[Drinking water as a medium for drugs]

If drug treatment is necessary in large herd sizes, the administration with feed or drinking water is preferred. The use of the drinking water as a vehicle for drugs may be accompanied by several problems. An important condition for a successful medication is a good water solubility of the administered compound. The solubility is influenced by the quality of the used drinking water. The stability of the dissolved drug and incompatibilities with other water ingredients are additional limiting factors. The success of the treatment is influenced also by the taste of the medicated water which may cause a reduced water consumption. The use of tap water instead of spring water may be helpful to improve the efficacy of drug treatment via drinking water.