October 27, 2005

Hi –

In the fall/winter months we will use AD &E paste on our crias – we feel it helps straighten out legs, etc.  We typically dose with the “seat of your pants” method, giving 2.5 grams (1/2 notch) to the youngsters under 50 pounds, 5 grams to the 50 – 100 pound crias and 10 grams to the crias over 100 pounds.

Is there such a thing as too much AD &E Paste?  I understand that there is such a thing as too much inject able – wonder if the same is true for the paste.  Is there a time when it is considered too early to administer?

Thanks for your help –

Answer:

Yes you can give too much vitamin D (and A). We normally dose at 1000 IU vitamin D per kg bodyweight. You will have too work out how much this is in your tube - the label will tell you how many units are in the tube and its sections. It is important to not overdose - dosing anything up to 50lb the same might therefore overdose newborns by up to 2.5 times. The paste has to be given more frequently than the injection (every 6 weeks instead of twice
for the injectable during the winter months). Normally I recommend starting in November and going through until April (injections, once in November, once in February). If you are not dosing too high, you can give the paste or injectable from day 2 or 3 if desired.

Regards,

Claire E Whitehead BVM&S MS DipACVIM MRCVS