Dismiss Notice
Hello Guest, Welcome to the new version of Sheltieforums.com. If you have any questions regarding the new software, please post in the following section: Forum Upgrade

Ibuprofen spill

Discussion in 'Diseases & Illnesses' started by Fasb's Owner, Oct 1, 2014.

  1. Fasb's Owner

    Fasb's Owner Forums Enthusiast

    308
    14
    70
    Jan 21, 2013
    Morgantown, WV
    We had an accident here in the household this morning. Ibuprofen bottle got knocked out of a kitchen cabinet and the lid wasn't on tight. A few pills spilled out on the floor. I don't think Fasb got ahold of any, but I'm going to post what we did and what we're watching for, in case anyone has any useful advice to add.

    As I said, bottle got spilled onto the floor. Wife bent over to start picking up pills and Fasb came running into room to see what was going on. Wife intercepted Fasb and took him downstairs and shut the doors. It's possible he found a tablet in the couple seconds he was in the room before she grabbed ahold of him, but not likely.

    Wife the called me (I was still home, but upstairs) and we picked up tablets. Found six or eight spilled, mostly on counter. Floor around cabinet is white tile, so red pills are easy to spot. We did find one on the carpeting a few feet away, so, after we picked up tablets we saw, we cleaned room thoroughly. Swept the tile part of floor, vacuumed the carpet, moved all the furniture we could. We got down on our hands and knees and felt around, figuring we might step on something if we missed a tablet. I got a flashlight and peered under the refrigerator, in the corners, under table legs, etc. Pretty sure we checked everywhere in the room, so we doubt there are any pills we didn't find. To be on the safe side, we went over the doorways leading out of the room, the stairwells, etc. Nada. We keep looking, but I don't think there's anything left to find.

    After that, my wife called the vet while I googled the subject. On vet's advice, we gave Fasb a small amount of hydrogen peroxide to induce vomiting. He threw up a couple times afterwards, but no pills came up.

    Google and the vet both suggest that most symptoms would probably show up in an hour or two. Been several hours since this happened, and Fasb seems mostly himself. No continued vomiting, no diarrhea, bloody stool, lethargy, etc. I gave him a treat a bit ago and he ate it readily, so appetite seems normal so far. In short, nothing to make me think he was exposed so far.

    Don't think he likes the taste of the peroxide, though.

    Wife and I are both home with him. I called the office and told them I wouldn't be in today, wife was off anyways. If he's not showing any worrisome symptoms and vet agrees it's ok, we are still planning to go out tonight for an hour or two. We'll see. Supposed to call vet back after lunch.

    Ibuprofen was over the counter variety: 200 mg tablets. Fasb is about 31 pounds. Not sure if that's enough to cause serious problems at his weight or not. Don't want to find out.

    Any suggestions? Anything we should do that we haven't done? If he's not showing symptoms by lunchtime or so, it that a pretty good indicator that he wasn't exposed? I'm fairly certain that he didn't ingest anything and that we picked up all spilled pills, so I think the risk is probably fairly low. Don't want to take chances, though, and it's hard to be 100 percent certain.

    Thanks.
     
    Last edited: Oct 1, 2014
  2. take4roll10

    take4roll10 Moderator

    7,700
    404
    200
    Aug 31, 2009
    My sheltie would do the same thing. The second she hears something drop, she'll run over to see if there's anything edible. That's why a good "leave it" is very important.

    Sounds like you did everything right. I have no other advice. I hope Fasb has no other issues. My first sheltie ate rat poisoning. As per my vet's advice, we induced vomiting with hydrogen peroxide. That did the trick and she was fine.
     
  3. Mom2Melli

    Mom2Melli Forums Enthusiast

    2,184
    3
    85
    Oct 2, 2013
    Central California
    Keep watching. You did the right things.

    I know a doctor who gave naproxen to his GSD. Dog nearly bled out. VERY touch and go for a few days. Never anything to fool with.
     
  4. Fasb's Owner

    Fasb's Owner Forums Enthusiast

    308
    14
    70
    Jan 21, 2013
    Morgantown, WV
    So far, no symptoms of any sort. Everything seems normal and Fasb's his usual happy self. We're pretty sure there's nothing laying on the floor in a corner that we missed.

    I kinda think a symptom would have appeared by now. We'll keep a close eye on him, of course, but how long before we should "relax"? A few days?
     
  5. ghggp

    ghggp Moderator

    7,530
    18,380
    710
    Aug 28, 2011
    Grosse Pointe, Michigan
    I am so glad you were diligent on your cleanup!

    I agree with the previous post that having a leave it command really helps in cases like this! My boys have been trained and it has saved me when I accidentally dropped a pill!

    So thankful that no ill effects have shown up!:yes:

    Thanks for posting as it helps other understand the danger!
     
  6. Ann

    Ann Moderator

    9,025
    16,217
    710
    Feb 25, 2008
    So glad to hear Fasb is OK! From what I've heard, if he were going to be sick you would have seen stomach upset within 2 to 6 hours after he ate the pill. Since you induced vomiting, you should be out of the woods. You might double check with your vet to be sure.

    We've all had these kinds of accidents. It's a good reminder that we have to act quickly if it does occur. You did all the right things! Fasb is a lucky boy to have such vigilant pet parents.
     
  7. Fasb's Owner

    Fasb's Owner Forums Enthusiast

    308
    14
    70
    Jan 21, 2013
    Morgantown, WV
    Yeah, vet checked in this morning and said that - most likely - we would have seen symptoms already (probably by yesterday afternoon) if there was going to be a problem. There are symptoms which can take a couple days to manifest but it's not likely you'd see those symptoms without other symptoms occurring first few hours(vomiting. diarrhea, bleeding, etc.). We're probably out of the woods. We never really believed he ingested anything in the first place, but it's better to take every precaution till we're sure.

    Thanks.
     

Share This Page