Where is this available?
On back order most places I’ve checked. Looking to CoTH for who’s got a supply I can order on line.
My vet is out… said his supplier is on back order as well.
Try your small animal vet clinic if you have one, they may have it or something similar.
These guys all look to have it?
Https://www.chewy.com/neo-poly-bac-generic-ophthalmic/dp/173399
https://www.walmartpetrx.com/p-8487-neo-poly-bac-opthalmic-ointment-35-gm.aspx?sku=51063
My vet was just here and he gave me his last tube. I asked for a prescription but he said they are all on backorder. My small animal vet has a watered down version of the good stuff that I use in a pinch. It is alarming how much it has gone up.
FYI- when my filly slice her eyelid and needed this ointment, we went through tube after tube and finally when I called my vet, she
said OTC triple antibiotic with no painkiller was fine to substitute.
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Yes, I do inventory for a vet clinic. The eye ointments can be very difficult to get ahold of in general. And sometimes they jack the prices up sky high.
I was able to get some last week, but it then was back ordered indefinitely again…
I asked my horse vet who said Neosporin would do in a pinch. Thankfully I dont have an acute situation, just red eyes and high winds with dust so I like to be proactive. But I’m down to about 1/4 tube. Yeah, horse vets seem to be out. Chewy has some but I’ll have to see if tis the same.
How do the pharmacies run out of this? Wasn’t it Robaxin a few years ago, then Isoxsurprine before that?
…
My vet has also told me this. The eye ointment has a smaller applicator and the petrolatum base is a little purer and dissolves a little better, but the ingredients are the same. You’re taking a little risk on manufacturing purity being more relaxed but if you can’t get the eye ointment, it’s worth considering in consult with your vet. Read labels carefully to ensure it’s a true match.
I found a site that sells Terramycin from Turkey, made by Pfizer. Mine seems to react to a lot of the fillers that are put in so not sure I want to risk using the regular triple antibiotic ointment.
Drug shortages are a very complex issue:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3278171/
Drug shortages are caused by many factors, including difficulties in acquiring raw materials, manufacturing problems, regulatory issues, and business decisions, as well as many other disturbances within the supply chain.
Sterile saline is often on FDA’s drug shortage list. It seems hard to believe that there could be a shortage of saltwater, but there are very rigorous requirements for something injected in the body that contribute to the shortages.
Good article on saline shortages, which has some similarities to ophthalmic ointment. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp1800347
There aren’t very many manufacturers of veterinary ophthalmic ointment, and the manufacturing process is complex. (Unlike topical antibiotic ointments, ophthalmic ointments are sterile, which brings an additional set of challenges.) If one manufacturer can’t get raw materials or has issues with critical manufacturing equipment or simply decides to not make it for a while to instead focus on another product, it can cause a huge disruption in the supply.
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