Dogs will eat anything! So be careful not to give them the opportunity to ingest your medications. In a recent publication it became clear that there have been several deaths of pets as a result of them ingesting the topical cream 5-Flurouracil (Efudex or Carac). This topical chemotherapy cream is often used in humans to treat extensive sun damaged areas of the skin with multiple actinic keratoses (“pre-cancers”). However it seems dogs dont mind the taste and given the opportunity may squeeze out the tube and snack on the contents. The fatality rate in canines presenting with 5-Flurouracil ingestion has been reported to be as high as 61%.

This is not a reason not to use your prescribed cream, but just keep it out of the reach of children and pets!

Article Citation

The British Journal of Dermatology
Under-Recognised Effects on Our Canine and Feline Companions With 5-Fluorouracil Use
Br J Dermatol 2019 Nov 09;[EPub Ahead of Print], B Ho, N Bates, N Edwards, N Robinson, J Ellison