Is Benadryl safe to give in an emergency? The earlier question about Benadryl Toxicity?
Is Benadryl safe to give in an emergency? The earlier question about Benadryl Toxicity? General Dog Discussions
About a year ago, my dog had a reaction to an insect sting or bite (probably yellow-jacket or wasp). His head and ears swelled up and we panicked and ran him to the vet. It turned out not to be serious (fortunately) and the vet gave him a shot of antihistimine and a shot of a steroid. The swelling went down almost immediately and by the next day he was absolutely fine.The vet told us to keep some Benadryl on hand and give it to him if something like that happened again, so I do have it. He also said that if the swelling subsides and the dog seems okay, there's no need to bring him in. My question is ... is it safe to give a single dose of Benadryl in that situation, before (or instead of) consulting a vet?Yes, I have the correct dosage written down inside the medicine cabinet. And NO, I would never(!) use an antihistimine or any other human medication without prior OK from my vet. I'd call the vet anyway, just because I'd rather be safe than sorry. Just wanted to make sure the Benadryl was OK to use as a first-aid measure. Don't know if you can imagine how scary it was to see my Setter's head swell to Shar-Pei proportions, but I want to be prepared in case it happens again! Thanks!