HOW DO I USE MEDICINES CORRECTLY

HOW DO I USE MEDICINES CORRECTLY

HOW DO I USE MEDICINES CORRECTLY? Medicine can be used to treat animals when sick or wounded Medicine can also be used to prevent the animal from getting sick

How do I use medicines correctly How do I treat a wound?   How do I drench a goat?  How do I treat for ticks?  How do I give my goat injections?

	You need to know what disease you are treating or preventing Make sure you are using the right medicine
	Always read the instructions that come with the medicine Or, ask the shopkeeper, an animal health technician, an extension worker, experienced farmer or veterinarian to read and explain them to you
	Make sure the medicine can be used for goats For example, medicine for chickens cannot be used for goats
	Check the expiry date If the medicine is past the expiry date it will not work properly If the date is given as:     EXP. DATE 03 2007     03 refers to the month        2007 refers to the year Do not use that medicine after March 2007
	Medicine needs to be kept cool and in the shade Make sure that the medicine was kept cool and in the shade in the shop before you bought it Make sure that you keep the medicine in a cool place away from sunlight
	It is important to give the right dosee.g. bigger goats take bigger doses Too little may not work, and too much may be harmful
Various ways of giving medicine... By injection (Photo: Leslie Harrison) By pour-on (Photo: Leslie Harrison) In the mouth (Photo: Leslie Harrison)	Make sure that you give the medicine by the right method The instructions will tell you how to give the medicine:
	Disposable needles and syringes used for injecting should be new and in their original packaging so that they are clean and the germs are killed Use a disposable syringe and needle only once; then discard them Do not use the same needle on different animals Collect dirty needles in an empty cold drink can When it is full, ask an animal health technician to take it away to destroy it Drop the used syringe in the pit toilet
	Give the medicine as many times as the instructions say, or it will not work properly For example, some injections need to be given for 3 days. If you do not give the medicine for 3 days, you will have wasted your money and the animal will not get better
	For the medicine to be effective, it must spread through the goat's body and the body fluids, including the milk This means that there is medicine in the body parts and body fluids, including the milk Taking in animal medicine can make humans sick Read the instructions so that you can tell how many days to wait after giving the medicine before you may slaughter the animal for meat or drink the milk from the animal The period to wait is called the medicine's withdrawal period, which is given as days or weeks
	Keep all medicines, syringes and needles away from children, to prevent the children from