Al´s bite wound abcessed--long post.

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Ciaytee
Almost Inbred

Post   » Sun Apr 07, 2002 1:25 am


For those who might not remember, about 2 weeks ago Beau bit Al on the shoulder during floor time. I kept the wound open and kept it slathered in Neosporin, and I believed it had healed fine. As of last weekend, the wound was completely closed and flat, so I stopped paying as close attention to it. Obviously I was wrong in doing so, because today I discovered a huge lump on his shoulder.

After much trouble and drama, I found an emergency vet that treated exotics. Or so I believed. I thought I heard the receptionist say, "Yes, he sees guinea pigs." when apparently what she actually said was, "Yes, he will see a guinea pig." But he ended up not being that bad. He didn´t just make assumptions based on his dog/cat experience. He took his time and did some research before he started treating Al.

Al is a little ´off´ tonight, but he doesn´t seem too worse for the wear. He´s tired, but he´s not lethargic. He´s not quite eating or drinking as much as normal, but he´s not starving himself, either. Since Kleenmama told me that he shouldn´t have physical contact with the other pigs, I´ve set him up on a section of the floor, on towels. And his digestion seems to be fine, as the towels are already covered in well-formed poops.

However, I do have a concern regarding the dosage of antibiotic he gave me. He prescribed 3 cc of SMZ-TMP twice a day. I spoke with Kleenmama about this, and she informed me that this is possibly 6 times the recommended dosage for pigs, depending on how diluted the formula is. Tomorrow I´ll call to find out what the dilution strength is, but in the meantime, my question is whether or not any of y´all have heard of this being diluted that much.

I also have a question about flushing the wound. The vet didn´t give me anything to use; he just told me to flush it with hydrogen peroxide. After I´d already done it, I read I AM My Pig´s Mom´s post, where I saw that she was told to flush with 6 cc´s. I ended up using just 1 cc of the peroxide. I stuck the tip of a 1 cc syringe into the hole and did short bursts of .10 cc. I did this until the peroxide no longer bubbled when I inserted it, which ended up being after about 6 shots. The last four were just to be certain. Does that sound right? Or should I be doing 6 cc´s also? Oh, and I also manipulated the wound after every flush, but no pus ever came out of it.

My third question is about the hardness of the wound. The vet said that because of the abcess, the muscles surrounding it had hardened, and that since the abcess was gone, they would soften up and go back to normal. Was he correct?

I´m going to try to post pics of the wound. I have a crap camera without zoom, so hopefully these won´t look too bad.

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Ciaytee
Almost Inbred

Post   » Sun Apr 07, 2002 1:30 am


Another pic.

User avatar
Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sun Apr 07, 2002 9:43 am


Did you read the Abscess thread in the Reference Forum? https://www.guinealynx.info/forums/threa ... &styleid=1 ? I think Imanut4u used a betadine solution to flush the wound. I know Josephine does not like hydrogen peroxide and feels it inhibits healing. Yes, the dose you have for the bactrim sounds too high. It should be closer to 0.5 cc for the average pig (weight determines it). I do think it is a standard mix for the pediatric solution. A call to the vet will get you answers.

I posted on another thread (I read the info from a bottle I had in my refrigerator):
It is also known as sulfa trim or sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim oral suspension, usp 200mg/40mg per 5 ml. I think the dosage is on Squeak pig´s safe med page (a link can be found in the index in Guinea Lynx).

Last edited by Lynx on Sun Apr 07, 2002 9:44 am, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
Jill

Post   » Sun Apr 07, 2002 10:25 am


Ciaytee, the solution I flushed Piggie´s wound was called Nolvasan. I don´t know if that would make any difference in the amount used.

The area around the abscesses seemed to harden before they went away. My vet said it was scar tissue. One of the abscesses was near the bald spot by the ear. As it was healing, it felt hard and still like a lump. I was concerned that it wasn´t healing, but it ended up being scar tissue and is now gone. I can´t even tell she had a wound there.

Good luck with Al´s abscess, I know how frustrating they can be.

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Becky

Post   » Sun Apr 07, 2002 1:44 pm


Ciaytee, when Cookie was taking sulfatrim for her UTI, it was .5 cc twice a day. She weighed 2lbs. 5oz at the time.

Josephine
Little Jo Wheek

Post   » Sun Apr 07, 2002 3:42 pm


<<I know Josephine does not like hydrogen peroxide and feels it inhibits healing.>>

This is not an opinion. Hydrogen peroxide´s corrosiveness and danger to living tissue is well known in the medical community. Sometimes that destructive nature is called for, but not usually. Betadine (weakened Iodine) is excellent for flushing abscesses. Chlorhexidine (the active ingredient in Nolvasan Flush and Scrub) is even better. I would choose either over the H2O2 (peroxide).

Warm compresses several times a day (about 5-10 minutes) also speed healing. Flushing should be done 2-4 times a day. I usually recommend flushing several times past the disappearance of any discharge/pus.


Is the pig now separated from the one that inflicted the bite wound? I would certainly do so if he´s not. Not only is the risk of more abscesses and bite wounds possible, but there is a chance of cross-infection/contamination and keeping tabs on the ill piggy is more difficult in a pair/herd situation.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sun Apr 07, 2002 3:53 pm


I didn´t remember all the reasons you had, just that you didn´t advise it. I thought it was interesting saying that "Sometimes the destructive nature is called for." Out of curiousity, what kind of circumstances would hydrogen peroxide be especially useful?

Josephine
Little Jo Wheek

Post   » Sun Apr 07, 2002 4:06 pm


You wouldn´t want to know. Usually it is avoided altogether, but some vets will use it with very dead, necrotic tissue to help debride. The worst of the worst. We had a nice one a few weeks back. People just never learn they have to keep wounds clean to heal. The newer vets usually manually debride (often with the patient under anesthesia) and use betadine or chlorhexidine.

I still wouldn´t call H2O2 "especially useful," unless you´re talking about getting blood stains off of fur. Even then, it tends to turn the blood brown on light-colored animals!
Last edited by Josephine on Sun Apr 07, 2002 4:07 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Ciaytee
Almost Inbred

Post   » Mon Apr 08, 2002 12:29 am


Ya know, I didn´t even remember that there was a Reference forum here. I was so addled yesterday that I was doing good to remember my own name. But I did check out GuineaLynx, so that´s something.

The vet that worked on Al yesterday wasn´t there today, and he didn´t write on Al´s chart how much he diluted the antibiotic, so I have to try again tomorrow. So just to be safe, I gave Al 0.5cc twice today.

I also got confirmation of what Josephine said about the peroxide from 2 other people. While I was in Walgreen´s getting the Betadine, I struck up a conversation with a nurse at Texas Children´s. Later, I spoke with my sister, who is also a nurse, and they both said that Betadine is better to use as an antiseptic, as peroxide kills both the good and bad cells, thus inhibiting healing. They also both said that they actually switch off using peroxide and Betadine. First, they´ll flush with a 50/50 solution of saline and peroxide. The next time they´ll use Betadine. My sister also said that it´s important to flush out the Betadine with sterile saline, as bacteria can grow in the Betadine. Does this hold true for pigs? My sister thought it would, as she believes a wound in any mammal would require pretty much the same treatment.

And one more stupid question. How do I know if I´m opening the wound enough before I flush it? Is it supposed to bleed? Or am I just supposed to open to where it´s whitish/pink inside? I´ve been stopping at the whitish/pink point, because I don´t want to hurt him any further. Is that right?

I apologize if these are really simplistic questions, but I have no idea what I´m doing here, and I didn´t find an idiot´s guide to flushing abscesses post.

And yeah, Josephine, Beau--the one who bit Al--will never be in the same area as him again. They don´t live together, and they rarely had floor time together. And because of this, they never will again.

Evangeline

Post   » Mon Apr 08, 2002 10:34 am


"Opening the wound" refers to opening the incision that was made when the abcess is lanced. Did the vet lance it or did it open by itself? From the picture, it looks like a tiny hole. Usually, the vet will open a big gash. That´s what you need to keep open.

User avatar
Ciaytee
Almost Inbred

Post   » Mon Apr 08, 2002 1:44 pm


It is a tiny hole--about a centimeter wide. The vet reopened the initial wound (from Beau) and drained it that way. And from what you´re saying, I´m guessing he probably then didn´t do it the right way. Damn.

imanut4u

Post   » Mon Apr 08, 2002 2:30 pm


Were you in there when he opened it? Did pus come out? Is there a lump there now or is it scar tissue?

The pic does look like a tiny bite. If you can´t feel anything inside, just keep opening and flushing. It should heal up fine that way. If there´s a lump, he probably should have opened it up a lot more than how it looks here in order to drain it properly.

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