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Specialist Abscess

E

Ellen Cookie

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Dec 30, 2015
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Location
Devon, England
One of my boys has an abscess under his chin. I took him to the vets on Saturday, she lanced it and removed a lot of puss, and has prescribed him Baytril. I am rather concerned now that the abscess actually seems bigger than it was, two days on from having it lanced. Can anyone explain why this might be, please?
 
Did the vet give you supplies to flush the abscess? It needs to be flushed twice a day and I learned from experience that baytril does nothing for an abscess, you’ll need something stronger. Good luck with the little guy, I hope he gets better soon!
 
Did the vet leave the area open to continue draining? Once lanced, abscesses will continue to produce pus, it's important to continue to clean them and rinse them and let them heal from the inside out. Take a look at the opening to see if it has started closing over... I have found that if it has started to scab, hydrogen peroxide will soften it and make it easier to open the wound again. I usually flush abscesses with sterile saline in a syringe (the kind of contact lenses is good enough.) Gently put pressure around the opening to express any more pus and do this a couple of times a day. It may also be necessary to look into other antibiotics. Baytril is the go-to antibiotics that many vets prescribe for guinea pigs, but it generally isn't that effective against abscesses. Zithromax is supposed to be best, I have also had pigs treated with chloramphenicol for abscesses with good results.
 
Zithromax is the best antibiotics for abscess. If you can ask your vet for a change, that will be good. The open wound should be flushed 2x a day for at least a few days (5 days if I can remember it right) using saline solution.
 
HeatherRose said:
Did the vet give you supplies to flush the abscess? It needs to be flushed twice a day and I learned from experience that baytril does nothing for an abscess, you’ll need something stronger. Good luck with the little guy, I hope he gets better soon!
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No, the only supplies we came away with were the Baytril and syringes to administer it. I am thinking a return trip is in order to get some stronger antibiotics. Thanks, he's a little star and I'm keen to get this sorted for him.
 
Freela said:
Did the vet leave the area open to continue draining? Once lanced, abscesses will continue to produce pus, it's important to continue to clean them and rinse them and let them heal from the inside out. Take a look at the opening to see if it has started closing over... I have found that if it has started to scab, hydrogen peroxide will soften it and make it easier to open the wound again. I usually flush abscesses with sterile saline in a syringe (the kind of contact lenses is good enough.) Gently put pressure around the opening to express any more pus and do this a couple of times a day. It may also be necessary to look into other antibiotics. Baytril is the go-to antibiotics that many vets prescribe for guinea pigs, but it generally isn't that effective against abscesses. Zithromax is supposed to be best, I have also had pigs treated with chloramphenicol for abscesses with good results.
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From what I could tell, she flushed it but didn't do anything to proactively keep the area open. I will investigate and see if there's a scab or anything that could give us an opening in terms of flushing it at home. He's such a wriggler, it's hard to keep his head still long enough to get a proper look at the area, bless him.
 
anyar.dris said:
Zithromax is the best antibiotics for abscess. If you can ask your vet for a change, that will be good. The open wound should be flushed 2x a day for at least a few days (5 days if I can remember it right) using saline solution.
Click to expand...
Thanks, I am getting the impression Baytril is a bit useless for this kind of situation.
 
I think a trip to a more guinea pig savvy vet is called for! I don't think your boy has received the best treatment. Where are you based? There's a Vet Locator of recommended vets in the green bar above
 
The worst kind of update: Marshmallow went in to have the abscess treated yesterday under sedation. He came through but overnight declined. I took him back to the vets and they admitted him. Five minutes after I got home they called to say he had passed away from a suspected stroke. I feel so incredibly guilty but was trying to do right by him by getting the abscess treated. I really hate myself right now.
 
I'm so sorry. ((HUGS.)) Please don't blame yourself... this needed treatment and you had no way of knowing there would be complications. We do the best we can and we can't always be sure of the outcome. I'm so sorry for your loss.
 
I’m so sorry for your loss. Please don’t be hard on yourself, you did everything a caring owner could have done.
Sleep tight little Marshmallow x
 
Aw I’m so sorry to hear that, you did everything you could, it was an unpredictable event. My Sven died from an abscess after being neutered. He had surgery on the abscess, several vet visits and I syringe fed him for a week. The vet thinks he must have had some underlying issue as well. I felt really guilty too, but I look back and I know I did all I could for him and you did for yours too.
 
So sorry for your loss. I had a piggy come round from an abscess removal and then pass a couple of hours later at the vets. It is absolutely horrible but there is nothing you could have done. Abscesses continue to grow until they burst and there is so much risk of infection and pressure on other organs/windpipes etc that it can't really be left. Also as Claire says he may have had a stroke without the operation. It's natural in bereavement to feel guilty but please be kind to yourself, you had his best interests at heart
 
Lady Kelly said:
So sorry for your loss. I had a piggy come round from an abscess removal and then pass a couple of hours later at the vets. It is absolutely horrible but there is nothing you could have done. Abscesses continue to grow until they burst and there is so much risk of infection and pressure on other organs/windpipes etc that it can't really be left. Also as Claire says he may have had a stroke without the operation. It's natural in bereavement to feel guilty but please be kind to yourself, you had his best interests at heart
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Thank you ❤️ So sorry that you went through that, you're right it's such a horrible thing to experience, so hard to say goodbye 😔
 
HeatherRose said:
Aw I’m so sorry to hear that, you did everything you could, it was an unpredictable event. My Sven died from an abscess after being neutered. He had surgery on the abscess, several vet visits and I syringe fed him for a week. The vet thinks he must have had some underlying issue as well. I felt really guilty too, but I look back and I know I did all I could for him and you did for yours too.
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Poor Sven, but you definitely did all you could. They're such heartbreakers, bless them 😢
 
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