Care of skin abscess?

[Freela]

Hello! Just wanting to introduce myself quickly- my name is Jenn and I'm a mom of three kids and two pigs (Linney and Sundae) in Canada.
My almost two year old pig Linney was diagnosed with an abscess yesterday. It is just above her tailbone, dead centre in the middle of her back. The vet lanced it and squeezed the gunk out in office yesterday (no general anasthesia required.) They sent her home on an antibiotic (name begins with a 'c' but the name isn't written on the bottle.) I have been squeezing the abscess but there is very little additional pus coming out, and I have been flushing the abscess out with sterile saline. Is there anything else I should be doing? And does anyone have any success stories with this kind of abscess? Unfortunately my only other abscess experience ended with my pig Frenzy passing away earlier this summer... although her situation was different, as she had issues with malocclusion of the teeth and ended up with an infection very deep in her tooth roots and jawbone and she unfortunately just could not fight it off in spite of good vet care and supportive syringe feeding. Linney continues to eat, run around, and behave normally, but I am still worried sick that I will lose her too.

 

[caviaporcellus]

Hello and welcome to the forum. I am sorry hear hear about your guinea pig being ill. I am sure that someone will come along soon with advice.

 

[Shellza]

Hi and welcome, sorry to hear about your guinea pig. I can't think of anything else to suggest you do, as long as you keep it clean. Hope she recovers soon.

 

[Abi_nurse]

The best i can suggest it what your doing. Keep up the antibiotics, clean the area daily. Although flushing is good, make sure your not disrupting the normal healing process. If there is no more puss inside try to keep it as clean as possible just by bathing the area. Let the wound heal naturally, and if you can ensure there is somewhere any excudate can drain. Make sure your feeding your piggie a good amount of fruit/veg daily, it will help her fight any infection. Other than that, your doing all you can. I hope she starts to feel better soon.

And oh yeah, welcome to the forum. I hope you enjoy yourself here.

x.

 

[Wiebke]

Hi! I am sorry for your problems.

You may find this thread here helpful:
http://www.theguineapigforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=44495&highlight=abscess

Here is more about abscesses on Peter Gurney's health website:
http://www.oginet.com/pgurney/abcess.htm

Here is a list of dangerous antibiotics from the guinealynx medical website for guinea pigs. If not sure, check with the vet. Penicillin derived antibiotics can be deadly for guinea pigs, so it is important to make sure what you have been given:
http://www.guinealynx.info/dangerous_medications.html

 

[Freela]

Wow- thanks so much for the warm welcome and the helpful advice!
So if there isn't any more pus coming out of the wound, should I stop flushing the saline inside to give it a chance to heal? It looks like there is a tiny amount of white around the opening, but when I press it's only watery fluid and a tiny bit of watery blood that comes out (like what would ooze out of anything that is open.) She does have a follow up appointment with the vet but it's not for about two weeks unless she gets worse- the vet wanted to give her time to finish the antibiotics first.

 

[Wiebke]

I would flush for as long as the wound is open and keep it open for as long as possible to make sure that no "pockets" can flare up. Be aware that abscesses can make a comeback and can be rather tedious to clear.

However, skin abscesses are usually more of a nuisance and not a real danger to life as abscesses inside the body.

You should find lots of practical advice in the first link.