Nebulising F10 for a rat

RE: Nebulising F10 for a rat

Richard Rice-Grubb — Fri, 27 Jan 2017 20:02:12 GMT

Depends on the owner. Usually I give the rec and get them to do it at home fresh for each Tablet since I can't be sure of shelf life once the tablet has been crushed. There's a good step by step recipe on ratguide.com as well.

RE: Nebulising F10 for a rat

Marie Kubiak — Fri, 27 Jan 2017 19:43:48 GMT

I just use doxy powder (Ornicure) in pharmaceutical syrup to make a suspension but I like the home made doxy treat idea!

RE: Nebulising F10 for a rat

Cat Henstridge — Fri, 27 Jan 2017 18:44:08 GMT

Do you do that in the practice or give the owner instructions to do at home?

Cat

RE: Nebulising F10 for a rat

Jenny Harris — Fri, 27 Jan 2017 17:58:10 GMT

Great tip thank you

RE: Nebulising F10 for a rat

Richard Rice-Grubb — Fri, 27 Jan 2017 16:30:35 GMT

I've used the 'medicine ball' technique with doxy in tablet form quite a bit. Basically crush the tablets thoroughly and mix with 1 tsp of smooth peanut butter and 2tsp or so of flour to make a 'dough', then roll the mix into a cylinder of consistent diameter and appropriate length to cut into the correct dose size (so 8 pieces for 1/8th tablet). Then each piece is one dose, and hopefully the rat should eat it! I have no data on absorption but as doxy is supposed to be administered with food I would think it should be ok.

RE: Nebulising F10 for a rat

Jenny Harris — Fri, 27 Jan 2017 15:07:46 GMT

Does anyone have any ideas on the doxy?

RE: Nebulising F10 for a rat

Jenny Harris — Thu, 26 Jan 2017 18:11:44 GMT

Thank you very much Mark

RE: Nebulising F10 for a rat

Mark Naguib — Thu, 26 Jan 2017 17:17:27 GMT

Hi Jenny,

A nebuliser with a relatively small particle size is best - under 4μm if you can. Many commercially available human nebulisers in the UK generate particles of 3-3.5μm. Nebulisation can be done in mobile oxygen tents or in any small covered container e.g. a cat carrier or small cage with plastic sheeting around it. Do not try and use a facemask as they do in people. The chamber in which you place the solution to be nebulised needs to be upright but many of them will have angled adaptors that you can then use to direct the flow. Most nebulisation chambers hold around 5ml of solution and take 15-20 minutes to nebulise it.

The F10 must be diluted and can cause very serious problems if used neat! For nebulisation a 1:250 dilution in saline is required. There is a specific product for nebulisation: F10 Nebulisation Solution. This comes either neat or in a 1:250 dilution ready to use form - ensure you don't mix them up! If diluting it myself, I replace 2ml of saline from a 500ml bag with F10 before very clearly labelling it - the solution can then be withdrawn with a needle and syringe when required.

The quantity of particles reaching the distal extents of the respiratory tract has been questioned in avian species given the narrow diameter of the airways and the same may apply to rats too, however I do find it a useful adjunct to other treatment. It's worth making owners aware of the problems with treating rat respiratory disease and make sure they have realistic expectations!

Edit: My apologies - got distracted while typing and didn't recheck thread before I posted the above!

RE: Nebulising F10 for a rat

Jenny Harris — Thu, 26 Jan 2017 17:12:08 GMT

Thank you very much Marie. How long would that made up solution keep for?

The rat is currently on baytril but signs are getting worse if anything, so I was going to add in doxycycline at 5mg/kg BID which would work out at an eighth of a 20mg tablet for this rat. Can you just crush this up and add to water to syringe into the mouth- and if so is there a minimum amount of water you need to use?

many thanks again

RE: Nebulising F10 for a rat

Marie Kubiak — Thu, 26 Jan 2017 17:00:07 GMT

Use the F10 antiseptic (not F10SC) and dilute 1:250 in saline. I add 2ml to a 500ml bag of normal saline (ok, for pedants this is 1:252!) and then show owners how to withdraw the amount the nebuliser needs using a syringe and needle. It can be useful in clearing mucus and helping with upper respiratory infections but the lower respiratory component is more significant in most cases in rats so they do best with systemic antibiotics concurrently

Marie