Hormonal Creams for Humans can Pose Risks to Pets

Most of us folks fortunate enough to share our homes with furry family members take our role as pet pawrent seriously. We make sure we take good care of them by providing them the best nutrition, plenty of exercise and offer them a stimulating environment to keep them happy and in robust health.

And if our pet gets sick, we treat them with medications our veterinarians prescribe, and never give them human medications. Even though they may be safe for us, please remember just one extra-strength acetaminophen can kill a cat.

So while surfing the Internet, I ran across a rather startling article in the New York Times about how veterinarians around the country are discovering and reporting spayed dogs and cats and even puppies and kittens are suddenly becoming hormonal, I felt compelled to share the information with our readers.

Symptoms in female pets resemble being in heat with bloody discharge, swollen genitals, and altered behavior. Male pets are presenting at clinics with hair loss and swollen breast tissue. According to the veterinarians' reports, repeated surgeries and standard treatment have been ineffective.

It was a total mystery until the veterinarians were able to identify the cause of such bizarre symptoms. All of these pets shared their home with women who were being treated for menopausal issues with hormone creams which they were applying to their hands, arms and legs to reduce symptoms. So when pets rubbed up against their legs, licked them or cuddled with them, these animals were actually being accidentally exposed to doses of the hormonal creams.

Twenty reports were first collected by the Veterinary Information Network, a news service for veterinarians, from anecdotal information that speculates that women are not taking sufficient precautions when using these medications in order to prevent their pets from having contact with the topical hormonal products. These women are not only putting their pets in danger of exposure to these hormonal products, but family members may also be affected.

Dr. Terry Clekis, a Bradenton, Florida veterinarian said, "The dogs are licking and rubbing the treated area and absorbing the drug, which is putting them back into heat". In his practice he has already seen five cases of pet exposure to menopause creams, including a dog that apparently went into heat six months after being spayed. To be certain that he had not inadvertently left a remnant of ovarian tissue, he repeated the surgery but found no trace of this tissue. All symptoms resolved once the dog's owner took proper precautions when using the cream.

For more information visit the Times Well Blog.

What are your thoughts about these findings? Leave a comment and share.

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