Pigjes Pigs Piggadise Part Poo ... erm ... Two!

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Tue Oct 27, 2015 10:19 am


For what it's worth, if you are taking care of it in a well-lighted area and could take some pictures of the procedure, that would be great!

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pigjes
Cavy Comic

Post   » Tue Oct 27, 2015 4:59 pm


Unfortunately, we only have 4 hands. 2 to keep her from leaping off if that would happen, 2 to manipulate the flushing.

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pigjes
Cavy Comic

Post   » Fri Nov 06, 2015 3:42 am


Sharing some experience here, because a vet just will never be bothered to handle a pig with this level of delicacy. Unless all my efforts fail and an abscess will need to be cut out, trying to fix it myself means I prevent a pig from anesthesia if it works. If you are squeamish about abscesses, read no more ;)

I have tons of practice with them, on my own ... Born with a sad immune system, I had them since I was a baby. Studies in humans show that both are linked. My dad used to handle them, I took over when he got too ill and died when I was a kid. I have become an expert in manipulating them, without leaving a single mark. The biggest one was tennis ball sized when I was 2 months old. I had some that actually were big and painful enough not being able to sit on it for 2 days, lol. Luckily, getting older has made them disappear.

I noticed that if the culprit did not come out after lancing, it could actually be felt, usually not obvious, but very subtle. Not only sometimes by a small stingy sensation when it's touched, but sometimes a minuscule difference in structure when you rub over it. Various culprits are possible: ingrown hair, an infected sebaceous gland or hair follicle, splinters, and otherwise some weird semi solid indeterminable cell structures. I even invented names for those.

I noticed that the culprit did not come out of Yuyu’s abscess, as I felt a slight elevation and she moved each time I gently rubbed that minuscule spot, so I recognized that she had the small pinchy feeling. It did not feel like cheesy puss, as that feels like goo inside, this was bouncier. I mean, it was very very small, so it’s hard to notice. I knew the puss would start to come back soon too.

I knew out of experience that there is a perfect time to remove the scab on an abscess, when the edge of the scab comes slightly loose on one side. This is the moment where the culprit briefly sticks to the scab, if you are lucky. Removing it too soon means you are stuck with a wound and the culprit is still in it, too late means that the culprit detaches itself when the scab is pulled, as it’s already too embedded in the tissue.

So, I pulled slowly and gently. An irregular ball, about 1/6 of an inch was stuck onto the scab. I removed it from the scab and looked at it. It felt rubbery and it had hairs in it. These hairs did not come from outside, as the area was shaved. Will continue to treat it as an abscess normally is treated, but this was impressive.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Fri Nov 06, 2015 7:51 am


That is very very interesting. Would that vets had your level of expertise!

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jacqueline

Post   » Fri Nov 06, 2015 10:29 am


Thanks for sharing your experience. It helps all of us and takes some of the ick and mystery out of abscesses

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