Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Tea Tree Oil?

Some clients have been asking about applying tea tree oil to wounds and abrasions of their pets.  In humans, it's used as a holistic form of treating certain bacterial or fungal skin infections, acne, etc.  I would advise clients against using tea tree oil on their pets.  The ASPCA Poison Control center published a 10 year retrospective study on the toxicity reported by tea tree oil on cats and dogs (Khan, McLean et al. 2014).  There were 443 cases in total of dogs and cats that required veterinary attention.  Clinical signs of adverse reactions were reported to be salivation, depression, muscle tremors, and even coma.  If you'd like to read more please visit this website http://www.decodedscience.com/using-tea-tree-oil-pets-handle-care/51396

There are many natural and homeopathic remedies out there, many of which have not had safety and/or efficacy studies done for veterinary use.  If you're thinking about using anything not labeled for an animal, please contact us and ask us if it'd be OK for use.
Thanks!
-Dr. C

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