Yipes! Poor Nina has a badly swollen foot!

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Becky

Post   » Sat Apr 05, 2003 11:29 pm


Poor little girl! Do you think she might have cut her foot?

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sat Apr 05, 2003 11:42 pm


I think it's possible. The other foot -- I can't quite tell if it looks normal or if something is starting. I think pigs put up with alot. The last couple of days I thought I noticed her breathing more sharply but didn't know if it was my imagination. Now I wonder if it was pain. There was nothing else she did differently.

I guess this means if your pig is acting at all unusually, you should at least give them a once over.

Charybdis

Post   » Sat Apr 05, 2003 11:48 pm


Right about that! I picked up Bastille a couple of days ago and looked him over because he hadn't drank as much water as the other pigs since the night before. He had a large oozy abcess on his lip.

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Cara

Post   » Sun Apr 06, 2003 12:08 am


It's amazing how well pigs hide their problems though. I hope Nina will be just fine. Why is that pigs wait until the weekend or the wee hours of the morning to not feel well!

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lisam

Post   » Sun Apr 06, 2003 12:14 am


Poor Nina! How frightening for you. It always goes that way, you think that everything is just fine, then BOOM!

A brand name for chlorhexadine is Nolvasan. My horse vet has me dilute it ten to one. There are different kinds--it comes in a wash, in a wound cream, in a disinfectant too, I think. I have been using it to clean out Dust Bunny's abcess.

Good luck! Let us know how it goes.

kleenmama
I GAVE, dammit!

Post   » Sun Apr 06, 2003 12:21 am


And feet bleed alot! When I was first getting pigs, Melinda pulled off what she thought was a piece of poop on one of her pigs' feet. Wrong. It was a spur. Bled like a son of a gun. Pressure usually makes it stop.

And of course, it's a weekend. Has anyone EVER had a pig have an emergency at noon on a Monday-Friday?? Not me.

Julian
I GAVE, dammit!

Post   » Sun Apr 06, 2003 3:39 am


Never.
They know my voice at the ER clinic. Everthing seems to happen after hours. I just chalk it up to Murphy's law.

Blood is much better than pus in a wound. A culture is worthless once you've started antibiotics.

You can get Betadine over the counter but I believe Nolvasan is by prescripton only or from vet supply companies. I've always gotten mine from my vets.

I know the flush is highly diluted Nolvasan. I had the undiluted with the chemo pig and it needed to be diluted about 10 to 1. It makes it a very light blue rather than an bright bue. Undiluted Nolvasan is used as a vetinary cleanser and surgical tool disinfectant. It is way too strong for wound use that way.

Blood with no puss sure sounds like a cut rather than an abcess.

pinta

Post   » Sun Apr 06, 2003 6:30 am


This is a common problem in pigs with poor circulation. A poop gets stuck on their foot and the skin reacts to it, ulcerating underneath.

My animal physical therapist recommends aloe vera. If you have a plant, break off a piece and squeeze the gel right on the wound and then wrap it.

Combined with the sharp breathing, I would say Nina could be a candidate for Enacard or Fortekor. Any other peculiarities like Pea Eye, weight loss, inactivity, chronic URIs?

Peony has easily ulcerated feet that take overly long to heal (currently sporting 3 bandaged feet) and can't keep her weight on. She has Malocclusion from TMJ and has recently developed Pea Eye.

I have noticed that most if not all my heart pigs have also had to deal with malocclusion. I believe the malocclusion is due to them not working their teeth enough. With bad hearts they have to make a choice between breathing and eating.

With all these red flags we put Peony, who will be 7 in July, on Fortekor. She has only been on it for a few days, but I am noticing a better activity level and less weight loss overnight. Hopefully we won't need Lasix as well. She has just come down with a URI, most likely because of a compromised immune system. But she is eating well, in good spirits and the lungs are almost quiet after 3 doses of Doxcycline.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sun Apr 06, 2003 9:04 am


Nina is my pig who loses her appetite on baytril. I notice bactrim is listed for staph infections (common on the foot).

Nina these days often has a slight droop of the eye. Not very noticeable. Great appetite, great hay eater, stable weight about 3 - 3+ pounds. Good looking incisors. The gauze wrap I put on last night stayed on. It was taped around the ankle so it couldn't slide off (not tightly but tight enough). I'm going to get something to soak her foot in later today and more wrapping products. And fresh triple antibiotic ointment (this is BNP?).

She was out munching on pellets this morning. Pinta, would an ulceration like you describe from an irritation by a poop also involve swelling of the foot?

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melcvt00

Post   » Sun Apr 06, 2003 9:56 am


Wow! Poor Nina!

Ok...I'm really surprised at how concentrated other vets use Chlorhex (Nolvassan). It's only safe for skin at a concentration of 1 part Chlorhex to 40 parts water, aka 1:40. Anything stronger than that (1:10, 10:1) is way too strong.

Lynx, if you can get your hands on Chlorhex or Betadine, I'd soak that foot 5-10 minutes in *warmed* solution 3-4 times a day.

The more pus-looking blood you can get out of there, the better. The more open that ulcerated area stays, the better. That means more of the crap can drain out, rather than staying in.

As for the swelling, if it was closed over when you first found it, trapping all the pus would have made it swell.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sun Apr 06, 2003 10:30 am


It looked like clear blood last night. The cap/scab that came off looked like it might have been slightly pussy on the undersurface. I'll see what I can find on a Sunday.

I take it you would wrap the foot after each soak? Would you also put some triple antibiotic ointment on?

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melcvt00

Post   » Sun Apr 06, 2003 12:27 pm


As long as you are soaking it 3-4 times daily and then re-wrapping it, it probably wouldn't hurt. The ointment wouldn't be a bad idea, either. It will help make a barrier to new infection. As for the blood, as long as she isn't soaking the wraps repeatedly, I wouldn't worry. A little blood is good.

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