Breathing Issues

[Dilly's Piggies]

I took 6 of my girls to the vet last week for xrays as I had concerns, 2 of them had chest xrays and both of them showed abnormal/suspicious areas in the upper chest but to get a good look they would need a side view under anaesthesia which I'm reluctant to do because of the risk. Both sows are 1.7 years old.

Aspen has had raspy, crackly, snuffly breathing for over 1 year now, it comes and goes, one time a few months ago it was particularly bad so I took her to the vet and they gave her antibiotics for 5 days, she responded well to them but when the course stopped it came back. Last week she had a chest xray and showed the suspicious areas in the upper chest which could be a heart issue, but she has been given antibiotics again for another 7 days in hopes it's just an infection. Aspen is responding well to the antibiotics again, I haven't heard any breathing troubles from her which means this was some kind of infection, but HOW can a URI go on for a whole year without progressing or killing her?! In my experience URI's are deadly but this one was not, it's very strange.

The other piggy is Melody, she has a very different problem to Aspen and it doesn't cause her any issues at the moment at least, since I got her at 6 weeks old she has made a clicking noise when breathing, it never gets better or worse, it's always there, we took her to the vet and they didn't know, they guessed she had a deformity. She had a chest xray and also showed suspicious areas in the upper chest just like Aspen, she is also on antibiotics, however with Melody there has been no change at all.

They are both back at the vet on the 28th for a review and their antibiotics also stop on this date, I feel Aspen's breathing issue will come back after stopping the course and I'm worried with what to do about Melody. If you were me what would you be asking the vet to do about them?

 

[DM030819]

If Aspen isn't having any discharge then I would say it's not a URI. And like you say why hasn't it killed her by now?!

It sounds like a compromise in her chest. Possibly damage to the airways caused by a previous infection. One of my boars had it.

I used a nebuliser on him, daily at first and then when needed and it really helped him. It's not something that can be cured, but can be controlled.

Have a word with your vet about nebuilsers.

 

[Dilly's Piggies]

If Aspen isn't having any discharge then I would say it's not a URI. And like you say why hasn't it killed her by now?!

It sounds like a compromise in her chest. Possibly damage to the airways caused by a previous infection. One of my boars had it.

I used a nebuliser on him, daily at first and then when needed and it really helped him. It's not something that can be cured, but can be controlled.

Have a word with your vet about nebuilsers.

Neither of them have ever had discharge, they can get clear nasal discharge but it doesn't drip it just sits in the nostrils, I notice this when I'm down to my dusty choppy bits of hay and then it goes away, I actually suspected allergies for Aspen but I'm not sure. Are nebulisers expensive? I've tried sitting her in a steamy bathroom and also putting steaming bowls of water in the cage but it doesn't help.

 

[Pound Shilling & Pig]

2 of them had chest xrays and both of them showed abnormal/suspicious areas in the upper chest

is your vet suspicious that this might be fluid on the chest? As @Jaycey says Aspen could have some damage to her airways, which can lead to bronchitis. Bronchitis can be a chronic problem and can cause fluid to build up in the chest. Fluid build up can then go on to cause infection. So it possible that when Aspen is at her worst she has developed an infection, which in turn responds to antibiotics but she is still left with the underlying bronchitis.

 

[DM030819]

Neither of them have ever had discharge, they can get clear nasal discharge but it doesn't drip it just sits in the nostrils, I notice this when I'm down to my dusty choppy bits of hay and then it goes away, I actually suspected allergies for Aspen but I'm not sure. Are nebulisers expensive? I've tried sitting her in a steamy bathroom and also putting steaming bowls of water in the cage but it doesn't help.

My nebuliser wasn't cheap. But I couldn't find any advice on the internet on how to use it and what with, so I just bought it from the closest place to drive to that I could get the solution from too.

You can get cheaper ones from the internet though.

It'd be worth changing the hay for a while, to eliminate the dustiness, to see if it makes any difference.

 

[Dilly's Piggies]

is your vet suspicious that this might be fluid on the chest? As @Jaycey says Aspen could have some damage to her airways, which can lead to bronchitis. Bronchitis can be a chronic problem and can cause fluid to build up in the chest. Fluid build up can then go on to cause infection. So it possible that when Aspen is at her worst she has developed an infection, which in turn responds to antibiotics but she is still left with the underlying bronchitis.

I will have to recap with the vet what they found as I don't remember them saying what exactly they think it is, I just remember them saying it was suspicious, it was most likely fluid though as it does ring a bell. What kind of treatment is there for bronchitis, will it ever go away?

 

[Dilly's Piggies]

My nebuliser wasn't cheap. But I couldn't find any advice on the internet on how to use it and what with, so I just bought it from the closest place to drive to that I could get the solution from too.

You can get cheaper ones from the internet though.

It'd be worth changing the hay for a while, to eliminate the dustiness, to see if it makes any difference.

Thank you I'll ask my vet about that when I take them back for a review.

 

[Pound Shilling & Pig]

I will have to recap with the vet what they found as I don't remember them saying what exactly they think it is, I just remember them saying it was suspicious, it was most likely fluid though as it does ring a bell. What kind of treatment is there for bronchitis, will it ever go away?

Bronchitis, put simply, is inflammation of the lungs. from my experience of piggies with it, it tends to come and go, much like it can in people who are susceptible, it is more of a condition that has to be managed as opposed to completely cured. When there is a flare up diuretics need to be used to eliminate any fluid build up, metacam to act as an anti inflammatory and depending on how the pig is breathing corvental can be given for a few days to help open up the airways .

personally I do not have experience of nebulisers but from what @Jaycey says I think they too help manage the condition.

 

[gizzy]

Might be an idea to check for invriomental causes, ie dust , polum, even a water bottle That is letting to much warter out and causing them to get water in there noses!
Personaly l wouldn't use a nebuliser unless you vet specifically recommends you to do so! As using one for the wrong reasons could be counter productive and even harmful

See link


What Are the Dangers of Using a Nebulizer? | eHow

 

[Freela]

Hadley had a 'come and go' infection without having discharge, sneezing, etc. She just had intermittent hooting/noisy breathing. It would improve with antibiotics and then recur... finally it cleared when we changed antibiotics. In cases of recurrent infection I wonder if the antibiotic just wasn't a good match... since Hadley had no discharge, there was no sputum to culture so we were really just guessing based on common bacteria. Apparently the first time we guessed wrong!

 

[DM030819]

Of course I wouldn't recommend using a nebuliser just for the sake of it. It's definitely something that a vet needs to decide on. But in the case of guinea pigs it's rarely thought about, so it'd good to give ideas to the vet.

Trying a bowl of steaming water near the cage, or putting them in the bathroom when you're having a hot bath is a good indication whether a nebuliser would help. For my pig it did.

As for the article linked, it's not really relevant. Cleanliness is always a priority around pigs, whether it's keeping a cage clean, feeding them fresh food and ensuring their water is clean. The same goes for a nebuliser. It needs to be cleaned after each use, and the pipes and filters need to be changed every few months.

Psychological dependence isn't really an issue. A, as the solution used wasn't a medicine (although medicines can be nebulised). and b he couldn't use the nebuliser himself anyway.

And it being an alcohol tool? I made sure I kept the gin on the top shelf of the cupboard, so he couldn't reach that high!