Can You Use Isopropyl Alcohol On Dogs?
No, it is not! Isopropyl alcohol can be very toxic to dogs. When you look at the isopropyl alcohol Material Safety Data Sheet, you’ll read that possible side effects can include:
“Gastrointestinal pain, cramps, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea may also result.”
Skin contact can lead to “skin irritation with redness and pain. May be absorbed through the skin with possible systemic effects.”
Even breathing it is dangerous. “Exposure to high concentrations has a narcotic effect, producing symptoms of dizziness, drowsiness, headache, staggering, unconsciousness and possibly death.”
This is not something I’d ever put on my dog’s skin. Especially somewhere she can inhale or lick it. (1)
Despite the warnings and the research … isopropyl alcohol has been sneaking its way into the cosmetics industry for years. And now it’s found a nice cozy bed in the pet care industry.
The world of alcohol is vast … with many different types of alcohol. And they all serve their purpose in each specific industry that uses them. Alcohol is used as …
But the scary part is how alcohol delivers ingredients into the skin. It does it by breaking down the natural oils and antibacterial layer. This means it destroys your dog’s skin microbiome … making her susceptible to all types of skin infections.
Different forms of alcohol are not all created equal. When most people see alcohol on a label they think of drinking alcohol or spirits. Those are the opposite of isopropyl alcohol. Here are a few types of alcohols you’ll find …
Drinking alcohol is what the industry calls undenatured ethanol or grain alcohol. Most alcohol produced in North America is from corn. Natural alcohol can also come from other sources like …
Grain alcohol or ethanol is available in different proofs. A grain alcohol’s proof is its ratio of alcohol to water. For example, 190 proof is 95% ethanol and 5% water. When you look at a bottle of alcohol in the liquor store … you’ll see that it says, “__ proof”. The proof is twice the percentage of alcohol. So, 80 proof would mean that the bottle contains 40% ethanol.
As an herbalist, I use alcohol to extract the active ingredients in plants … to make herbal tinctures. My alcohol of choice is organic grain alcohol because it’s non-GMO and safe in small amounts. Tincture dosages for dogs are usually 1 to 3 single drops.
I prefer alcohol extractions for dogs.
Most dogs are fine with herbal tinctures. The small amount of alcohol makes them very safe. But if your dog doesn’t tolerate herbal tinctures well, here’s the solution.
Dilute the tincture dose with an equal amount of hot water. It’ll cause the alcohol to evaporate.
Organic alcohol is the same as ethanol or grain alcohol … but the fermentation, distillation and packaging processes use organic standards.
Methanol is a highly toxic form of alcohol. It’s also known as wood alcohol. Methanol is used in antifreeze, as a solvent, an industrial cleaner, and in the synthesis of formaldehyde.
Denatured alcohol can be made of ethanol … or sometimes other chemically classified alcohols that are not ethanol based.
This type of alcohol is denatured by the addition of toxic solvents. This makes the alcohol unfit for consumption. Companies denature alcohol to avoid having to pay taxes. It also stops people from buying ethanol anywhere but a liquor store.
The chemicals used to denature vary. But the most popular are …
Many of these added chemicals are nearly impossible to distill out of the alcohol. This makes them the toxins of choice for the denatured alcohol industry.
Isopropyl alcohol is touted as a mild antiseptic, cleaner and disinfectant. It’s made through the hydration of water and a carbon called propene. This comes from fossil fuels like petroleum, natural gas and coal.
Keep Rubbing Alcohol Stored Away Safely
An article from Peteducation.com says “symptoms can be seen after ingestion of less than 1.3 ml per pound of body weight.”
To put that into perspective, 1.3 ml is equal to only a quarter of a teaspoon. So, a 10 lbs. dog could fall ill after only two and a half teaspoons. One big lap of the tongue can take that and more into the mouth and down the throat quickly and easily. Be sure to keep rubbing alcohol as well as other harmful chemicals, tightly sealed and put away where animals and children can’t reach them.
Could it be that isopropyl alcohol, once thought safe, should be restricted as well?
Tips to Prevent Heat Stroke in Dogs
One of the best things you can do to prevent your dog from having a heat stroke is to keep them indoors and provide access to plenty of cold water. Here are a few more tips on how to help dogs stay cool during a heatwave:
Dog’s reaction to rubbing alcohol
Hi, I’m Dr. Fiona Caldwell, and today I’m going to show you what to do if your dog or cat gets a laceration. If your pet sustains a laceration, it can disconcerting, especially, if there’s a lot of bleeding. Some lacerations might need veterinary attention, certainly if you can’t control the bleeding, or certainly if the laceration is large enough to warrant stitches.
Not sure if your pet’s cut needs stitches? Every Pets Best policy includes access to a 24/7 Pet Helpline. Get answers to your pet health questions day or night. Learn more at PetsBest.com.
A couple of things that you’ll want do before you go to your vet’s office or on your way to the vet’s office, one is to clean the wound. So hydrogen peroxide is a great initial cleaner. It’s not great for continued cleaning because it’ll actually damage the healing skin cells, but initially just to clean it, it’s fantastic. Stay away from rubbing alcohol, that’s obviously going to hurt. If you don’t have anything, just clean water can be useful.
So clean that area, apply pressure to the wound. We’ll just pretend Dina has a wound on her foot. Use a clean towel, t-shirt, dish rag, whatever you have, and really put a lot of pressure on it. If your bleeding is really severe and it’s actually spurting, that can indicate that you’ve got an arterial bleed, and that can sometimes be more serious. You may need to place a tourniquet or something tight around it and go straight to the veterinarian’s office. You can use a belt, a shoe lace, anything like that just to stop that flow of blood. Once you’ve got pressure on the wound, if you get the bleeding to stop and it’s a small laceration and you don’t feel it necessarily needs immediate veterinary attention, you can use bandaging material, gauze, padding, and tape, and that kind of thing can help protect the area to keep it clean.
Triple Antibiotic is a great ointment. You can use it on your pets. It’s safe. It’s a great way to clean and protect the wound. For minor scrapes, minor cuts, they usually can be treated at home, but anything larger than something really small, or if it goes through the layers, or if it’s bleeding a lot, you should really see your veterinarian. Cuts and scrapes can get infected and your veterinarian may want to stitch it and they may want to get your pet started on antibiotics as well.