• Discussions taking place within this forum are intended for the purpose of assisting you in discussing options with your vet. Any other use of advice given here is done so at your risk, is solely your responsibility and not that of this forum or its owner. Before posting it is your responsibility you abide by this Statement

Guinea Pig Abscess In Face

Status
Not open for further replies.
PingandChipy

PingandChipy

Teenage Guinea Pig
Joined
Nov 11, 2009
Messages
694
Reaction score
32
Points
345
Location
Canada
Hi Everyone,

I have an older guinea pig, she is almost 5 years old, and she developed an abscess in her face. I have no idea what caused this. She went to the Vets and has had it lanced. I have been flushing it twice a day with hibitine (sp?) soap and water. And she is on antibiotics and pain meds. The hole is quite deep. I feel very sad for her. She is still eating and drinking, thank goodness.

I have a question. She lives with her daughter and they have been together since Lulu (mom) was 5 months old as I got her and she was already pregnant. So her daughter is almost the same age as her. I separated them after Lu came home from the vets as I was afraid that Walnut would lick and bother her sore.

Lulu seemed quite depressed and in pain and not very responsive today. So I put Walnut back with her and they immediately fell asleep together on the heatpad. Now Lu is eating again and acting a lot perkier. But I wonder have I done the right thing? They really have never been separated and often go to the Vets even together. Is it ok to leave them together? If Walnut does lick Lulu's sore will she get sick?

Thanks so much for any advice. I've never had a guinea pig with an abscess before. It is quite scary.
 
Please leave them together! Lulu's immune system will be stronger without the stress of the separation.

Abscesses can be a real pain as they can be very tenacious. Keep the hole open for as long as possible to prevent the abscess from filling up again.

I don't have much personal experience with treating abscesses, so I am tagging some other experts for you.
@Elwickcavies @Pebble
 
I have treated many abscesses usually on cats who have been fighting, once lanced, as @Wiebke says, keep it open, as they need to heal from the inside or they will fill up again, this can take a long time, but it is important to flush it out to keep it clean and use a cotton bud to keep it open. In humans they would pack the hole to keep it open, but that is not practical with animals.
As long as there is still nothing coming out of the abscess, and it is not filling up. Your other piggy should be fine.
 
I have no experience with abscesses in the face. But my late Suzie developed a large abscess on her left shoulder when she was two years old. It was not attached to muscle (I could move it) and it didn't bother her at all, so I left it alone. Then when she was about 5.5 years, a small hole appeared in it and it started to ooze thick yellow/white pus. (I hope you're not eating as you read this!) I squeezed out as much as I could (lovely!) and washed it with salt water. It did not grow back.
 
Thanks :) I feel she is much happier and less scared now being with her daughter. When I put them back together her daughter very gently sat down next to her on the heat pad. This morning they were together and lulu was sleeping on her side and I thought she had passed away. I was so upset. Then burst into tears when I saw she was still with us. She isn't her perky self but I'm glad she is still eating. I tried for ages to get it to open up more this morning to flush it out and was not very successful. I'll try again later today as she was getting very stressed out. I will use a cotton ball to soak it really well and soften it up.

It is very stressful. I'm so glad she is on pain medication as it looks quite sore.
 
Hi, it could be that the abscess formed on a tooth root. I had an old piggy that developed one on her face. Use warm water when you bathe it to keep it open, as cold water will encourage it to start to heal & close. The warmth from the water will also help draw the puss to the surface & help it to drain. Hope she is better soon :)
 
You need to be quite aggressive in how you deal with abscesses. Any scab that is forming must be pulled off so that it can be kept open. I find the flat cotton wool pads (make up remover pads) are perfect for cleaning an abscess. It needs to be allowed to heal from the inside outwards, and if it heals on the surface then pus will be trapped inside. The very best antibiotic for dealing with abscesses is Zithromax (azithromycin) and the results achieved are amazing. I have dealt with numerous abscesses here at TEAS and have had excellent outcomes with all.
 
Oh that is awesome news because that is the antibiotic she is on. :) It is vanilla flavour. I have those makeup remover pads so I will give it a go soon. She is almost due the rest of her pain meds and antibiotic for the day. In an hour. I'll let you know how I get on. Poor piglet.
 
I've had two pigs with abscesses, and in both cases I left them with their usual cage mate. It can take a long time to heal (many months!) and separating them for that long would have been unfair for both of them and would probably have been stressful for the sick pig. No one ever bothered the abscess itself (beyond the occasional cursory sniff. They do stink!) Furryfriends already gave some good advice on cleaning the abscess out (and it's vital that this is done, otherwise it will simply reform.) It can take a very long time to heal from the inside out (Sundae took many months of me expressing pus for it to heal up completely) so it's not a short process, but it can definitely be managed and overcome. The fact that she's eating is great! Good luck and there is great guidance on this board for abscesses, it's been very helpful to me!
 
Just to add, in order to deal with scab formation, I would squirt a bit of hydrogen peroxide on the scab. It will fizz up and this helps to soften up the scab so it's easy to pick off. Sometimes the hydrogen peroxide alone would be enough to eat through the scab, and would also draw pus up to the surface. Then I would irrigate with a mix of hydrogen peroxide and sterile saline (my vet also gave me some surgical disinfectant which I used until it ran out.)
 
7squeakers. said:
I have no experience with abscesses in the face. But my late Suzie developed a large abscess on her left shoulder when she was two years old. It was not attached to muscle (I could move it) and it didn't bother her at all, so I left it alone. Then when she was about 5.5 years, a small hole appeared in it and it started to ooze thick yellow/white pus. (I hope you're not eating as you read this!) I squeezed out as much as I could (lovely!) and washed it with salt water. It did not grow back.
Click to expand...
Abscesses usually have a root, and tend to increase in size quickly, if they are deep, need either lancing or less deep, drawing. And keeping open to heal. My whippet has so something similar to your piggy, it was there for years, then popped. I think it was caused by a thorn tip embedded in her skin, that oozed, and I got it clean and it did not fill up again.
 
Thanks for all the advice. I cleaned her abscess and took off the scab yesterday and there was no pus at all. I used a cotton ball to soften the scab and it came off on its own. Poor Lulu was not happy at all though. :( I spent a lot of time flushing it out but no pus at all came out. I'm glad about that. The hole is so deep.
 
Hi all, I just came back from flushing out Lulu's abscess and it is completely flat and there is absolutely no pus at all. Do I continue to rip the scab off? I feel horrible. I soak it for a long, long time before I gently ease it off when the cotton ball. Thanks.
 
I have dealt with three abscess on 3 of my pigs, and as the others have said it takes time and patience , I use my saline contacts lens to wash out and makeup remover cotton pads to remove any scab- they all took up to 3 weeks to heal completely as they have to heal from inside first , but no problems all boys fit and happy and no recurrence
 
Only thing I can add is that when Minky had an abscess I massaged Manuka Honey into the hole after flushing. My vet OK'd this. Apparently honey was used to god effect for 100's of years on battle wounds before penicillin was discovered x
 
I agree with all the advice here. I know it is horrible, but it really is the best thing for Lulu (great name by the way) to get it sorted out. Having her daughter with her will help her cope with it all. With my guys, I find that is one is ill, the others know and try to support the poorly one, even if it's just cuddling up. Zithromax is by far the best antibiotic and as long as she is eating and has pain relief, it's just a matter of sticking it out. If you've got to the stage of no pus, you're nearly there. You're doing an excellent job. Hugs to you and the girls. x
 
Yes, keep on removing the scab until you are sure there is no pus reforming. Irrigate inside the wound and gently squeeze to see if you can express anything. It can take some time for things to heal. Hang in there!
 
Hi everyone, Sadly Lulu's abscess has come back. :( I have cleaned it and given her pain meds and leftover antibiotics to tide her over until she goes to see the vets on the weekend. She is eating a tonne of food and acting normal but I feel so sad for her. She kept shrieking when I was cleaning it and throwing her head around. That is what made me run for the metcam again.

Can anyone advise as to the best diagnostic testing that can be done on her to find out what is causing this? It honestly looks like either it is coming from behind her eye or her tear duct. Her eye is always weeping and when the light hits her eye it looks completely white behind it.

Would an xray be useful?

Thanks
 
furryfriends Excellent Adventure Sanctuary said:
You need to be quite aggressive in how you deal with abscesses. Any scab that is forming must be pulled off so that it can be kept open. I find the flat cotton wool pads (make up remover pads) are perfect for cleaning an abscess. It needs to be allowed to heal from the inside outwards, and if it heals on the surface then pus will be trapped inside. The very best antibiotic for dealing with abscesses is Zithromax (azithromycin) and the results achieved are amazing. I have dealt with numerous abscesses here at TEAS and have had excellent outcomes with all.
Click to expand...
Please ask vet to prescribe Zithromax,it is a wonder antibiotic for abscesses
 
I am very sorry and I second the recommendation for Zithromax (azithromycin); it can (and has) save lives, especially with stubborn abscesses!

Abscesses have bags. If only the tiniest bit of infection is left somewhere, they can come back and fill up. that is why daily drainage and being tough with keeping the wounds open is so important; they really need to heal completely from the inside out. It is a very dispiriting experience and I understand fully your despair!

I have currently got one of my own boys with an abscess on Zithromax; his is thankfully healing well.
 
PingandChipy said:
Hi everyone, Sadly Lulu's abscess has come back. :( I have cleaned it and given her pain meds and leftover antibiotics to tide her over until she goes to see the vets on the weekend. She is eating a tonne of food and acting normal but I feel so sad for her. She kept shrieking when I was cleaning it and throwing her head around. That is what made me run for the metcam again.

Can anyone advise as to the best diagnostic testing that can be done on her to find out what is causing this? It honestly looks like either it is coming from behind her eye or her tear duct. Her eye is always weeping and when the light hits her eye it looks completely white behind it.

Would an xray be useful?

Thanks
Click to expand...

Xray unlikely to show anything. Zithromax is going to be the very best antibiotic. It may need to be lanced and drained again though, as if you have no drainage, even with the best antibiotic, you are going to struggle. x
 
Let us know how she gets on, lots of healing vibes for Lulu x
 
Poor Lulu, she is being a very brave girl. Fingers crossed that the end is in sight.
Keep up the good work.
 
Poor girl. In my experience, they can take a very long time to clear (Sundae's took almost a year, though apparently it was really deep, down into muscle tissue. It would have closed over sooner but I kept flushing it with a syringe of saline or antiseptic from the vet and expressing anything I could to keep it open until it healed from the bottom up.) If there is any infection left in there when it closes up, the abscess can reform. I hope this time in the charm for her. It's great that she's still eating, that's a plus!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top