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Abscess in neck/throat - Help please!

e22tracey

e22tracey

New Born Pup
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Hi all,

I've been to the vet yesterday, and today, as my little piggy Eve hasn't been eating much. She has been drinking on her own, but only nibbles at veg and leaves it eventually. Yesterday the vet gave me some critical care to give, and today I went back as she still wasn't eating. There was a lump under her chin and the vet suspects its an abscess so gave her antibiotics (sulfasalazine 0.25ml a day) and anti-inflammatory (Loxicom 0.3ml daily).

I managed to get both medicines down her this morning, but the feeds with the critical care have been a real struggle! I feel totally helpless, it took me 1 hour to feed her 15ml, and of course she goes right to sleep after (who wouldn't).

I just want some advice really - am I doing the right thing? How long will it take for her medicine to work so she can eat on her own? I will be going back tomorrow if she's still losing weight

Thanks for listening - I've never felt more worried :(
 
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Piggies&buns said:
I am sorry to hear she is not well.
When it comes to syringe feeding, you are aiming for little and very often. Don’t fight with her for about to get them amount into her. Aim for less per sitting but feed often. I have attached some guides on syringe feeding below.

Not Eating, Weight Loss And The Importance Of Syringe Feeding Fibre
Complete Syringe Feeding Guide

What is the vet going to do about the abscess?
Click to expand...

Will it be okay if she doesn't get through 1 sachet in a day? I know that's what the packet says but she really squirms and shes difficult to hold onto, I'm afraid of dropping her/stressing her out etc. :O

Vet cannot drain it as its so deep in the skin right now, she said that the antibiotics will either reduce it or the abscess will come to the surface and we can drain it (which would be the ideal plan). She did also say that if I can't get her to eat to go back tomorrow.

Thanks for your reply :)
 
Give the guide a read - for a guinea pig who is not eating at all, you are aiming to get 40-60ml of critical care into them within a 24 hour period - that is a few ml every few hours. It is essential that she gets enough food to keep her guts working
 
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Hi, I'm tagging in @furryfriends (TEAS) here as she is an expert with abscesses but she was recently highlighting how many vets mistakenly think just draining an abscess or giving antibiotics will fix the problem- while in fact only surgically removing the abscess or opening it up fully for daily antiseptic flushes will really fix the problem. Hopefully she will get back to you soon but if the abscess is even affecting your piggy's ability to eat recovery food then discussing surgery with your vet is probably the best option rather than this more conservative watch and wait approach, while your piggy is hopefully still strong enough to cope with surgery x
 
Just wanted to add some syringe feeding support for you.
One thing that really helped me was to look at a couple of You Tube videos until I found a method I felt comfortable with.
Sometimes seeing someone do it, is better than trying to imagine how it works.

I also found that being firm from the outset with a firmly wrapped piggy (thin muslins are ideal for this) prevented struggling and both of us getting into a state.
But it isn't easy so hang in there.
 
PigglePuggle said:
Hi, I'm tagging in @furryfriends (TEAS) here as she is an expert with abscesses but she was recently highlighting how many vets mistakenly think just draining an abscess or giving antibiotics will fix the problem- while in fact only surgically removing the abscess or opening it up fully for daily antiseptic flushes will really fix the problem. Hopefully she will get back to you soon but if the abscess is even affecting your piggy's ability to eat recovery food then discussing surgery with your vet is probably the best option rather than this more conservative watch and wait approach, while your piggy is hopefully still strong enough to cope with surgery x
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Eve will eat the food (she doesn't spit it out) but I just can't even get the syringe near her face she thrashes around so violently i feel like she'll break a leg! I think I will give her medicine in the morning and see what happens and if in the afternoon it is not getting any better eating-wise I'll go back to the vet. She didn't rule out surgery, in fact she didn't mention it, she just said "if she's not eating then we can go from there" so maybe that was her next option if the antibiotics didn't work soon. Thank you so much for the reply. x

Swissgreys said:
Just wanted to add some syringe feeding support for you.
One thing that really helped me was to look at a couple of You Tube videos until I found a method I felt comfortable with.
Sometimes seeing someone do it, is better than trying to imagine how it works.

I also found that being firm from the outset with a firmly wrapped piggy (thin muslins are ideal for this) prevented struggling and both of us getting into a state.
But it isn't easy so hang in there.
Click to expand...
Thank you so much. They make it look so easy in the videos, I tried holding her head by her mouth to open it but that resulted in a nasty bite for me! I'll keep searching. I feel like I'm failing her by not being able to feed her. :(
 
Maybe ask your vet to up the painkillers a bit as well. Is it dog or cat loxicom you have? It's quite a low dose. Good pain relief can make all the difference. Having had a dental abscess myself l can empathize ☹☹
 
pig in the city said:
Maybe ask your vet to up the painkillers a bit as well. Is it dog or cat loxicom you have? It's quite a low dose. Good pain relief can make all the difference. Having had a dental abscess myself l can empathize ☹☹
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I think I'll take her back tomorrow now, looking at her she's getting weaker and weaker. It's cat loxicom she gave me, I'm not sure if Eve is in pain as you can feel around the lump without her so much as noticing, but she's definitely uncomfortable. :(
 
e22tracey said:
I think I'll take her back tomorrow now, looking at her she's getting weaker and weaker. It's cat loxicom she gave me, I'm not sure if Eve is in pain as you can feel around the lump without her so much as noticing, but she's definitely uncomfortable. :(
Click to expand...

Here is our emergency and crisis care advice. You may find it hopefully helpful. I have done my best to collect all pertinent information into one single thread that is available even during our UK night time: Emergency, Crisis and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment

Any abscess in the neck/face area is very painful. you can give up to 1.2 ml of cat metacam to a 1 kg guinea pigs safely every 12 hours in an emergency (no, this is NOT a typo)!

Fingers firmly crossed!
 
Thanks for everyones help. Eve went to a new specialist vet today, and they're putting her under general anaesthetic to remove the lump. Although she's weak the vet and i decided this was the best option as waiting wouldn't help. I've been besides myself all morning, hope she gets through it.
 
How worrying for you. My Christian had a HUGE abscess removed (the size of a Small egg) and recovered from it with a lot of after care from me. Hopefully Coco will be fine. Have a hug cos they always make you feel better :hug: in fact have lots cos one is never enough! :hug::hug::hug::hug::hug:
 
e22tracey said:
Thanks for everyones help. Eve went to a new specialist vet today, and they're putting her under general anaesthetic to remove the lump. Although she's weak the vet and i decided this was the best option as waiting wouldn't help. I've been besides myself all morning, hope she gets through it.
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HUGS

Waiting for news is always the worst time because whatever the news is, it can't be any worse than what your mind is doing right now... :(

Concentrate on sending her loving thoughts whenever you feel overwhelmed by your thoughts and try to do jobs that occupy your hands but that are not crucial in terms of making mistakes. ;)
 
Fingers crossed that all goes well! This will give her the best chance, as abscesses in guinea pigs are just not going to go away with just antibiotics. I know it's hard to make these choices, but you are doing the right thing here.
 
Update time! Some good (ish) news, Eve has woken up from surgery after the vet removed 5 (yes 5!) lumps from under her little chin 😱. Vet says that she's given her medicine for her gut, and she's in an incubator nice and warm. We're not quite out of the woods yet as she was so weak when she went under, but hopefully she'll fight as she's only young. Probably not picking her up tonight, vet will take her home with her to make sure she's okay! My other piggy (Walle) and I are sending her lots of love and waiting patiently. I hope she gets through the night, but shes with the best people now.
 
Welcome to the forum.
What a worrying time for you but at least you sound as if your vet is excellent and that makes a big difference.
Holding you all in my thoughts and hoping for good news tomorrow
 
So glad to hear the op went well. Five abscesses must have been terrible for her.

Fingers crossed that Eve is brighter in the morning.
 
Hi everyone, unfortunately my little Eve died last night at around 3am. I collected her this morning and buried her in a lovely spot. I've spent the day with my lovely boyfriend who's been wonderful in helping me through it. My parents so kindly helped me with the vet bill (I'm 21 at uni with a part time job so it was a little bit of a hit), so this has helped me relax a bit. I am devastated, but I'm glad I did everything for her. Other piggy Walle has a new hidey, some treats, and a cuddly toy to hopefully make him feel better. Thank you everyone for your well wishes and advice, and I am sending lots of piggy love to you and your pigs 🥰
 
I am so sorry to read of your loss. You did all you could. Big hugs.
 
I’m so sorry to read little Eve lost her battle last night, sending you hugs at this sad time
Sleep tight little lady x
 
So sorry to read this.
You did everything possible for Eve.
Now take your time to grieve and be gentle with yoursel.
 
e22tracey said:
Hi everyone, unfortunately my little Eve died last night at around 3am. I collected her this morning and buried her in a lovely spot. I've spent the day with my lovely boyfriend who's been wonderful in helping me through it. My parents so kindly helped me with the vet bill (I'm 21 at uni with a part time job so it was a little bit of a hit), so this has helped me relax a bit. I am devastated, but I'm glad I did everything for her. Other piggy Walle has a new hidey, some treats, and a cuddly toy to hopefully make him feel better. Thank you everyone for your well wishes and advice, and I am sending lots of piggy love to you and your pigs 🥰
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I am so sorry to hear this x
 
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