The Available Dog Painkillers UK | Veterinary Prescriber
Dog Painkillers UK: Which Are Available for Veterinarians?
There are several different uses for dog painkillers and many different types of dog painkillers UK pet owners can administer. Painkillers may be used in dogs to treat pain that is already present, for instance pain after injury or pain associated with chronic disease such as osteoarthritis. Painkillers are also used to prevent predictable pain, for instance during and after surgery or painful veterinary procedures. A particular type of painkiller might be prescribed by a vet according to the type of pain that is present, for example inflammatory pain or neuropathic pain.
How Can We Tell If a Dog is in Pain?
Obviously dogs cannot tell us if they are in pain. Veterinarians have expert knowledge in detecting and assessing the signs of pain. A lot of research is going on in the area of pain assessment in animals. As a consequence, helpful validated tools have been developed. To read more about pain and pain assessment in dogs, see the World Small Animal Veterinary Association guidelines on the recognition, assessment and treatment of pain.
Pain Relief is Not Restricted to Painkillers
The veterinary management of pain often involves combining one or several medications together with other interventions such as physical rehabilitation, ice or cold therapy, medical massage, or diet. More than one type of medication that works in different ways might be used together to tackle different aspects of pain. Use of several types of intervention or several different medications together is known as multimodal therapy.
Types of Dog Painkillers UK
Opioids: These are used for the treatment of moderate to severe pain. They are widely used in the perioperative setting as part of multi-modal and preventive pain-relief. They are also widely administered in the emergency and critical care setting (e.g. for pancreatitis, burns, trauma). They are usually given by injection. Examples of opioid dog painkillers UK are morphine, methadone, fentanyl, butorphanol.
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). As well as pain-relieving effects, NSAIDs have anti-inflammatory and antipyretic (fever-reducing) effects. These are usually given by mouth, and sometimes by injection. NSAIDs are effective analgesics for surgical pain, as well as in other acute and chronic pain states such as cancer, and osteoarthritis and other inflammatory conditions. Examples of NSAID dog painkillers UK are carprofen, enflicoxib, firocoxib, mavacoxib, meloxicam, robenacoxib.
Other analgesics. Bedinvetmab, grapiprant and paracetamol have pain-relieving effects but are not anti-inflammatory. Bedinvetmab and grapiprant are used to manage pain associated with osteoarthritis in dogs. Paracetamol is used in acute pain and sometimes in the management of chronic pain.
Alpha-2 agonists. As well as pain relief, these drugs produce sedation, hypnosis and muscle relaxation. They are commonly used for sedation during veterinary procedures. Examples of alpha-2 agonist dog painkillers UK are medetomidine and dexmedetomidine.
Adjuvant drugs. These are drugs that are usually used in addition to other drugs (such as opioids or NSAIDs) to supplement pain relief or as an alternative when other drugs cannot be used in a particular patient. Examples of adjuvant dog painkillers UK are amantadine, gabapentin, pregabalin, ketamine and tramadol.
How Veterinary Prescriber Compares Dog Painkillers UK
Veterinary Prescriber is an independent online learning and reference resource for veterinary professionals. We publish independent reviews of veterinary medicines including those used in the management of pain. During the preparation of a review, we do a thorough search for, and critical appraisal of, published evidence. We scrutinise promotional claims. And we integrate the opinions and experiences of practising clinicians.
We have been helping vets since 2012. On dog painkillers UK, we’ve compared the available NSAIDs; evaluated the new NSAID enflicoxib (Daxocox) and the new drugs grapiprant (Galliprant) and bedinvetmab (Librela); and reviewed adjunctive medicines amantadine, gabapentin and pregabalin.
Reviews are presented as multi-media modules (that you can read and/or listen to) in The Virtual Veterinary Medicines Academy. We cover all medicines-related topics, not just medicines used to treat arthritis in dogs. We also offer unique product guides, medicines resources and Medicines Certificates. Access is through subscription (this is how we are able to produce information that is completely objective). For further details on The Academy itself, or to sign up today, click here. For more information on Veterinary Prescriber, including how we research and produce our content, or to meet the Veterinary Prescriber team, please see our about us page.