I recently received an urgent E-mail notification from the American Veterinary Medical Association. It seems that Qualitest Pharmaceuticals, a manufacturer that supplies some veterinary products, has made a production error. It has distributed generic Vicodins in pills that for all outward appearances appear to be (and are labeled as) phenobarbital.
Phenobarbital is used to treat epilepsy and seizures in dogs and cats. It also may be used as a sedative. Vicodin is used to treat pain in humans. One of Vicodin’s ingredients, acetaminophen, is deadly poisonous to cats. In dogs the safety margin of acetaminophen is low. Animals that receive the mislabeled pills could be at risk of seizures (from lack of appropriate phenobarbital treatment) as well as liver failure and death from acetaminophen.
Click over to read the whole thing and find out what you need to check with your vet.
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