First aid kit

[lincolnsmommy]

I'm in the process of putting a piggy first aid kit together. What do you all have in yours? so far i have biopsis, critical care, syringes and xeon450. What else should i have and where can i get them from?


thanks

 

[susie_q]

wound powder - i get mine from pets at home. I also have a tube of antispetic cream. Cottonwool balls, maybe some wound gauze. Surgical tape. I also have a silver nitrate pen incase of clipping off too much toe nail!

I do plan on getting one of those little things you warm up in your hands, (for keeping poorly piggies warm!). Although at the moment I use a hot water bottle. Maybe some rennie in case of bloat, and I've popped calpol in mine as a temporary pain relief. I can't remember the doseage for pigs but it's there mostly as a dire situation type dealy. I'll always prefer going to the vets for pain relief.

I also keep left over medication from vet visits there, (baytril and metacam) and always check expiry dates with vets when they dish it out to me. Although to be honest I very rarely have much of that sort of stuff in my kit!

I would also maybe select a couple of towels that you keep for poorly pigs and in the kit - these ones I always boil wash and because they're poorly pig towels I'll always remember to boil wash them!

I also keep a pair of scissors and a stronger than usual disinfectant there - all stored in my hospital cage! (Which gets disinfected after use and before use.)

 

[Laura-CCC4]

I have a full hospital, never mind first aid kit. Heck I even have a piggie medical table! That's what you get after two years of constant illnesses! rolleyes

For a basic kit, you'd want something to deal with physical injuries as well as illness. If you can have something simple to cover the most common illnesses you should build up a pretty rounded medical kit.

Physical Injury - Saline (or salt to make up salt water), wound powder, bandages, microporous tape.
Skin - Xeno, antifungal shampoo, Aloe Vera gel/ointment
Eyes - Optrex Infected Eyes or similar eye drops
Respiratory - Vicks/Olbas Oil
Digestive - Probiotic, Infacol/Gripe Water
Oral/dental - Daktarin Oral Gel, syringe-feed preparations (Critical Care/NutriPowder/Science Recovery) with mixing bowls, spoons and prepared syringes etc.
Pain relief - Calpol, Children's Nurofen (dose is 0.2ml twice a day)

Handy "tools" for the kit are syringes, a heatpad (e.g. Snugglesafe), towels, kitchen roll, latex/vinyl gloves. I also have a stethoscope, buccal pad separators and dental rasps.

Susie made a great point about keeping leftover Prescription Only Medicines. I have a bit of Baytril and a bottle of Metacam still. The only thing I worry about, particularly with medications mixed up by the vet, is how long it lasts. I go with a guideline of 6 months before I bin it.

Up to you if you worm your piggies or not, I do simply because of experiences with unexplained weight loss which were solved by worming. Hence I always have Ivomec and Panacur.

All of these would not be used to replace veterinary assistance, rather tide the pig over until you can get to a vet/seek their advice.