Can You Use Neosporin On Dogs?

Has your dog ever come back from a walk with a terrible scratch on its leg or stomach? Or has he ran across a textured rug and landed on his belly leading to carpet burn? What about skidding across a hard concrete floor and coming back with painful scrapes on his legs? When this happens, most dog owner’s first thoughts are to use the same antibiotic ointment they use on themselves: Neosporin.

Is Neosporin Safe For Dogs?

To truly determine just how safe Neosporin is for your dog, we need to evaluate each of its main ingredients. Luckily, numerous research studies on the subject make this determination clear.

What’s In Neosporin?

Neosporin is a triple-antibiotic ointment, which contains Polymyxin B, Neomycin, and Bacitracin. These antibiotics are all designed to kill any bacteria present on the skin’s surface, which makes them perfect for treating minor scrapes and cuts.

In addition to being able to prevent infections in minor wounds, most Neosporin products contain Pramoxine, which is a type of topical painkiller. Pramoxine works by slightly numbing the area where it is applied, which assists in mild pain relief.

All of this may sound fantastic, but Neosporin was specifically designed for humans – NOT DOGS. So next, we need to evaluate how each of the ingredients in Neosporin affects our canine friends.

Bacitracin And Dogs

To date, there have been several studies conducted on how effective Bacitracin is when used on dogs. One of the first studies conducted in 1989 observed dogs undergoing recent bone surgery.

The study compared the canines who were treated using Bacitracin post-surgery to the dogs that had not undergone any treatment or the dogs who have only received irrigation using a type of saline solution.

It was discovered that the dogs that received the Bacitracin treatment had far lower infections along with a lot fewer bacteria cultures that tested positive. This concluded that this antibiotic was working well to prevent infections after surgery.

One of the other studies conducted examined the effects associated with oral Bacitracin. It was discovered that when administered orally, this antibiotic drastically lowered specific bacteria colonies present inside the intestines. In addition, there were no side-effects regarded as major even in the instances of overdose.

All good news for our pups, but as you’ll find out below, there are some serious caveats to these findings.

Neomycin And Dogs

The studies associated with Neomycin happen to be more complex, and they are also not close to being as promising. Neomycin works by suppressing bacteria growth. This results in the death of the bacteria, which usually occurs within a short time frame.

The intestines do not absorb. This makes this antibiotic a preferable choice for the treatment of infections present in areas such as the digestive tract.

While these findings indicate that Neomycin is a very powerful antibiotic, there are some very SERIOUS SIDE EFFECTS for canines. Several reports conducted recently have shown that an incorrect dosage of Neomycin can adversely affect the health of our beloved pets. This makes this medication dangerous for use unless under the supervision or guidance of a qualified veterinarian.

One study discovered that canines intravenously dosed with Neomycin underwent hearing changes. These changes in hearing ranged from muffling to COMPLETE DEAFNESS. However, in each case, none of these changes proved to be permanent.

Polymyxin B And Dogs

The third main ingredient in Neosporin is  the antibiotic Polymyxin B. The bacterium known as Bacillus polymyxa produces it. This medication is often used when a previous antibiotic treatment has failed. More often than not, this occurs from methicillin-resistant bacteria, which usually doesn’t respond to standard antibiotics.

However, in most cases, this type of bacteria responds to Polymyxin B, which makes this one of the preferred back-up medications. In some cases, it will even be prescribed in combination with another antibiotic, as added security should the other medicine fail to be effective. This is its actual use when it comes to Neosporin.

And while there are only a few NEGATIVE SIDE EFFECTS of this drug, it is important to highlight the most prominent one, which is Pemphigus Vulgaris. This is an autoimmune disease that can cause PAINFUL BLISTERING on your dog’s skin and mucous membranes.

Can You Put Neosporin on a Dog?

The short answer to this question is yes, you can put Neosporin on a dog, but knowing the potential DANGEROUS SIDE EFFECTS, would you really want to?

Once dog owners learn that the ingredients in Neosporin have been known to cause deafness and painful blistering in dogs, they realize that they should really seek out a safer treatment for their pup.

Remember, Neosporin is not a medication made for dogs. It is a human medication, which is why it is safe to say it should not really be used on canines at all.

Most importantly, avoid trying to self-treat a dog using drugs, even for things that are minor such as scratches. Neosporin is created and dosed for use in adults, who are usually much larger and have a different biological make-up when compared to dogs.

This could result in issues, particularly in dogs that are smaller, yet even the larger breed of dogs can also experience negative side effects when treated without the supervision of a vet.

What Treatment Is Better Than Neosporin For Dogs?

If your dog does experience a minor injury and you are seriously considering using Neosporin, we highly recommend you use Banixx instead.

The science behind sound wound healing clearly gives Banixx the edge over other infection care treatments via its unique pH formulation. As far as Banixx spray product ingredients, Banixx has one active ingredient, stabilized hydronium 2.5%. The inactive ingredient is purified water. The unique pH and high oxygen levels create an acidic environment. This reduces toxicity levels of bacteria while increasing antimicrobial activity. The elevated levels of oxygen complement the acidic environment by further energizing antibacterial activity. The end result enhances epithelization and angiogenesis or, advanced wound healing, and infection control.

Banixx is available online and at local pet stores. Click here to find a pet store that carries Banixx near you.

Seek The Advice Of Your Vet

And above all else, if you are still not sure about the right treatment for your dog’s wounds, be sure to call your vet and ask for his opinion on which would be the best treatment for your pup.

Furthermore, if your canine starts to display any signs that they have an infection, you should take him to a vet immediately. Your vet has the experience to treat your pet safely and more effectively than you can from home.

Is Neosporin Safe For Dogs To Lick?

If you have already applied Neosporin to a wound on your dog and they have licked it off, there is usually not much to be concerned about. Ingesting this medication may result in side-effects that are minor, such as an upset stomach. However, in most cases, any side effects will usually not be serious.

With this in mind, this is another reason why Neosporin is not effective for managing a wound as your dog can simply lick the medication off immediately. For this reason, you may need to test out a few methods to prevent the dog from licking their wound. Excessive licking of the wound will usually interfere with how quickly the dog heals from the wound.

You may want to try a cone over the dogs head, or a t-shirt or sock. This will obviously depend on where the wound is located. If the wound is located on the trunk of the dog, you could think of buying an outfit for your dog.

If your dog is small, you could consider a baby outfit that doesn’t feature any buttons. My in-laws use these baby onesies for a dog that they own. Their dog is old and has developed a condition on the skin. As a result, they often have to use topical antibiotics to keep the situation under control. To stop the dog from removing the medication, they dress her in a baby onesie without doing up the buttons.

Is Neosporin a Good Hot Spot Treatment?

As we mentioned above, if your dog gets a minor injury or a hotspot, and you are seriously considering using Neosporin, we highly recommend you use Banixx instead. You can find Banixx in most online retailers and pet stores across the country.

 

Use Banixx For Your Dog’s Minor Scrapes and Scratches

Now that you know the potential side effects of using Neosporin on your dog, we hope you make the wise decision of using Banixx instead.  Click here to find a store near you that carries Banixx.

We hope you found this article helpful and if your dog ever gets any cuts, abrasions, ear infections or hot spots, we hope you keep Banixx Pet Care in mind. Go to our dog page to learn more about how to keep your dog happy and healthy!