Video 22 Anti-inflammatories
While we must always focus on preventing disease in our farming systems. We will, of course, have sickness still occurring. When this happens we need to utilize and mobilize all the tools and expertise at our disposal.
One group of medicines that really can help are anti-inflammatories. Most of our disease processes involve inflammation and when we reduce this we can reduce down the pressure, tissue damage and speed up recovery.
These medicines also have a role to play in routine procedures we carry out on the farm to reduce pain. We must remember pain limits performance and we must limit pain.
These medicines can improve treatment outcomes and provide better welfare to our farm animals.
Routine procedures
When we perform castration and disbudding we are often carrying out necessary tasks in farm animal management. If we can limit the impacts of these procedures on animal health and welfare it is win-win.
With dehorning in young calves, we use local anesthetic but this will wear off leaving some chronic pain from the procedure.
This pain may cause stress at a time in the young animal’s life where we want to limit anything that affects thrive and growth. Using pain killers (anti-inflammatories) can make a difference to all these routine procedures.
Simply put it’s just the right thing to do.
Remember inflammation causes pain so anti-inflammatories work by reducing inflammation and reducing pain.
Improving clinical treatments
Most of our infectious diseases cause inflammation alongside infection. With any treatment plan talk to your vet about your options.
Remember though
- Make the correct diagnosis with your vet
- Spot disease early and act fast
- Use appropriate treatments for the right length of time
- Use the correct dosage rates
- Always take great care to adhere to strict withdrawals of any product being used
- Review treatment success regularly
- Ask why the disease is occurring and look for ways to prevent and reduce it
Some examples of where anti-inflammatories can be used
Mastitis in cows causes inflammation and pain. Anytime we can reduce down these clinical symptoms we can improve treatments and speed up recovery. With ecoli mastitis, we get endotoxic shock where medicines AI medicines can again help. It is a supportive treatment that can help a cow recover like fluids and products to reduce down endotoxin shock.
Hard or difficult calvings can cause pain. This pain must be controlled as it may limit appetite and open the door to other metabolic conditions. Any cow after a difficult calving should receive pain relief medication
Pneumonia is inflammation of the lungs often caused by bacterial or viral infections. Including AI medicines in our treatments can control the pyrexias or high temperature. They will also reduce down the inflammation and tissue damage being done in the lungs.
Most of our lameness in dairy cows is caused by mechanical damage. While cows are recovering or getting the treatment they really value and react well to medicines which reduce down inflammation and pain.
These are just some examples of where these medicines can benefit farm animal health and welfare
A note about sheep
I learned a very important lesson about sheep a long time ago. As a precocious species, they can hide pain very well. Meaning when we spot sick sheep they can be too far gone.
Pain management becomes very important in sheep, particularly around lambing time.
Watch the video above where I talk about some practical uses of anti-=inflammatories in ruminants
Thought for the day
It always seems impossible until it’s done. We must start and we must be resilient. Break down challenges to bite-size chunks and you will get there.
Huge thanks to Nettex in helping support me in making this series for more information click the link here http://WWW.NET-TEX.CO.UK
Happy safe farming