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Throughout the years, DMSO (dimethyl sulfoxide) has had a lot of ups and downs. At one point, it was considered a modern-day medical miracle, but before long, its popularity and use had declined. Today, it’s seen as a valuable anti-inflammatory agent in equine medicine, though many people swear by DMSO for their own ailments.
DMSO is something that almost everyone in the equine world has heard about, even if they don’t all have experience with it. The list of benefits it’s purported to provide is quite long and impressive, but not everyone knows what DMSO can do and why to use it. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at DMSO and how it might benefit or harm horses, disclosing all the information you need about this veterinary chemical.
What Is DMSO?
DMSO is a thick, strong-smelling liquid used to treat a wide range of health conditions that commonly affect horses. It is not just a standard medication; it can treat more than individual diseases. Many medical conditions can benefit from its use, though overuse can bring some harmful side effects.
DMSO has a strong affinity for water, allowing it to interact uniquely with cells and tissues. Inside the body, it penetrates cell membranes easily and is used to reduce inflammation, decrease edema (swelling caused by excess fluid build-up), and improve the penetration of other medications into tissues. Interestingly, topical use in humans can produce a garlic‑like breath or body odor, due to metabolism into dimethyl sulfide, demonstrating how it readily moves into different organ systems.
Is DMSO Safe for Horses?
In the 1960s, DMSO was a very popular medication used to treat several equine health conditions. However, the use of DMSO diminished shortly after due to safety concerns, but these were the result of a poor understanding of the drug’s mode of action. Following further research, DMSO was re-approved for use in horses in 1970, and since then has once again become a widely used medication for equine health problems.
When used in appropriate dosages, DMSO is considered relatively safe for horses. However, overuse remains a significant concern that can result in adverse side effects.
Benefits of DMSO
DMSO is shown to have many benefits for horses, including:
Anti-Inflammatory Properties
One of the most common uses for DMSO is to reduce swelling. Generally, swelling is caused by tissue injury, and reducing inflammation will allow the injury to heal quicker. DMSO is not classified as an NSAID (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug), but it does act as a potent anti-inflammatory agent. It also contains antioxidants that reduce cell and tissue damage by scavenging free radicals and preventing them from worsening inflammation. On the same note, DMSO reduces edema and is even used to treat joint or soft-tissue inflammation.
Pain Relief
DMSO does a lot more than reduce inflammation. It can also provide relief from pain by slowing or stopping impulses from moving along nerve cells. While the relief lasts only a few hours, DMSO can be combined with other analgesics to provide pain relief for longer durations.
Microbial Growth Prevention
DMSO doesn’t directly kill bacteria, though it stops them from reproducing. It’s a bacteriostatic agent, so it’s great for cleaning wounds, abscesses, or guttural pouches.
Draw Fluid From the Lungs
Acute pulmonary edema occurs when excess fluid fills the lungs and makes breathing difficult. When this happens to a horse, DMSO is often used to help remove fluid from the lungs, in conjunction with Banamine or a corticosteroid.
Boosting the Effectiveness of Other Drugs
One of DMSO’s main uses is to enhance the penetration of other drugs. For example, it is often used to get other drugs into sore muscles, such as prednisolone. Prednisolone doesn’t absorb into the tissues that well on its own, but with DMSO, it can penetrate deeply to provide enhanced relief. DMSO can also be used to get drugs into hard-to-reach tissues for treating infections like ringworm.
Diuretic
DMSO can be used intravenously to promote urination in horses. This is useful when you need to flush something quickly through a horse’s system to prevent toxicity, such as in cases of cantharidin poisoning, more colloquially known as blister beetle toxicity.
Potential Risks of DMSO Use
While DMSO has a long list of great benefits and is considered to be relatively safe for horses in appropriate doses, it has some risks associated with its use, particularly when overdosed.
Can Carry Unwanted Chemicals Into the Blood
DMSO is often used to transport drugs into the system. For instance, it is used topically to help pain-relieving drugs penetrate muscle tissue. But it has the same effect on other chemicals and substances. If your horse has a fly repellent on its skin, for example, the DMSO would also transport those chemicals into your horse’s tissues, increasing the absorption of potentially harmful substances.
This potentially turns chemicals that are normally safe when used topically into systemically toxic agents, which can lead to serious health problems, so great care must be taken when administering ANY medications, supplements, or topical treatments to your horse alongside DMSO.
Harmful for Dehydrated Horses
Because DMSO has diuretic and vasodilatory properties, it’s effective at flushing a horse’s system and preventing toxicity from an ingested chemical. On the other hand, it can cause a dehydrated horse to dehydrate even further. DMSO can lead to excess fluid loss from the kidneys while simultaneously lowering blood pressure due to the dilation of peripheral blood vessels. Make sure your horse is well hydrated before administering DMSO.
Skin Conditions
DMSO is safe for topical use, but if overused, it can lead to rashes and other skin conditions, including itchy, dry, flaky skin. The skin might turn red, or scaling may occur. When mixed with water, DMSO causes a warming effect that’s often therapeutic. However, once again, the effect can be painful if it’s too concentrated, as it can cause the skin to burn.
Final Thoughts
Proponents of DMSO often tout it as a miracle medication. In truth, there is a long list of benefits that DMSO can provide, and when appropriately used in appropriate dosages, it’s completely safe. However, like with any medication, improper use can lead to health problems. You can burn your horse’s skin or cause rashes. Dehydrated horses can experience further fluid loss and dehydration, and any chemicals on your horse’s skin could be transported into their bloodstream.
So, ensure you understand the risks before using DMSO and take all necessary precautions to ensure you and your horse’s experience with DMSO is pleasant.
Featured Image Credit: Free-Photos, Pixabay
4 Responses
We have a horse that was given a liter of lactated ringers with 10cc of DMSO in the MUSCLE not IV. It is swollen, hoping it goes down. Have been putting topical DMSO on it. Any advice?
Thank you
Hi Desiree, thank you for reading us and sorry for a bit of a late answer. Dydimethyl sulfoxide is approved to be used intravenously, orally, or topically in horses. Some have also used it intra-articularly but never injected into the muscle. Experimental studies with muscle cells of other species show that DMSO depresses skeletal muscle contractibility.
Please get your horse checked by an equine veterinarian for further instructions.
my weanling colt did the splits when coming in the barn and injured himself our chiropractor recommended DMSO on a triangle area just behind his shoulder probably a 10″ x 10″ area and to apply once a day, and to rinse the area awhile after we have let it set, do you think we should have any worries with this frequency of application, it could take 30-60-90 days for this to heal, don’t know that we’d need to do this for the duration or just a few days in the beginning on this regimen! Any additional advice? thank you
Hi Dan,
This sounds like specific advice that I couldn’t respond to directly here. If you’d like to speak to one of our vets about your predicament, you can reach out to them with using this link. Hope he’s better soon!