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Abscess Experts Please! Is The Treatment Working?

4pigs&counting

4pigs&counting

Junior Guinea Pig
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Firstly, I am planning to contact my vet later today to have a chat but just wanted a few other opinions please so that I am fully prepared :) Have been chatting with the piggy rescue too and they have given me lots of great advice but wanted to see if anyone here had any similar experiences:)
Found an abscess 3 weeks ago just under the ear. Went to vet who squeezed it and lots of thick contents came out (lovely :vom:). Advised to flush with salt water solution twice a day. Have been doing this for three weeks now and thought we were making progress - seemed to have reduced, nothing more came out of it and it seemed to be closing up. Weight slightly reduced from maximum recorded however has remained stable within 25-40g for the whole period (around 1400) - piggy seems happy and is eating and drinking etc. However yesterday when I flushed it a discoloured liquid (watery, not thick) came out (no odour)- this is the first time this has happened. When treating it this morning there was a obvious hole and I flushed it thoroughly. I'm concerned it doesn't seem to be getting much better - and by the liquid yesterday. If anyone has any advice or any thing to mention to the vet (very good vet and familiar with piggies but not a piggy specialist) I would be grateful, many thanks :)
 
Did your vet not prescribe antibiotics? If he/she didn't then you definitely need to have some to heal the infection from the inside to the outside while you continue to flush it. They should have given you some to start with but it's better late than never :)
 
HI @Cavy Kung-Fu - no they didn't prescribe anything - vet suggested that antibiotics weren't that effective as the blood supply to the abscess isn't great (hmmm not sure about that really) - I will mention this when I talk to them later, thanks :)
 
threepigs said:
HI @Cavy Kung-Fu - no they didn't prescribe anything - vet suggested that antibiotics weren't that effective as the blood supply to the abscess isn't great (hmmm not sure about that really) - I will mention this when I talk to them later, thanks :)
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I've never heard that said before, very strange? Well hopefully they'll give some this time :)
 
Please talk about antibiotics as it should have healed by now if it was only a small abscess. Abscesses are not quite the life threatening danger they are in rabbits, but they are more serious than in a cat or dog and generally require a stronger antibiotic than just a bit of baytril.

Where is the abscess located and do you know what has caused it?
 
Thanks @Wiebke It is located just near his ear (the ear flaps down over it). It is not huge - probably about 8mm across- the hole maybe 3mm this morning. I don't know what caused it but suspect he may have had a scuffle with his cage mate (a few weeks ago they wen't through a bit of a phase of arguing but are absolutely fine now). Are you able to give me any names of alternative antibiotics that you think may be suitable please? :)
 
threepigs said:
Thanks @Wiebke It is located just near his ear (the ear flaps down over it). It is not huge - probably about 8mm across- the hole maybe 3mm this morning. I don't know what caused it but suspect he may have had a scuffle with his cage mate (a few weeks ago they wen't through a bit of a phase of arguing but are absolutely fine now). Are you able to give me any names of alternative antibiotics that you think may be suitable please? :)
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Marbocyl is a stronger form of baytril and is safe to use on guinea pigs. The most effective antibiotic with very bad or persistent antibiotics is zithromax or in very bad cases, a combination of zithromax and marbocyl. Zithromax is a life-and-death last ditch antibiotic, which your abscess doesn't sound like. In my experience a small abscess should have swollen down and healed off within a week with a good antibiotic.
 
Many thanks for the suggestions @Wiebke Such a shame as I really thought I had got off lightly with this one - found it pretty early and have been flushing it every day and it looked like it was getting better :( Hope to speak to the vet shortly so hopefully he will be able to prescribe and antibiotic to clear it up :)
 
threepigs said:
Many thanks for the suggestions @Wiebke Such a shame as I really thought I had got off lightly with this one - found it pretty early and have been flushing it every day and it looked like it was getting better :( Hope to speak to the vet shortly so hopefully he will be able to prescribe and antibiotic to clear it up :)
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Don't feel too down hearted, you've been doing everything you can :) It's just that your vet didn't feel antibiotics were needed that has made it a slow recovery unfortunately.

He'll soon be on the road to recovery! :)
 
Cavy Kung-Fu said:
Don't feel too down hearted, you've been doing everything you can :) It's just that your vet didn't feel antibiotics were needed that has made it a slow recovery unfortunately.

He'll soon be on the road to recovery! :)
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Thank you, I hope so! He is completely fed up of me treating him twice a day I'm sure! My vet is very good but as I said in my initial post he is not a piggy specialist - it is so helpful to get a bit of back up information from this forum so that I can be a bit more informed when I speak to him :)
 
threepigs said:
Many thanks for the suggestions @Wiebke Such a shame as I really thought I had got off lightly with this one - found it pretty early and have been flushing it every day and it looked like it was getting better :( Hope to speak to the vet shortly so hopefully he will be able to prescribe and antibiotic to clear it up :)
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Hopefully, he'll be on the road to recovery soon!

We have got a recommended vets locator on the top bar. While general vets are often perfectly fine with routine issues, there things where you come up against limits. I use my own local general vets for emergencies and straight forward issues, but will travel to a guinea pig specialist when it comes to operations, abscesses, and anything that needs a more experienced vet to diagnose. My local vets have been fine with that once they realised that the problems I diverted from them where exactly the ones that they would not like to see turn up on their examination table.
 
threepigs said:
Thank you, I hope so! He is completely fed up of me treating him twice a day I'm sure! My vet is very good but as I said in my initial post he is not a piggy specialist - it is so helpful to get a bit of back up information from this forum so that I can be a bit more informed when I speak to him :)
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Oh I'm sure, my Iggy had a persistent abscess in his back passage and I had to flush it out so... We totally know what you're both going through. Iggy sends his condolences to your little man :))

It's pretty hard with vets, mine is pretty fantastic but she's not like Simon or anything. I think as long as they're happy to learn and listen to your concerns then sometimes that's all you can ask for! My vet had to do a bit of research about one of my girls' conditions and she was really thorough. Couldn't fault her extra work in her spare time :)
 
Thanks all. My nearest specialist according to the locator is an hour away so something to bear in mind for the future :)
 
threepigs said:
Thanks all. My nearest specialist according to the locator is an hour away so something to bear in mind for the future :)
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Simon is about an hour's travel from me. Talk about it with your regular vet; you want to come to an agreement with them. Mine were fine once they realised that what they didn't get to see where exactly the kind of issues that they wouldn't have enjoyed seeing on the examination table and that - in the case of a dental abscess - was well out of their experience.
 
Now have a prescription for Baytril 2x a day for 7days so hopefully that will work. Apparently the Marbocyl could only be administered in tablet or injection form so he felt that baytril would be best for me to use at home - fingers crossed it will be strong enough. Orange juice on the syringe and a handful of basil seemed to do the trick and I was able to get the first dose in no problem - hopefully he won't get too wise to my bribery trick and I will be able to give the next doses as easily:))
 
threepigs said:
Now have a prescription for Baytril 2x a day for 7days so hopefully that will work. Apparently the Marbocyl could only be administered in tablet or injection form so he felt that baytril would be best for me to use at home - fingers crossed it will be strong enough. Orange juice on the syringe and a handful of basil seemed to do the trick and I was able to get the first dose in no problem - hopefully he won't get too wise to my bribery trick and I will be able to give the next doses as easily:))
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What weight is he and the dosage were you given? :)

Baytril taste foul so bribery is definitely a must :))
 
threepigs said:
Hi @Cavy Kung-Fu He is 1400 and the dose is 0.2ml 2x per day - pleased to say he took this morning's dose with no fuss so hopefully that's a good sign! :)
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Definitely a good sign, it seems like a very low dosage for his weight though? Iggy was on 0.2mls (and then 0.3 when it came back) twice a day for his bottom abscess and he was 600 grams so under half your boys weight?

@Wiebke is that a bit low to be of help do you reckon?
 
threepigs said:
Now have a prescription for Baytril 2x a day for 7days so hopefully that will work. Apparently the Marbocyl could only be administered in tablet or injection form so he felt that baytril would be best for me to use at home - fingers crossed it will be strong enough. Orange juice on the syringe and a handful of basil seemed to do the trick and I was able to get the first dose in no problem - hopefully he won't get too wise to my bribery trick and I will be able to give the next doses as easily:))
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Is that from your local vet? That is a very low dose and may not be enough to cut through an abscess.
 
ive a piggie with a chest infection and she weights 1060 grams,her baytril dose is 0.4 mls twice aday for two weeks.
 
Oh dear, it does sound a low dose in comparison :( I will give them a call today and query it. @Wiebke yes, this is my local vet. I have looked up my local specialist on the locator - they have a policy that they cannot see non registered animals without a written referral from your current vet - if we don't get anywhere then I may have this conversation with my vet however, it is a bit awkward as he may think I'm questioning his knowledge etc. and he has been very good to date with my many other animals...but, certainly something to keep in mind. Thanks all :)
 
The dose is much too low and to be honest, baytril is very unlikely to sort out an abscess. We deal with lots of abscesses, here at TEAS, and we use Zithromax, and for very deep and persistent abscesses we use a combination of Zithromax and injectable Marbocyl. Just one thing, is this definitely an abscess? Does it smell awful? You mention that the vet squeezed out lots of thick contents, so wondering if this is a deep sebaceous cyst, rather than an abscess.
 
I did mention the other two antibiotics Marbocyl and Zithromax but ended up with Baytril :( It did smell initially when the vet dealt with it but there has been no odour at all since - what are the main differences between an abscess and a cyst? Will the Baytril be effective if it is indeed as cyst? Thanks for your help :)
 
threepigs said:
I did mention the other two antibiotics Marbocyl and Zithromax but ended up with Baytril :( It did smell initially when the vet dealt with it but there has been no odour at all since - what are the main differences between an abscess and a cyst? Will the Baytril be effective if it is indeed as cyst? Thanks for your help :)
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My vet was a bit anxious about trying other antibiotics too, I think it's because they're not officially listed as a piggy medicine (baytril is the only one listed so they need to work on that!).

My advice would be to see how well the vet will work with you and if you're not getting the results you need and they're reluctant to think outside the box then you can just explain that you'd like to try some things that might be out of your vets comfort zone. I think a lot of vets are worried about straying from what they know, which is understandable as they would feel responsible for the life they're treating.

All you can really do is make it clear that it's nothing personal I guess :)
 
I have queried it with the vet today and they have said to stick with the dosage of 0.2 and to carry on for 10-14 days :( I am a bit frustrated as I have already been treating this for nearly 4 weeks now (no antibiotics for 3 weeks). Think I will give it a week and then revisit if there is no improvement - I am beginning to question also whether it is indeed an abscess rather than a cyst. Hmmmmmmmmmmm:hmm:
 
Hi @furryfriends (TEAS) No, no smell at all. In fact, although the vet said it did smell when he first dealt with it I can't even say that I noticed it that much - just took his word for it and left him to it on his side of the table!:vom: Oh dear, I'm getting in a bit of a flap about this now! The other thing is that it really doesn't seem to be bothering him - he may fidget a bit when I treat it but certainly doesn't appear to be in pain - or make any noise etc. So perhaps it is a cyst? Guess I will keep going this week and then see if it has cleared up by next weekend.
 
@furryfriends (TEAS) I would say it is maybe 8mm across....the hole maybe 3-4mm when visible. I am going to try and take a picture this evening and if you don't mind will upload here to see if anyone has any thoughts! Reassuring to think that it may in fact not be an abscess :)
 
It definitely sounds like a cyst. Some deep and persistent cysts, that either continually fill or just form a large capsule, can need surgical removal. We've just had a little guy have a cyst removed surgically, from the top of his head. We were getting to a point where there wasn't going to be enough skin to close it after removal and in fact Simon had to do some additional cuts to enable the skin to pull together. It's healed beautifully now.
 
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