General Information on Cerenia
Cerenia is a veterinary drug with the generic name maropitant citrate. It belongs to the drug class known as neurokinin or NK1 receptor antagonists.
You may buy Cerenia online for the treatment and prevention of acute vomiting or motion sickness induced vomiting in your dog if it’s been prescribed by your vet. This medication is only meant for dogs over the age of 16 weeks.
Cerenia is a prescribed drug, which means that your dog’s veterinarian would have to recommend the medication after evaluating its condition.
Side effects of Cerenia
Cerenia is not fit for human consumption and can cause severe side effects if it is used by a human being. Therefore, Cerenia must be kept away from children. In case you or anyone else accidentally consumes this drug, immediate medical help must be sought. Handling Cerenia can cause localized skin reactions in certain cases. Prolonged skin contact with Cerenia may result in skin sensitization. If the medication comes into contact with your eyes, you must flush them with water for at least 15 minutes.
Puppies that are 11 weeks or younger and treated with Cerenia have been found to suffer from bone marrow hypoplasia. This medical condition was, however, not reported in puppies over the age of 16 weeks.
The most common side effect seen in dogs that are given Cerenia is slow heart rate, with the rate of reduction dependent on the dosage being administered. Cerenia may cause certain side effects such as lethargy, sedation and depressions. Less rare side effects caused include inappetence, tremors or trembling, drowsiness, and hypersalivation. A dosage of 40-50mg per kg of weight has been found to cause weight loss, hypokalemia, weakness, vomiting, and soft stools.
Dosage of Cerenia
The dosage of Cerenia will be determined by the veterinarian based on your dog’s age, weight, etc. You may buy Cerenia in the form of an oral tablet in the following strengths- Cerenia 16mg, Cerenia 24mg, Cerenia 60mg, and Cerenia 160mg.
The minimum recommended dose for the treatment of acute vomiting is 2mg for each kg of the dog’s weight. Therefore, you may need to feed your dog as little as half a Cerenia 16mg tablet a day or as much as two Cerenia 60mg tablets. You may need to shift from Cerenia tablets to the injectable solution if your dog is being treated for acute vomiting.
If Cerenia is being given for the treatment of motion sickness, then the minimum recommended daily dose is 8mg per kg of the dog’s weight. The frequency is usually limited to once a day, and the drug is given consecutively for 2 days. The veterinarian may prescribe a different mode of treatment with different dosage frequencies. Dogs that are being given this drug need to be fasted for an hour before administration. Cerenia should then be given to the dog at least 2 hours before travelling.
Interactions
Cerenia must be given with caution if your dog is already being given medications with high protein content. Some examples of protein-bound drugs include behavioral medicines, anticonvulsants, cardiac medicines, and NSAIDs.
