Essential oils and fungal infection

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1921kathryn

Post   » Fri Mar 28, 2008 11:50 pm


Hello, this is my first post/thread :)

My guinea pig Wanita has what I think is a fungal infection

I am currently trying Peter Gurney's fungal treatment of 100 ml carrier oil with 10ml of combined tea tree, lemon grass, lavender and patchouli essential oils

She is crusty on the shoulders, chest, chin and especially crusty on the jaw and face (near the eyes)

I haven't rubbed any of the above treatment near her eyes and face region but this is where it appears the worst

Has anyone tried this remedy?

Will if hurt if it gets in her eyes?

Any help greatly appreciated K:)

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Mum
I GAVE, dammit!

Post   » Sat Mar 29, 2008 12:04 am


Tea tree has been shown to cause serious issues in dogs. If you do a search, Josephine has posted on this somewhere!

If you post a picture, we might be able to help you further.

Has she ever been treated for mites? Tested for ringworm?

Welcome to GL!

Suisan

Post   » Sat Mar 29, 2008 12:06 am


If it were me I wouldn't be using tea tree oil on her. But I don't know about the other oils.

How about using an over the counter fungal topical cream in stead? That's worked for me. One of my guinea pigs came home from the shelter with fungus near her lips and the topical cream cleared it up pretty fast.

(Beyond Tea Tree oil being a little dangerous, it's usually touted as being as having antibacterial properties, not antifungal.)

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sus4rabbitsnpigs

Post   » Sat Mar 29, 2008 12:51 am


Have you read https://www.guinealynx.info/fungus.html ?

Nizoral Shampoo or Program are usually effective.

But ditto Mum. It may be mites.

Tracis
Let Sleeping Pigs Lie

Post   » Sat Mar 29, 2008 2:20 am


Welcome to Guinea Lynx, and I hope Wanita will be better, soon.

Some of the tea tree oil threads:

Link to Josephine's post about tea tree oil

Tea Tree Oil Warning

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PinkRufus
Contributor in 2020

Post   » Sat Mar 29, 2008 3:37 am


A friend of mine makes her own shampoo which has the herbal oils you have listed among her ingredients. She only uses three drops tea oil to eight ounces of her shampoo base. Since it is a shampoo it gets rinsed off again. I have not used it myself, but her pigs always look great.

According to my herb books fennel has some antifungal properties. I grow it myself and incorporate it into their daily greens occasionally. Herbal remedies are usually best used as preventives and not in lieu of proper veterinary care. As mentioned above it could be mites or something else.

1921kathryn

Post   » Sat Mar 29, 2008 4:51 am


Thank you kindly for all your replies & links

I immediately washed all the oil treatment off with Nizoral, (it was on for about 2 hours) I think this shampoo is good but not good for her very crusty facial area.

I don't think it's mites I took her to the vet 3 months ago and she has been treated with ivermectin. I have started another treatment tho just to be on the safe side

Next I will try a fungal cream

How do I post a picture a picture?

Thanking you in advance

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scoot

Post   » Sat Mar 29, 2008 8:38 am


I think you have to keep away from the eyes whatever treatment you use.

If using fungal cream go for the one that is formulated for use on oral thrush, which will presumably be less harmful if eaten.

Just a comment on the essential oil treatment. I didn't know of the other alternatives at the time and I know people are not keen on it here. However I have to say I have successfully used the Peter Gurney recipe in the past for fungal infection.

Image
The vet had said they were too small to treat with the medicine she had, but the patch on their noses was getting bigger daily so I did the oil treatment and it worked.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sat Mar 29, 2008 9:09 am


How many mite treatments? Still could be mites. There are many effective fungal treatments. Have you looked over www.guinealynx.info/.html ?

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rshevin

Post   » Sat Mar 29, 2008 9:23 am


Gorgeous Guineas recommends washing the face area gently with only the foam from shampoo from the rest of the body. Maybe this would help with her face. It looks like a pretty bad fungus there. I would look into some Monistat cream (yup, same stuff for humans) so you can closely control where it goes without worrying about getting soap and water into the eyes and ears. With such a widespread issue, oral Program may be more helpful. You can order it online from a few places.

Tracis
Let Sleeping Pigs Lie

Post   » Sat Mar 29, 2008 11:37 am


"How do I post a picture a picture?"

Do you have an online photo-hosting account, such as Photobucket? If not, you will need to create one. I use www.Photobucket.com (it's free).

After you have uploaded your pictures, you will create a link to your Guinea Lynx message thread:

From your Photobucket account, locate your picture.

There is a set of "tags" usually underneath, or to the side of it.

Copy the one that says "IMG Code".

In your Guinea Lynx thread, click on the "To Reply Page" button (bottom right hand of the screen).

In the Post a Reply box, paste the IMG Code.

You can use the Preview button to see it before you choose Submit.

1921kathryn

Post   » Sat Mar 29, 2008 8:45 pm


I'm off to the chemist shortly to try some oral fungal cream.

As I remember it a couple of months ago I gave her 3 treatments of ivermectin 10 days apart 0.25mg orally (she was 4-5 months old and weighed approx 400g). I will have to increase the dosage slightly for her weight now

It may be of interest to note (which I have read on this forum before) that both outbreaks have occurred when I have returned from a weeks holiday, stress maybe? I'm very hesitant to leave her with a sitter for more than a couple of days in the future.

My course of action now is
1. Try oral fungal cream for face
2. Wash her body in Nizoral once a week
3. 6 treatments of ivermectin

If this doesn't work I'll take her to a good vet, otherwise she's in good spirits and eats very well

I will upload a picture of her soon for reference. This forum is a great help for a first piggy owner. It's brings me some peace of mind knowing there's something else I can try. Geez it's been frustrating. I will keep you updated, THANK YOU K:)

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