Vivi, nursing mom of 5
It also goes by what type of tissue is in the wound bed - necrotic /infected tissue needs sloughed off (like with the harsher cleaners) , but healthy tissue needs preserved (like with saline). Needs to be moist, but not too moist. Sometimes takes multiple approaches / techniques as the wound heals - like with Pinky.
It's a tough and constantly evolving area in medicine - lots of new products and lots of studies. It's also tough because there's often lots of comorbidities to just a wound (infection/diabetes/poor circulation)
It's a tough and constantly evolving area in medicine - lots of new products and lots of studies. It's also tough because there's often lots of comorbidities to just a wound (infection/diabetes/poor circulation)
Update (and warning...do not read if squeamish!!):
I've been dutifully flushing Vivi's "cavity" and filling it with Silverdene, as per the vet's instructions. It seemed to be filling in with a brownish tissue (the color of hamburger), but I thought it was maybe the wound healing. Not having ever dealt with an open abcess, I wasn't sure what to expect. It appeared to me to be filled in and solid.
I took Vivi back to the vet today for a follow-up and the vet took a gauze and wiped at the wound. Then, rather to my shock, she began pulling out garbage (the consistency of wet tissue paper) and pulling out garbage! A WHOLE LOTTA garbage came out of what I thought was a healing over wound. She explained that that stuff was the old silverdene. She took Vivi in the back and flushed the cavity (now a hole in my pig again!) out.
So the hole is a hole again and bleedy and I have to continue to flush it some more. But she doesn't want me to use the Silverdene.
Cultures done previously came back also and she has been switched from the Bactim to Chloramphenical to combat the specific infection found. I'm kicking myself for not getting a copy of the culture report. This stuff is in pill form...so I need to crush one (actually an 8th of a pill) and mix it with something to give it to her. She loves her Critical Care, so maybe...
I've been dutifully flushing Vivi's "cavity" and filling it with Silverdene, as per the vet's instructions. It seemed to be filling in with a brownish tissue (the color of hamburger), but I thought it was maybe the wound healing. Not having ever dealt with an open abcess, I wasn't sure what to expect. It appeared to me to be filled in and solid.
I took Vivi back to the vet today for a follow-up and the vet took a gauze and wiped at the wound. Then, rather to my shock, she began pulling out garbage (the consistency of wet tissue paper) and pulling out garbage! A WHOLE LOTTA garbage came out of what I thought was a healing over wound. She explained that that stuff was the old silverdene. She took Vivi in the back and flushed the cavity (now a hole in my pig again!) out.
So the hole is a hole again and bleedy and I have to continue to flush it some more. But she doesn't want me to use the Silverdene.
Cultures done previously came back also and she has been switched from the Bactim to Chloramphenical to combat the specific infection found. I'm kicking myself for not getting a copy of the culture report. This stuff is in pill form...so I need to crush one (actually an 8th of a pill) and mix it with something to give it to her. She loves her Critical Care, so maybe...
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- You can quote me
Careful with the chlor. It can pose a risk to human health -- a very very very very tiny chance (far less than winning the lottery ;-) but not zero, so if you are crushing those pills yourself, wear gloves and possibly a mask if you can stand it.
Chlor does not dissolve well in water or water-based (Pedialyte, fruit juices, etc.) liquids. If it were me I'd see if I could get it compounded.
Chlor does not dissolve well in water or water-based (Pedialyte, fruit juices, etc.) liquids. If it were me I'd see if I could get it compounded.
Yes, T, it would have been nice to know.
Vivi went to the vet yesterday for a final check up. Her infection went down dramatically when she was started on the new antibiotic. Initially, the "cavity" of the abcess was about the size of a small grape. I continued to flush several times a day after the vet visit talked about above. One thing was that the wound tended to want to heal closed. Initially, I gently opened it by swabbing it with a q-tip, but after a few days, I let it heal closed. The scab then fell off revealing a pea-sized cavity (which I then flushed a few times). I had switched to Saline solution by then.
The vet says everything looks great and that I don't have to flush anymore. Vivi is much more active than she was and is eating very well and keeping her weight up without any syringe feedings. She's finally starting to get the nerve to come out when I am around, since I am not hurting her as much anymore. I still need to finish out the full 10 days of the chlor, but it appears she is going to be just fine.
The chlor does not dissolve in water. I have a small mortar and pestle (from my husband being a pharmacist) and I crush it in that and measure out a half cc syringe of apple juice that I add to the crushed meds. Then I mix it and slowly suck it up, trying to get most of it into the apple juice. It seems to work pretty well and she likes the apple juice.
Thanks for all the help that everyone extented. I guess now I can "do" abcesses.
Vivi went to the vet yesterday for a final check up. Her infection went down dramatically when she was started on the new antibiotic. Initially, the "cavity" of the abcess was about the size of a small grape. I continued to flush several times a day after the vet visit talked about above. One thing was that the wound tended to want to heal closed. Initially, I gently opened it by swabbing it with a q-tip, but after a few days, I let it heal closed. The scab then fell off revealing a pea-sized cavity (which I then flushed a few times). I had switched to Saline solution by then.
The vet says everything looks great and that I don't have to flush anymore. Vivi is much more active than she was and is eating very well and keeping her weight up without any syringe feedings. She's finally starting to get the nerve to come out when I am around, since I am not hurting her as much anymore. I still need to finish out the full 10 days of the chlor, but it appears she is going to be just fine.
The chlor does not dissolve in water. I have a small mortar and pestle (from my husband being a pharmacist) and I crush it in that and measure out a half cc syringe of apple juice that I add to the crushed meds. Then I mix it and slowly suck it up, trying to get most of it into the apple juice. It seems to work pretty well and she likes the apple juice.
Thanks for all the help that everyone extented. I guess now I can "do" abcesses.