I paid $1 (during free trial) to chat with a vet online.
The vet wants me to give my cat Benadryl for itchiness. He said "You can give benadryl at 1 mg per pound every 12 hours".
My cat weighs 12.4 pounds
So that meant the dose is 12.4mg. Easy, right?
The problem is that I didn't think to look at the medication label and see that the dose is listed as 12.5mg /5ml.
I can't go back and ask for clarification because I cancelled my free trial right after I got the vet's answer.
My cat weighs 12.4 pounds
In order to figure out how to give a metric dose, I figured out my cat's weight in kg:
12.4 / 2.2 = 5.66 kg
Since the label states that it has 12.5mg/5ml, to figure out the number of mg to give I did this:
5.66 kg X 1 mg = 5.66 mg
Now I need to figure out mg/ml (I think):
5.66mg = 1mg per pound
...but the dose is given in ml, so how many mg is in 1 ml? I found this by searching the question on google:
1 mg = 0.001000 ml
So I tried the following and used my calculator. I got:
5.66mg X 0.001000 ml = 0.00566 (that seems wrong!)
Then I tried:
5.66mg/0.001000 = 5,660 (and that also seems wrong!)
...That is where I gave up because I do not want to kill my cat with Benadryl!
I was going to ask here in the forums for help, but first I searched to see if anyone had asked a similar question. I wanted to figure my question out for myself. In the forums I saw a reference to:
From there I copied the following formula:
Example: Phenytoin (Dilantin), 0.1 g PO, is ordered to be given through a nasogastric tube. Phenytoin is available as 30 mg / 5 mL. How much would the nurse administer?
Ordered
Have x Volume Per Have = Y (Liquid Required)
Convert 0.1 g to mg.
mcg ← mg ← g ← kg ( x by 1,000 )
0.1 g x 1,000 = 100 mg
100 mg
30 mg x 5 m = 16.7 mL
So I tried:
1 mg
12.5mg x 5 m =
and didn't know how to figure that out because in the example they use '30 mg x 5 m = 16.7 mL' to figure out ml.
Where does 5m come into play?
I'm really stumped by that now ...and am not even certain that the formulas (formulae?) I've used up to this point are even correct.
Can someone help me please?
The vet wants me to give my cat Benadryl for itchiness. He said "You can give benadryl at 1 mg per pound every 12 hours".
My cat weighs 12.4 pounds
So that meant the dose is 12.4mg. Easy, right?
The problem is that I didn't think to look at the medication label and see that the dose is listed as 12.5mg /5ml.
I can't go back and ask for clarification because I cancelled my free trial right after I got the vet's answer.
My cat weighs 12.4 pounds
In order to figure out how to give a metric dose, I figured out my cat's weight in kg:
12.4 / 2.2 = 5.66 kg
Since the label states that it has 12.5mg/5ml, to figure out the number of mg to give I did this:
5.66 kg X 1 mg = 5.66 mg
Now I need to figure out mg/ml (I think):
5.66mg = 1mg per pound
...but the dose is given in ml, so how many mg is in 1 ml? I found this by searching the question on google:
1 mg = 0.001000 ml
So I tried the following and used my calculator. I got:
5.66mg X 0.001000 ml = 0.00566 (that seems wrong!)
Then I tried:
5.66mg/0.001000 = 5,660 (and that also seems wrong!)
...That is where I gave up because I do not want to kill my cat with Benadryl!
I was going to ask here in the forums for help, but first I searched to see if anyone had asked a similar question. I wanted to figure my question out for myself. In the forums I saw a reference to:
DosageHelp.com - Helping Nursing Students Learn Dosage Calculations
Learn dosage calculations with this free tutorial complete with explanations, examples, and practice questions.
www.dosagehelp.com
From there I copied the following formula:
Example: Phenytoin (Dilantin), 0.1 g PO, is ordered to be given through a nasogastric tube. Phenytoin is available as 30 mg / 5 mL. How much would the nurse administer?
Ordered
Have x Volume Per Have = Y (Liquid Required)
Convert 0.1 g to mg.
mcg ← mg ← g ← kg ( x by 1,000 )
0.1 g x 1,000 = 100 mg
100 mg
30 mg x 5 m = 16.7 mL
So I tried:
1 mg
12.5mg x 5 m =
and didn't know how to figure that out because in the example they use '30 mg x 5 m = 16.7 mL' to figure out ml.
Where does 5m come into play?
I'm really stumped by that now ...and am not even certain that the formulas (formulae?) I've used up to this point are even correct.
Can someone help me please?