|
|
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 564
 
Location: Texas | My vet instructed to give dex in milligrams and not cc's. I've found a conversion table online that indicates 20 mg would be the equivalent of .02 cc. Does this sound right to anyone that has used milligrams instead of cc's before? Thanks for the help. |
|
| |
|
 
Location: Not Where I Want to Be | possible that you mis heard the instructions?
|
|
| |
|
Regular
Posts: 83
| The label on the bottle of dex should tell you the concentration of it (how many milligrams of dex are in each cc) |
|
| |
|
Married to a Louie Lover
Posts: 3303
| I'd call the vet and ask to be safe... |
|
| |
|
 Veteran
Posts: 239
| ky barrel racer - 2017-08-17 7:21 AM The label on the bottle of dex should tell you the concentration of it (how many milligrams of dex are in each cc)
This.
The bottle will say how many mg/ml of drug is there. You cross multiply to convert mg to ml (which is a cc).
For example if your dex is 10mg/ml and you need 20mg, you would give 2ml (=2cc).
|
|
| |
|
Veteran
Posts: 134
| You can't convert mg to cc as mg is a measurement for solids and cc is a measurement for liquids. Liquid medications usually have a concentration of X mg/ml (or cc as a ml and a cc is the same thing) where it it tells you how much medication is in a cc of the product but you can't just go from mg to cc. Definitely make sure you know what the concentration of your product is as the same medication can come in various concentrations.
Edited by EagleJess 2017-08-17 10:48 AM
|
|
| |
|
 BHW Resident Surgeon
Posts: 25352
Location: Bastrop, Texas | Sometimes I cringe when I hear someone say, "I gave __cc".....of something.
Generic versions of Dex come in different concentrations. One is 4mg/ml and the other is 10ml/ml.
There are other examples.
Use milligrams, not volume. |
|
| |
|
 Take a Picture
Posts: 12842
| Mg is the unit for measuring MASS. You may need to measure the mass of a liquid. Cc and ml are two names for the same unit which is used to measure VOLUME as 1 ml is the same as 1 cubic centimeter (cc). I think you need to check with your vet to make sure
Edited by streakysox 2017-08-17 9:42 PM
|
|
| |
|
 You get what you give
Posts: 13030
Location: Texas | There are two forms of Dex that are sold. there's 2mg/ml and 4 mg/ml. If you are giving 20 mg of dex you would be giving 10 cc of the 2mg/ml or 5cc of the 4 mg/ml. Hope that helps.
The 2mg/ml dex is in most often in a bottle with a red label, and the 4mg/ml dex is often in a bottle with a blue label and called "Dex-SP." However, other brands of dex may not be labeled that way.
If you want, you can take a picture of the bottle of dex and the vet instructions and I can explain it for you. Or you can call your vet back.
Edited by casualdust07 2017-08-17 1:07 PM
|
|
| |
|
 Did I miss the party?
Posts: 3864
| And Dexamethasone SP (the 4mg per ml) is IV, not IM |
|
| |
|
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 564
Location: Texas | Thanks casualdust. He was very specific that it was milligrams.
Edited by hammerdown 2017-08-17 1:28 PM
|
|
| |
|
Did I miss the party?
Posts: 3864
| hammerdown - 2017-08-17 11:21 AM Thanks. He was very specific that it was milligrams.
He's correct in saying it this way. Especially with what dex can do to a horse if overdosed. Bad news bears.
And, Casualdust is a wealth of reputable knowledge with the education behind it. 
|
|
| |
|
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 538
Location: Central Texas | For those saying you can't convert mg to ml, you are somewhat mistaken.
1 mL is = to 1mg in weight
i.e. 1 Liter of fluid weghts 1 Kilogram (1000 mL = 1000 mg).
However, I think the orignial post was asking more about how many mL's (CC's) to give when he vet told her the mg. Which would go along with what everyone else is saying about finding the concentration (mg/ml).
Edited by txcajuncowgirl 2017-08-18 12:45 PM
|
|
| |
|
BHW Resident Surgeon
Posts: 25352
Location: Bastrop, Texas | txcajuncowgirl - 2017-08-18 12:41 PM
For those saying you can't convert mg to ml, you are somewhat mistaken.
1 mL is = to 1mg in weight
i.e. 1 Liter of fluid weghts 1 Kilogram (1000 mL = 1000 mg).
However, I think the orignial post was asking more about how many mL's (CC's) to give when he vet told her the mg. Which would go along with what everyone else is saying about finding the concentration (mg/ml).
Wrong.....please. Some of you are making this way too difficult.
One ml of water weighs 1 gram.
1 gram = 1000 mg
1 kg = 1000 grams = 1000000 mg
What's important is how many milligrams of a given drug is contained in a cc (ml) of liquid. You should develop the habit of dosing based on the amount of drug in mg. Many drugs are available in different concentrations.
Edited by Bear 2017-08-18 1:34 PM
|
|
| |
|
Location: Not Where I Want to Be | txcajuncowgirl - 2017-08-18 1:41 PM
For those saying you can't convert mg to ml, you are somewhat mistaken.
1 mL is = to 1mg in weight
i.e. 1 Liter of fluid weghts 1 Kilogram (1000 mL = 1000 mg).
However, I think the orignial post was asking more about how many mL's (CC's) to give when he vet told her the mg. Which would go along with what everyone else is saying about finding the concentration (mg/ml).
that is world class levels of wrong |
|
| |
|
Take a Picture
Posts: 12842
| txcajuncowgirl - 2017-08-18 12:41 PM
For those saying you can't convert mg to ml, you are somewhat mistaken.
1 mL is = to 1mg in weight
i.e. 1 Liter of fluid weghts 1 Kilogram (1000 mL = 1000 mg).
However, I think the orignial post was asking more about how many mL's (CC's) to give when he vet told her the mg. Which would go along with what everyone else is saying about finding the concentration (mg/ml).
This is correct if you are dealing with PURE WATER. Water is the basis of standard for the entire metric system.
Have you ever noticed that oil floats on water? That is because 1 ml has a mass less than one gram. Even though oil is thicker it is still less dense. If you squirt dish washing liquid into water, it goes straight to the bottom. (Unless you swish it around). The mass of 1 ml of dish washing liquid is greater than 1 gram, therefore, more dense than water. |
|
| |
|
You get what you give
Posts: 13030
Location: Texas | some of Y'all are going down a rabbit hole that is so far away from the original poster's question.
All drugs have concentrations that are most often times given as mg/ml or %s. Dex is sold in bottle concentrated in mg/ml. Like I said earlier, its sold either in 2mg/ml or 4 mg/ml concentrations.
Simple math:
A bottle of 2mg/ml dexamethasone is sold. Give Horse 20 mg of dex from this bottle:
20mg dex X 1ml/2mg= 10 ml (1 ml= 1cc)
2mg/ml means "for every ml of solution there is 2 mg of drug."
It's called dimensional analysis, its just the process of going from one conversion to another.
Edited by casualdust07 2017-08-18 3:12 PM
|
|
| |
|
Veteran
Posts: 134
| txcajuncowgirl - 2017-08-18 12:41 PM
For those saying you can't convert mg to ml, you are somewhat mistaken.
1 mL is = to 1mg in weight
i.e. 1 Liter of fluid weghts 1 Kilogram (1000 mL = 1000 mg).
However, I think the orignial post was asking more about how many mL's (CC's) to give when he vet told her the mg. Which would go along with what everyone else is saying about finding the concentration (mg/ml).
Please do not go by this as it is incorrect. The whole premise of the metric system is you have a prefix (milli, kilo, centi etc.) and a base units (gram,liter, meter,etc), While the prefixes can be adjusted easily by sliding decimal places, you cannot convert between the base unit as the base units represent different things. With the idea presented above you could convert between a meter ( a unit of distance) and a gram (unit of weight) which is obviously not possible.
In regards to medication, you can dissolve X amount of a solid into a liquid thereby giving a gram/liter measurement but that is just telling you how much solid is dissolved into how much liquid. It is not converting the grams into liters at all.
Edited by EagleJess 2017-08-18 3:43 PM
|
|
| |
|
Take a Picture
Posts: 12842
| EagleJess - 2017-08-18 3:41 PM
txcajuncowgirl - 2017-08-18 12:41 PM
For those saying you can't convert mg to ml, you are somewhat mistaken.
1 mL is = to 1mg in weight
i.e. 1 Liter of fluid weghts 1 Kilogram (1000 mL = 1000 mg).
However, I think the orignial post was asking more about how many mL's (CC's) to give when he vet told her the mg. Which would go along with what everyone else is saying about finding the concentration (mg/ml).
Please do not go by this as it is incorrect. The whole premise of the metric system is you have a prefix (milli, kilo, centi etc. ) and a base units (gram,liter, meter,etc ), While the prefixes can be adjusted easily by sliding decimal places, you cannot convert between the base unit as the base units represent different things. With the idea presented above you could convert between a meter ( a unit of distance ) and a gram (unit of weight ) which is obviously not possible.
In regards to medication, you can dissolve X amount of a solid into a liquid thereby giving a gram/liter measurement but that is just telling you how much solid is dissolved into how much liquid. It is not converting the grams into liters at all.
This is exactly what I have been saying, and back to the original poster's question----ultimately you are going to have to give an injection in cc's because that is how the syringes that I buy are calibrated. Somehow I cannot imagine a vet telling someone to give grams but whatever. I used to buy Regumate (injectable). The vet had it compounded at different labs. Different numbers of mg/ml. The vet always wrote the number of cc's on the bottle because it often was different from the bottle before.
|
|
| |
|
BHW Resident Surgeon
Posts: 25352
Location: Bastrop, Texas | This entire thread is an excellent illustration of how even the simplest concepts can be made incredibly complicated.
|
|
| |
Folks on-line