Specialist Facial Abcess & Zithromax

[TAN]

Hi all! I am still around and do a lot of lurking,but not much posting - I need your help with my old lady Noodles who is nearly 6 now.Noodles currently has an abscess on her face - in fact poor little thing looked like she had been smashed in the face with a crowbar, and vet nurse said she had a face like a hippo - the whole left side of her face had puffed up - vet gave her a whiff of gas and got out 5ml of puss (which they lovingly saved to show me ) - he wanted to try baytril first,then said if that didn't work would then try Zithromax (was sticking to the cascade system for drugs ) after the week of baytril - so obviously on Sunday evening I noticed Noodles face was starting to swell again - got up Monday morning and fed her and got carry case ready to take her to vets - half an hour later face and nose covered in yellow green puss - it had burst (no head could be seen - but a small fissure had opened up about half a centimetre from her left nostril ) I then got about 2 teaspoons full of the most incredibly smelly stuff out of her poor face and took her to vets - he did check up her nasal passage when he put her under and couldn't see that the abscess had gone through the nasal passages - (nothing comes out of the nose or eyes) and has now given me Zithromax 1.3 ml every 12 hours - anyone who has used zithromax on a piggy with an abscess know how long she will need to take it for and how long it might take to heal ? and did you press the area daily to try and remove any puss if it was there ? as I know quite a few piggy owners have used zithromax on here with success? Have just given her the first dose of zithromax and gently pressed around the area to see if it was soft and squidgy and more puss building up,and jumped a mile when a load of browny yellow puss shot out - oh my god the smell! - poor piggy.

 

[Wiebke]

@furryfriends (TEAS)

 

[MintyAndGarry (TEAS)]

How much does the piggy weigh? Zithromax is normally dosed at 0.1ml/100g, so a 1.3ml dose would be correct for a pig weighing 1.3kg. It would also be given once every 24 hours - 1.3ml twice a day is a huge amount.

The abscess should be flushed and squeezed daily. Flushing should be done with saline - a 10ml syringe with a needle works well as it creates a high pressure. Remove any discharge from the site with cotton wool pads (make up removers) or cotton buds. You will need to keep the wound open (picking off scabs will become a forte!) in order to be able to extract any pus. Squeeze from underneath the wound, from the inside out. She will protest to all of this, but the more it is done, the quicker she will recover.

 

[TAN]

Noodles is a chunky pig! one of my other oldish ladies ( 4) had an abscess on her bum and my other vet gave her 1.3 once a day - this didn't clear up the abscess and a month later that one isn't any bigger or causing any problems - ( I personally think it is a growth of some sort - but the vet is unwilling to operate to remove it as it is so near the anus he thinks we might loose her if he operates - he did aspirate it and got out mostly blood with a tiny bit of puss ) but as she is still eating ,pooing and generally acting normally (first to the bars for food etc ) he wants to leave it alone unless it gets much larger and starts to cause problems etc- so yes - i did notice that this was double the dose that had been given to one of my other piggies - will double check the dose with him tomorrow and get the 10ml syringe with a needle from the vets for flushing. -

Thanks​

 

[gizzy]

I have a supply of zitheromaX, in my piggy med chest , but if I can get away with it , I use sept rin , I have a sow the moment had a mam gland removed due to anasty absess, on her mam gland , she was on Zith for the first 5 days , then I changed to septern , and it is healing nicely .

I have found ZithromaX is great for for that inititonal, hard hit to get the infection under control , but prolonged use plays havoc with the tummy flora , and it can take ages to kick start it back in to normal function ,

Regular flushing 3/4 times a day is probably the best way to attack an absess,

 

[gizzy]

Forgot to add , always use a pro biotic, I find Fibraplex by far the most effective,
it is pricy , but worth it in the long run

 

[gizzy]

Excuse my memory

Don't be frightened to flush aggressively !

A 15ml syringe with a teat cannula on the end (your vet will give you a few as they are
only coppers .

The absess , ! Don't assume that all you can see , is all there is.....
Abscesses often form unseen canals under the skin ,

Lightly press your finger around the outside of the sight , little steams a puss may well come out,
If you do locate a hidden canal , the teat, canduala can also be used to gently navergate. and fish this canal .

It is most important that you get as much puss out as poss , as this abssess is close to the bone, and if it migrates to the bone you will have another problem, called O M , osteo militiis , this is a infected bone,
this will be very tricky to shift.