DEXA VANA

Dexa Vana is an injectable dexamethasone preparation for veterinary use in horses and camels. Unlike combination products, it delivers a single glucocorticoid, which makes its onset and duration predictable and is the reason dexamethasone remains the reference corticosteroid in equine practice.

Composition

Active substance: dexamethasone, a synthetic glucocorticoid roughly twenty-five to thirty times more potent than hydrocortisone and with negligible mineralocorticoid activity — meaning it suppresses inflammation strongly without the salt and water retention that limits older steroids. The concentration per millilitre is printed on the vial label; confirm it before drawing up.

Indications

Dexamethasone is used across a wider range of conditions than musculoskeletal pain alone:

• allergic reactions — urticaria (hives), insect hypersensitivity, acute skin allergy;
• recurrent airway obstruction and other inflammatory respiratory disease in horses;
• inflammatory and immune-mediated conditions where the immune response needs to be damped down;
• shock and acute toxic states, as supportive treatment alongside primary therapy;
• inflammation of joints and soft tissue following trauma or overexertion.

How it works

Dexamethasone enters the cell and acts on gene transcription, switching down the production of the proteins that drive inflammation and switching up anti-inflammatory ones. Because it works at the level of protein synthesis rather than by blocking an enzyme, the full effect takes some hours to appear but then persists — which is why a single dose covers a long interval, and why the effect does not stop the moment the drug clears the bloodstream.

Presentation and storage

Sterile injectable solution in a sealed vial. Store in the original carton, protected from light, at the temperature stated on the label. Do not freeze. Disinfect the stopper before each withdrawal and use a sterile needle and syringe. Keep out of reach of children.

Important

Dexamethasone suppresses the immune response, so it can allow a quiet infection to progress unnoticed; rule out infection before treating. It raises the risk of laminitis in susceptible horses and ponies, interferes with glucose and insulin regulation, and should not be used in late pregnancy, where it can induce parturition. Prolonged or repeated courses suppress the animal’s own adrenal function and must be tapered rather than stopped abruptly. Do not combine with a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory without veterinary direction. Dose, route and duration are set by the attending veterinarian. Dexamethasone is a controlled medication under racing and competition rules and has published detection times — check them before treating a competing animal. Withdrawal periods apply to animals destined for food production. This page is product information, not veterinary advice.