Suspected abcess under chin - worried

[claire8234]

Hi

My boar Daisy is currently in with the vet after I noticed a big lump under his chin yesterday. I took him in at 9.20am this morning and they said they would give him some gas to make him sleepy and see if they could lance it. Not certain if its caused by a problem with his teeth or Billy has bitten him

Really worried about him. We lost Carrot a few months ago and would hate for something bad to happen to him - feel like we are cursed guinea pig wise at the moment.

I have heard that abcesses are difficult to heal up and can come back again, is this the case?

We are on a very low income at the moment and the thought of a huge vet bill and lots of trips to the vet with a poorly pig is worrying me as I just couldn't afford the bill, also if Billy has bitten him is it a one off or is this going to happen again and we will end up with figthing piggies.

Daisy pig is 2yrs 8 months and Billy is about 1 year old

Claire

 

[piggyfan]

Good luck Daisy.

 

[flintstones]

If it's been caused by a bite wound, it may be easier to treat. Me and My Fred had an ongoing battle with an abscess for quite a few months. My Fred's however was a tooth problem and the abscess was in his lower jaw which caused a lot of problem's.

I would use a 20 ml syringe to flush the abscess, this will allow you to drowned the abscess with power - jet wash effect, hopefully a lot of gunk will come out. It's important to let the abscess heal from inside out.

A study was done on Rabbit's testing antibiotic resistance to Abscesses - Zithromax has a 94% success rate but a lot of vet's will prescribe different Abs I used 3 different abs before my vet prescribed Zithromax. My vet actually told me about the study, he'd found it well having a look for the best approach for my Fred.

Zithromax cleared my Fred up - he had a 15 day course. X

 

[flintstones]

If it's been caused by a bite wound, it may be easier to treat. Me and My Fred had an ongoing battle with an abscess for quite a few months. My Fred's however was a tooth problem and the abscess was in his lower jaw which caused a lot of problem's.

I would use a 20 ml syringe to flush the abscess, this will allow you to drowned the abscess with power - jet wash effect, hopefully a lot of gunk will come out. It's important to let the abscess heal from inside out.

A study was done on Rabbit's testing antibiotic resistance to Abscesses - Zithromax has a 94% success rate but a lot of vet's will prescribe different Abs I used 3 different abs before my vet prescribed Zithromax. My vet actually told me about the study, he'd found it well having a look for the best approach for my Fred.

Zithromax cleared my Fred up - he had a 15 day course. X

 

[claire8234]

Thank you

The vet said she couldn't see anything wrong with this teeth and suspected it was a bite wound or injury. He was given anaesthetic and she made a small cut to remove all the pus. She then flushed it out fully and gave him an antibiotic injection. He is home now and he ate some salad quite happily. He is on septrin twice a day for 5 days and I have been told to pick the scab off if one develops to allow it to drain and give it a clean.

Vets bill came to £87.00 and I nearly cried, no way on earth I can afford it but I had to pay it. Fingers crossed this is the end of it now and it heals up nicely.

 

[Stewybus]

Minky has just recovered from a similar op. Her abscess was down her neck just in front of her legs. Luckily hers cam out like a pea out of a pod so no draining to to do. She's lost a little weight since but is stabilizing now. She had her op 18 days ago & stitches out last Friday. The wound has healed up great & her hair has started to grow again. One good thing that's come out of it is that she's now much tamer & doesn't run when I out my hand in the run.

Get well soon Daisy, I won't ask how a boar got called Daisy! lol

 

[shiny]

Poor Daisy . It is vital that you keep it open & not let it scab over just like the vet said so it can be kept clean inside & heal from the bottom up or it will leave a little pocket there just ready to fill up again...

Did the vet suggest flushing it out like flinstones said? That is the normal way with abscesses drained & kept open like this. It is also possible to remove the whole capsule of the abscess as an alternative treatment but that is way more pricey so lucky your vet did it this way .

If your piggies had been fighting a lot then you would have noticed I would think. Do they chatter & jump at each other? We had a baby piggie with a nasty abscess & we never worked out how it happened. You might find that Billy is a bit suspicious of Daisy tonight as Daisy will smell like the vets.

Did your vet check Daisy's back teeth too or just look in the front of the mouth with the little light scope?

Best wishes to you & your piggies, sounded like a very tough day xx

ETA did the vet give Daisy anything for pain? I would weigh him daily in case he is not eating as much as normal.

 

[Sodapops]

Ive just dealt with a huge abscess in one of my boys - this down to the neutering op he had, he was on baytril and we were told to monitor it's size, and return in 4 days if no change - on the 4th day i thought it had grown to almost twice the size, was just about to call the vets, carried him in to the next room for my partner to check it's size (in case i was imagining things), and we noticed puss seeping from it. I had to drain it, literally like a tap flowing, was totally disgusting, but it had to be done, it took just over a week and a half of twice daily flushing the wound (we used cool boiled water with salt - sucked the solution up in to a syringe and put the tip of the syringe right in to the wound 'hole' and flushed it out several times, while gently pressing the 'lump area to get rid of any puss within), his was quite a large abscess though so it took quite a while to get it to heal. Alongside this he was on anti-biotics.

The smell is horrific, and probably the worst part of draining an abscess, but as others have said it will need draining/flushing daily until it's fully healed - i dont envy you....

hoping Daisy is feeling better soon

 

[claire8234]

Hi

The vet didn't mention anything about flushing it out. She said she got a load of cottage cheese type stuff out of it and she flushed it out while he was asleep. She just told me to pick the scab off. I haven't seen them fighting. They do the odd chatter and occasional rumble strut but I am pretty sure I would have noticed them fighting. Daisy is a big softie anyway so I can't imagine him having a go at billy. They have both been cuddled up together in their pigloo since I got him home.

He hasn't been given painkillers so will keep an eye on him. She has checked all his teeth and can't see any problems. Shall I try to flush it out then or just keep the wound open and clean it?

Stewybus - Thats what happens when you let kids name the pets :-)

 

[Sodapops]

Hi

The vet didn't mention anything about flushing it out. She said she got a load of cottage cheese type stuff out of it and she flushed it out while he was asleep. She just told me to pick the scab off. I haven't seen them fighting. They do the odd chatter and occasional rumble strut but I am pretty sure I would have noticed them fighting. Daisy is a big softie anyway so I can't imagine him having a go at billy. They have both been cuddled up together in their pigloo since I got him home.

He hasn't been given painkillers so will keep an eye on him. She has checked all his teeth and can't see any problems. Shall I try to flush it out then or just keep the wound open and clean it?

Stewybus - Thats what happens when you let kids name the pets :-)

If the vet had advised 'picking' the scab off each day you'll be left with an open wound - so keeping it clean is vital, using the syringe to get a salt/water into the wound will help it heal, get rid of any gunk inside and will keep it nice and clean.

good luck

 

[Stewybus]

Hi

Stewybus - Thats what happens when you let kids name the pets :-)

I thought it was maybe the girl that turned out to be a boy but the name stuck story.

On a more serious note, I'm surprised the vet didn't give you any painkiller such as Metacam. I would ring them in the morning & ask if you can pick some up. Was Daisy given an antibiotic injection or medicine such as Baytril. Minky was given a 5 day course of Baytril + Metacam after her op. Don't forget to weigh him everyday till he's getting back to normal. I did this & found Minky to be losing what I thought was too much so gave her some Recovery Plus (you could use Critical Care as an alternative). It helps to keep their weight up while they're not up to eating as normal.

Take good care of him & Good Luck.

 

[claire8234]

Hi

I would have thought they would have given him painkillers too but they didn't. I can't get to the vets at the minute to pick some up as I don't have the car. I checked on him this morning and he really wasn't happy at all. Think he had been sat in his pigloo all night and he was really stinky - but couldn't work out if it was the abcess or a wee soaked bum or both. He had an antibiotic injection at the vets and he is on septrin twice a day for 5 days. I cleaned the abcess this morning, still feels like a hardish lump though which I don't know is ok or not, flushed it well but no gunk came out and the small hole looks fairly clean but it still has a funny smell

I have put him on the grass this afternoon and that perked him up a bit and he has had some basil which is his favourite. I will try him on some CC later as I don't think he has eaten very much at all. I have also bought some western timothy hay as I know they really like that so that might encourage him to eat something.

I just really hope that he gets better and this abcess heals up, couldn't bear it if we lose another guinea pig

 

[piggyfan]

I am sorry you are going through this. I really hope he heals soon.

 

[claire8234]

I picked him off the grass and his bum was all wet and he stank of pee he isn't hucned over or anything but is very quiet and still and not his normal self. I am waiting for the vet to ring me back to have a chat with him. Apparently he was given a dose of strong painkiller yesterday. I shall give his chin a good clean later and see if I can get some CC into him as I haven't really seen him eat anything today, poor little man

 

[piggyfan]

Oh poor baby. He sounds like he is feeling bad. Have you tried to syringe feed him at all?

 

[Stewybus]

I picked him off the grass and his bum was all wet and he stank of pee he isn't hucned over or anything but is very quiet and still and not his normal self. I am waiting for the vet to ring me back to have a chat with him. Apparently he was given a dose of strong painkiller yesterday. I shall give his chin a good clean later and see if I can get some CC into him as I haven't really seen him eat anything today, poor little man

It can take quite a time for full recovery, Minky seems to be on the mend at the weekend but she still isn't getting full intake of food 19 days after her op. I saw the vet on Friday & he said to give her one measure of Fibreplex a day for 4 days but she's still lost 20 gms a day the last 2 days after putting on 10 gms on Sunday. She's had over an hour on the lawn this afternoon & was eating most of the time. I've got some Recovery Plus so I'm mixing her some now & will give her that over next 24 hours, about 4 syringes worth. If she does improve I'll ring the vets on Friday.

 

[claire8234]

I picked him up earlier and he was really whiffy and had a wet bum so was obviously sat feeling sorry for himself. I spoke to the vet who said if he is still like it in the morning to take him back as he really shouldn't be displaying behaviour like that, the incision is tiny and he doesn't have stitches etc so no real reason for him being so off colour. He happily chomped through some basil and coriander this evening and the abcess is looking better, not as swollen. The hole is really tiny but I have managed to keep it open and clean it (no pus etc came out).

Thank fully he hasn't lost any weight and is still 1200g but I did give him approx 40ml of critical care just as a precaution and because I haven't seen him eat much.

Will monitor him tomorrow and see how he goes, fingers crossed once the antibiotics kick in he will start to feel better.

 

[claire8234]

I picked him up earlier and he was really whiffy and had a wet bum so was obviously sat feeling sorry for himself. I spoke to the vet who said if he is still like it in the morning to take him back as he really shouldn't be displaying behaviour like that, the incision is tiny and he doesn't have stitches etc so no real reason for him being so off colour. He happily chomped through some basil and coriander this evening and the abcess is looking better, not as swollen. The hole is really tiny but I have managed to keep it open and clean it (no pus etc came out).

Thank fully he hasn't lost any weight and is still 1200g but I did give him approx 40ml of critical care just as a precaution and because I haven't seen him eat much.

Will monitor him tomorrow and see how he goes, fingers crossed once the antibiotics kick in he will start to feel better.

 

[claire8234]

Not a huge amount of change this morning. He is still very quiet and I haven't seen him come out of his bed. He absolutely stinks bless him as his whole bum is covered in wee Weight wise he was 1206g yesterday and is 1176G today so not a huge loss thankfully. He has had some critical care as I haven't seen him eating and given his chin a good clean.

Just can't understand why he isn't moving from his bed

 

[furryfriends (TEAS)]

Which antibiotic is he on? I've read back now and see it's septrin. It's not really the best antibiotic for dealing with pus, and five days is a very short course for something like this. Is it still open? Are you getting any pus out?