When you decide to treat pigs orally (or by injection) ask yourself the following questions:

• Should the veterinarian be consulted?
• Have all individual affected pigs been identified ?.
• Is this condition one that has been reliably diagnosed before or is it a new one?
• Is it necessary to treat it?
• Are medicines to treat this condition readily available?
• Are there any welfare or nursing implications?
• Should the affected pig(s) be moved to a hospital pen?
• What methods of administration should be used?
• What dose should be given? Is the correct information on this available?
• How often should the medicine to be given and for how long?
• Are any adverse effects likely?

• Record when the treatment started and its progression.
• Assess the response on a day-by-day basis.
• If there is no response within 24 hours consult your veterinarian.