Can I Give My Dog Benadryl For Itchy Skin

How to employ Benadryl to help your dog with allergies, anxiety, and more

This article was medically reviewed past Sorin McKnight, DVM, a veterinarian at Wellborn Route Veterinary Medical Center in College Station, Texas.

Y'all can also become a Benadryl-alternantive that is specific for dogs, chosen Vetadryl.

Alexandr Vorontsov/Getty Images

• Benadryl is safety to give your dog for allergies, anxiety, motion sickness, and vaccine side effects.
• Though a typical Benadryl pill is 25 mg, you should only give your dog 0.9-1.8 mg per pound of weight.
• Make sure that the Benadryl y'all're giving your dog just contains diphenhydramine.
• Visit Insider'southward Health Reference library for more advice.

Benadryl is safe for dogs, but don't give any to your dog without consulting a vet first as the wrong dose could be toxic.

Your vet may recommend Benadryl to help treat your canis familiaris for conditions like hives or feet and tin guide you on delivering the right dosage and medication.

Hither's what yous demand to know about how much Benadryl your canis familiaris should take and when y'all need to see the vet.

Uses of Benadryl for dogs

Benadryl, or diphenhydramine, is a mutual over-the-counter medication that helps save itching, swelling, and other allergy symptoms.

Because of this, you tin can give it to your dog for conditions like:

• Allergies: Benadryl works to treat several different types of canine allergies, including food allergies, seasonal allergies, skin allergies, and allergic reactions to triggers like a bee sting. Information technology can assist calm symptoms like:
• Swelling
• Hives
• Sneezing
• Runny nose and eyes
• Itchy skin
• Anxiety: "A common side effect of Benadryl is drowsiness, so it may also be used to temporarily calm anxious dogs," says Tierra Price, DVM, MPH, a veterinarian and founder of the BlackDVM Network.
• Motion sickness: Benadryl'southward sedating effect may besides help fight off motion sickness during car or airplane rides with your dog.
• Vaccine reactions: "Puppies receive vaccinations early in life and tin accept a reaction to these vaccines," Cost says. To calm reactions like swelling or fatigue, veterinarians often recommend giving your puppy Benadryl ii to four hours before the vaccine date, says Price.

Dosing instructions for Benadryl

The Merck Veterinary Manual recommends giving your domestic dog 0.9-i.8 mg of Benadryl per pound of weight (two-4 mg/kg of weight).

If you lot want to endeavor over-the-counter Benadryl, the best form is commonly a tablet, which is typically 25 mg per tab, says Justine Lee, DVM, a lath-certified veterinary who specializes in toxicology and emergency intendance.

This means that, generally speaking, a 25-pound dog would get 1 pill and a 50-pound canis familiaris would get ii.

If you have a very small canis familiaris, y'all may need to use a lower-dose liquid children's formula to get the proper dose for their weight.

"Veterinarians tin also prescribe the dog a form of Benadryl, Vetadryl, which is the FDA approved class of diphenhydramine for dogs and cats," Cost says. Though it is the same medicine and you could technically employ any one, Vetadryl has some benefits like:

• A x mg option, which may brand dosing easier
• Flavoring for dogs, which may make it more than appealing to your pup

Precautions when using Benadryl

When using Benadryl, keep these precautions in mind:

• "Benadryl is available over the counter for pet parents to purchase but should merely be done under the direction of a veterinarian," Toll says. Your vet can determine the best starting dose and check if Benadryl has a negative interaction with any other medications your dog takes.
• If you're purchasing Benadryl over the counter, "y'all want to make sure it's Benadryl that is merely diphenhydramine, no other ingredients added in," Lee says. Lookout out for ingredients similar acetaminophen or decongestants that may not be safe for dogs.
• Always check the box to make certain the Benadryl isn't expired, as expired medication tin be unsafe for your canis familiaris, Price says.

Side effects of Benadryl in dogs

Some of the near common side furnishings of Benadryl include:

• Drooling
• Drowsiness
• Increased heart rate
• Dry mouth
• Rapid breathing
• Lack of urination

"Although Benadryl is a safe drug, overdosing is possible," Price says. Some possible signs of overdose are:

• Agitation
• Seizures
• Dilated pupils
• Rapid heartbeat
• Constipation

"If you exercise suspect an overdose, you lot should call your veterinary immediately and accept in the packaging for medications that were administered," Cost says.

If you gave your canis familiaris Benadryl for an allergic reaction, watch to make sure your canis familiaris's symptoms are getting better. "If your dog is showing signs of difficulty breathing or the swelling is getting worse, yous desire to go to a vet or an emergency vet immediately," Lee says.

Insider'south takeaway

Benadryl can be a helpful remedy if your dog has feet, allergies, motion sickness and other conditions.

You tin get Benadryl over the counter, but it's all-time to talk to your vet before starting any new medication.

If your canis familiaris shows any alarming symptoms like seizures or dilated pupils, go to an emergency vet every bit quickly as possible

Madeline Kennedy is a health writer for Insider roofing a broad range of topics including reproductive and sexual health, mental health, diet, and infectious disease. Earlier joining Insider, Madeline worked as a health news author for Reuters, and a domestic violence therapist. She has a master's degree in social work from UPenn and is interested in the intersection of health and social justice.

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