3216. The poodle swallowed half a box of Difflam throat lozenges

Dec 18, 2017

"My dog just could not get up when called," the lady was worried that her dog was sick as he had loose stools after being fed a dog bone treat. "He just would not move yesterday. But now, at your clinic, he is active."

"He could have eaten other things like human medication," I asked.
"Yes, yes, he had swallowed half a box of Difflam lozenges which we use to relieve our sore throats," she said.

Difflam contains benzydamine hydrochloride. It has an anaesthetic, anti-inflammatory and analgesic effect in people. However, in dogs, it is a sedative and that explained why the dog could not get up when called.





Blood test showed slight liver impairment in that the ALT enzymes were higher than normal. The dog had IV drip and was OK the next day. The liver should recover.