitic drugs specially designed for cats. However, it is also possible to use a medicine created for humans on cats. When choosing such a drug, it is better to choose the release form in the form of a suspension, because due to the high concentration of the active substance in the tablet, it will be extremely difficult to calculate a safe dosage for an animal less than five kilograms, which is an ordinary cat.
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Description of the suspension
It can be purchased in pharmacies in polymer packaging with a capacity of 10, 15 or 20 ml. The viscous, yellowish liquid contains, in addition to the active substance:
- purified water;
- semiticon emulsion;
- sorbitol;
- glycerol;
- sucrose;
- flavorings.
Why is Pirantel suspension suitable for animals? The dosage required for cats is quite small, and in such a medicinal mass the drug is produced for children with a lower body weight. In addition, sucrose is specially added to it so that it gives the medicine a pleasant taste.
How to calculate the dose for a cat
Following the above data, per 1 kilogram of animal weight, a 10 milligram dose of the active drug is required. We weigh your cat, calculate the required volume of suspension and draw the specified amount into an injection syringe. Hatching on the side of the syringe will allow you to draw the most accurate amount. If the drug is purchased in tablet form. We weigh the animal again. One tablet of Pirantel contains 250 milligrams of the active substance. Therefore, it is approximately intended for a 20 kg animal.
This is interesting! For a dog weighing 10 kilograms, taking half of one tablet would be appropriate. For a large cat weighing about 5 kilograms, the tablet should be divided into 4 parts. And so on. When choosing a tablet form, it is difficult to calculate the correct dose for small cats and kittens.
Typically, the course of treatment takes the form of three doses per day, which the veterinarian will recommend repeating 3 and 6 weeks after the first dose. During the treatment phase, it is important to monitor your pet's condition and regularly check stool samples. A cat will be considered completely healthy once parasite eggs are no longer present in the feces. If the drug is chosen incorrectly, tests will indicate the lack of progress in treatment and the doctor will be able to prescribe a more suitable and effective analogue.
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Composition and release form
The active principle is pyrantelapamoate.
The drug may contain various excipients, depending on the manufacturer: starch, gum arabic (gum arabic), methylparaben, gelatin, propylparaben, calcium gluconate, magnesium stearate, talc, colloidal silicon dioxide. As a rule, these substances are designed to bind the active principle and are used as a filler. Some of them, such as colloidal silicon dioxide, help to “capture” and remove toxins from the animal’s gastrointestinal tract while being gentle on the intestinal epithelium.
Three large groups of worms are called worms - trematodes, cestodes, nematodes
The drug is available in the form of yellow tablets, with a division line, uncoated, and a suspension, a yellow oily liquid with a specific odor. If you purchase a suspension of pyrantel at a medical pharmacy, then it is possible that there will be an aromatic additive, for example, apricot, which your animal may not like.
One tablet contains 250 mg of active ingredient.
Every five ml of suspension also contains 250 mg of active ingredient. During storage, the suspension may separate into layers, so shake it before use.
Contraindications
Like any other product, Pirantel has its contraindications. It should not be given to cats during pregnancy or breastfeeding. You should also postpone fighting parasites in this way if the animal has other infectious diseases that occur in an acute form. Pirantel should not be given to cats with kidney and liver diseases, or worming excessively malnourished cats. Also included in the prohibition column are kittens younger than one month old and weighing less than half a kilogram.
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Precautionary measures
Pyrantel should be given to a dog only after being prescribed by a veterinarian . Only tests previously carried out in laboratory conditions will help determine which type of parasite the animal is infected with, and therefore provide the most effective treatment. The veterinarian will also help you calculate the most accurate dosage and dosage regimen, based on the pet’s age, its actual and estimated breed weight, as well as the degree of parasitic influence, so to speak, the scale of the problem.
Important! To take Pirantel, the animal must not have any other concomitant ailments that weaken the body at the time of treatment. You should not mix the drug with medications containing piperazine, as it reduces the effectiveness of Pyrantel.
During treatment with Pyrantel, it is important for puppies to have constant access to water, since it is not uncommon for symptoms of dehydration to appear after taking the drug, which is especially detrimental for animals with low weight.
Side effects
Even with proper treatment of your pet, the risk of side effects cannot be avoided. The most common side effect of taking Pyrantel is vomiting. Even if this happens rarely, it still happens and it is important to be prepared for it, to show special attention to the condition of the animal after taking the medicine. You may also experience increased salivation caused by nausea. The treated cat may appear lethargic, depressed and apathetic. There are frequent cases of diarrhea and refusal to eat.
The occurrence of an allergic reaction to any of the ingredients of the drug can be considered as a separate type of side effects. In this case, excessive itching, gastrointestinal disorders, hives on the skin and other symptoms are observed. In connection with this situation, it is necessary to stop taking the drug, begin to symptomatically eliminate the reaction, and then prescribe another one that excludes the aggressive component in the composition.
Despite the above side effects, the overall safety of this medicine meets the standards for use even in small kittens and cats with weakened immune systems. However, overly old, emaciated and emaciated animals cannot be wormed with its help.
It is also important for the owner to know that even a drug with little toxicity to the human body can cause irreparable harm to a small animal. Signs of Pyrantel poisoning should be considered a sharp increase in the cat’s heartbeat, the appearance of nausea and severe vomiting, loss of appetite and weakness, increased excitability, tremors of the limbs and a general lack of coordination of movements.
This is interesting! The animal may also experience profuse sweating and convulsions. At home, you should try to rinse your pet’s stomach, give absorbent drugs, and then immediately contact a veterinary clinic, as additional symptomatic treatment may be needed in the future.
Considering the correctness of the prescribed dose and the regularity of taking the drug, cases of overdose and the occurrence of negative side reactions are quite rare. However, you still shouldn’t treat your pet yourself. It is better to entrust such an important and responsible task to a qualified specialist - a veterinarian. And if any of the above negative reactions to the drug occur, immediately go to him for additional consultation.
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When is the drug prescribed?
Pyrantel is prescribed by veterinarians to destroy the following types of helminths:
- Toxocara canis, with a diagnosis of toxocariasis;
- Uncinaria stenocephala, which causes the disease uncinariasis;
- Ancylostoma caninum, with a diagnosis of hookworm;
- Ascaris lumbricoides, which can cause ascariasis.
If, upon examination of the four-legged “patient,” the doctor diagnoses “anopocephalidosis,” the dose of the drug is increased. How much medication a pet is prescribed, despite the fact that Pirantel is considered a children's drug, is prescribed by the treating veterinarian, taking into account the age, weight and breed of the dog. In order for the treatment to give the desired result, the doctor prescribes vitamins and complex nutrition as an addition to the treatment composition.
Reviews of pyrantel for dogs
Dog owners actively note the positive qualities of the drug, against the background of the virtual absence of adverse reactions, as well as the relatively low price. The medicine Pirantel is widely used both as a means of getting rid of existing parasites and as a prophylactic drug.
After taking Pirantel, there is an increase in the body weight of previously excessively emaciated dogs and an improvement in the level of activity . In general, the drug is noted as effective, safe and affordable.
This is interesting! Veterinarians, although they note the overall effectiveness of the drug, still advise, for safety reasons and correct dose calculation, to use specially developed drugs for animals, and not to skimp on the health of pets.
Such products, as a rule, are more convenient to use, calculate the dosage, and have a pleasant taste and aroma for the animal. It is also not recommended to take the drug without special tests showing the presence of exactly the type of parasites that this medicine fights. In any other case, the technique will not only be useless, but will also waste precious time, during which the parasites will freely multiply and poison the animal’s body.
