blister beetles

[hallswel]

I checked before I posted to make sure it was ok because of the length

Thanks Brad for letting me post it. The breeder I got my Cairn from sent this to me:

"Hi, guys! This was sent to me by Libby Tilghman. She lives in Cumming, Georgia, about 45 minutes north of Atlanta.

BLISTER BEETLES POISONING

The blister beetle is from 1/2 to 3/4 inches long, with a large head and thin body. They are grey, black or speckled in color. Information on them can be obtained from Google,Acrobat Reader, and the Merck Veteranian Manual.

Blister Beetles contain Cantharidin, an odorless, colorless compound which will blister your fingers if you pick them up even if they are dead. My dog ate them. I am writing this so other dog owners can be aware that this can happen. Horse people are aware of them because they get in the hay. My dog must have eaten them right after they hatched out of a tree trunk or the ground. I am unaware of how long she retained the beetles prior to vomiting them . Knowing their toxicity it probably was not very long. There are many symptoms. First the animal will vomit them, and they should be saved for proper identification. Without proper identification treatment is dif ficult. The animal will have blisters in the mouth and on the palate and surrounding soft tissue. \Vomiting will continue and the temperature rises. This is the time to seek help for the symptoms increase. The blisters will also be in the nasopharnyx, the esophagus and stomach. The following day my dog had convulsions, one right after another until medication was administered. She was weak.. The blisters in the mouth ruptured in a day or so and she stopped eating. The blisters in the nasopharynx did not rupture until nine (9) days later. They then caused the nasopharnyx tissue to be edematous, friable to touch and weeping. The chemical in the blisters caused the vocal cords to be paralyzed and the dog to become cyanotic,(blue) and gasping for air. This is a real emergency and the animal need to be taken to a vet immediatlely and oxygenated. With the vocal cords paralyzed the dog required a tracheotomy, which is an outside opening int o the trachea. Prior to the tracheotomy a bronchoscopy was done to assess the nasopharnyx. She was in intensive care in an oxygen cubicle for nine days requiring round the clock care suctioning the tracheotomy and keeping her calm, because stress increased her respiratory rate. She had two respiratory arrests during which her heart rate decreased and required medication. Intravenous fluids were given during this period and arterial blood gases were required to check her oxygen and carbon dioxide and serum Calcium levels. She went into pulmonary edema because the lungs were stressed and overworking. This required a diuretic and antibiotic. She ate little during her hospitalization but has regained her appetite. Her recovery took 17 days during which her first hospitalization was three days and the second one which began nine days after eating the beatles took seven days.

She has recovered completely and is eating again. The vets at Georgia Ve terinary Specialists were respomsible for her care and I will be forever grateful to them for saving her and thankful that we have such an establishment in this area.

All dog owners need to remember to save anything unusual that the animal vomits.

Without the specimens treatment could be delayed.

I hope this information helps other dog owners.

Elizabeth W. Tilghman"

[mOmOfaBe]

Thank you for taking the time to share with us, I have never even heard of the little devils.

mom of abe