Smee has an abcess..

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Graid

Post   » Thu May 20, 2010 1:09 pm


Discovered today to my horror today that my pig Smee has what I can only assume is a large abscess on her back leg/thigh which now has broken and has yellow pus showing underneath. She absolutely stinks of pus. Yuk...

I'm taking her to the vet now, luck of the draw whether I get someone knowledgeable or not.

As I understand it, the options are surgery to remove it, or putting a stint in it and flushing the pus out daily somehow?

Has anyone ever had a pig with an abscess on the leg like this before? Does it complicate things that it's where it is?

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Thu May 20, 2010 1:56 pm


Yes, that seems to be what works best. Warm sterile saline solution with a nice curved tip syringe if you need to flush. You might want antibiotics too.

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mimilicious

Post   » Thu May 20, 2010 3:43 pm


Not on the leg, under the chin. I know exactly what you mean about the smell. I'm flushing Lilac's currently. Blimey it stinks!

What works best is exactly what Lynx said. Lilac is on Baytril and it's been less than 2 days and it's tiny now.

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Graid

Post   » Thu May 20, 2010 5:02 pm


Thanks for the advice folks. I am back from the vet. Smee went into a trance of fear the entire time and thus was very compliant with having all the pus squeezed out of the abscess She now has a small bloody wound instead of a big swelling.

She is on baytril, and I have been told to squeeze the pus out of the abscess daily if it regathers. I wasn't given a syringe or told to use saline, though I may well be able to obtain saline. Do you mean the syringe would be used to squirt the saline into the wound hole?

It seems wrong to me that she's got an open wound with no anti-septic on it at the moment. I take it is either wrong or not helpful to put human anti-septic ointment on it?

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Webs
Cavies 'n Cobwebs

Post   » Thu May 20, 2010 9:42 pm


Abscesses can refill with pus once cleared so it's often best to help the healing and clearing faster by flushing them out. Generally you don't want the hole to close up too early so any build up of pus has an exit either by draining or squeezing. You may even have to gently reopen the hole by pulling the edges apart slightly especially for flushing. One of my previous pigs had an abscess on her face and I had to do this but it kept healing up too fast. My vet put Brolene eye ointment into the hole at the time and told me to do the same as it has an antibiotic in it and would help the inside keep clear while not allowing it to close too quickly as it was an oily type of ointment. The tube also has the narrow nozzle suitable for entering the wound. Not sure if it would be suitable for Smee as her one is on her leg and may be easier to lick or get to.

If you need to get the curved syringes you can buy them online from here or here. Jaycey also found them at her local Hobbycraft shop.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Thu May 20, 2010 11:17 pm


Ditto Webs. Please do get a curved tip syringe and flush. It will make a big difference in healing.

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lisam

Post   » Fri May 21, 2010 12:35 am


Be very careful with the squeezing. I think it's much more painful than flushing the wound.

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BamBam

Post   » Fri May 21, 2010 7:26 am


Ditto with the squeezing. Also, if the abscess "sac" is weak the squeezing may force the pus into surrounding tissue rather than out through the skin.

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Jaycey
Supporter in 2014

Post   » Fri May 21, 2010 8:01 am


Yeah I managed to find the curved syringe at Hobbycraft. It's about £3.50 but worth every penny.

Make sure to have a few practice runs with it first before using it on Smee as the solution comes out very quickly.

I found syringing alot better than squeezing. I squeezed my Listers abscess a few times and nothing came out. A quick flush with the syringe and out came the pus.

Good Luck !!

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Fri May 21, 2010 9:29 am


Yes, I think the squeezing has to hurt too (one of the reasons I've never recommended it). Yay for curved tip syringes!

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daisymay
Supporter 2016-2021

Post   » Fri May 21, 2010 10:26 am


I am hoping Smee gets better real soon. Did she get bitten? I would cetainly look into flushing the wound with Saline especially if it is where Smee can lick it.
I am currently doing Jessie's which is on her jaw, she actually seems to like the taste of the pus NOT that we have let her lick it but she always seems to want too.
I am in Oz and I got my curved syringe On-Line from the USA. Good luck!

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Graid

Post   » Fri May 21, 2010 4:49 pm


Thanks again for the advice. Also good to hear from you again Webs and Lynx! It's been a while!

So, I got some 'saline solution' from Asda, which I hope is fine, and I have ordered a curved tipped syringe. I might go and try and get one from homecraft at the weekend though. I don't have a car so that's trickier for me.

I had a go at squeezing some pus out today and really nothing came out but blood even when I squeezed pretty hard :/ It looks a little swollen like there might be some stuff in there. Doesn't smell bad though.

I also managed to get the tip of an ordinary syringe into the wound and squirt the solution inside to give it a slight flushing. Not much really came out that way either.

She was remarkably calm about all of this, not squealing like I thought she would. She doesn't even take baytril by syringe without making a fuss and struggling so I'm surprised.

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