Distilled witch hazel?

[redd1800]

Has anyone used this on their guinea pigs?

I've been using it this week to clean Garfield's patch of urine scald on her bum, before i apply bepanthan. Its healing really well, and the witch hazel has done a great job of taking the yellow urine marks out of her hair.

Its described on the bottle as "a cooling astringent solution for the relief of discomfort of bruises, sprains, minor skin irritation, rough, or sore unbroken skin"

It can be bought in most pharmacists in the skin care section for £2 to £3 a bottle.

 

[Laura-CCC4]

I've not tried it before, nor thought of/heard of it being used - although Optrex Eye Wash contains witch hazel and is supposed to be good for flushing the eyes.

It is encouraging that it's working well on Garfield, I will have to look into it some more.

 

[redd1800]

just curious

It seems like such a handy cleanser, and the only ingredient is the distilled witch hazel itself, so the guinea pig isn't dealing with any chemical overload.

I will put another thread up asking about alternatives - want to see what everyone else uses.

I haven't heard of it being used before on any pets - it could be there are better alternatives

 

[missy]

Interesting! I'm familiar with witch hazel but haven't heard of it being used on pets. I think that BBC "Grow Your Own Drugs" programme talked about witch hazel last night but I wasn't really listening well enough to hear what was said.

The school nurse used to keep gallons of the stuff, for minor bumps and bruises, as it really stops the swelling. Just the smell of it takes me back! (Oh and older kids used to use it to make lovebites fade quicker, although obviously not me...I was a good girl!)