Not healing wound

[Isobel]

At the end of July the person who looked after Peppa (i was on holidays) found a little lump on her back, and when my mum went to pick her up the lump was gone and there was just the wound left, my mum has been advised to wash it out with water&salt solution. I was away for another few weeks, so it was all in my mums hand to care for the wound.

It's not really healed ever since.

If it's left without any care it closes up and tiny lump comes back (otherwise it's flat), and some very light-yellow sticky stuff can be squeezed from it over and over again. It's not really smelly though.
If I wash it with water&salt it just stays open, but doesn't really heal.
If I clean it with hydrogen peroxide it stays open, and the skin gets really dry and flakes.
Antiseptic cream and soapy water seems to be working the best so far, as the wound appears to be smaller, however it's possible that it's only healing on top.

It's a trial and error technique so far, but the problem is that I don't know whether it's and abscess which should be flushed from the inside and kept open or a cyst which needs antiseptics cream and/or antibiotics.

The piggy is 100% ok and happy! Eating as normal, moving happily. It doesn't seem to bother her at all, even when I touch it, although she doesn't like me squeezing it(but that's obvious).

I've heard that guinea pigs don't produce a certain enzyme which limits their ability to heal abscess wounds, is that true?

I'd appreciate any ideas and opinions on how to deal with this wound

There's a link to the picture as the picture option doesn't seem to work
http://imageshack.us/f/59/imgp8766n.jpg/

 

[shiny]

Hey Isobel, as it's been going on for so long I would get it checked by a vet.

They can get little cysts & various other lumps but to be sure which it is, you would need a vet. I would avoid too much in the way of hydrogen peroxide & soap as they can be very harsh on the skin. An abscess would probably grow bigger quite quickly & the pus in them is pretty cheesy & thick. I don't know about the enzyme thing, abscesses are quite difficult to get rid of anyway but I would be surprised if that is what Peppa has.

As the wound has been open for so long, I really would recommend getting it looked at by a vet, the longer it stays open the more likely you are to end up with a secondary infection in it.

Best wishes & please let us know how Peppa gets on

 

[Abi_nurse]

This sounds like a burst cyst on the back.

The white stuff is cystic fluid/puss. So it would be best for your piggie to have some antibiotics to treat this so that the wound can heal without problems. Salt water is fine, or just plain water would be ok, but dont use peroxide, this will damage the tissues and hinder healing, soap also isnt a great idea. Something like iodine may be a great idea as its less likely to cause problems with the skin.

I suggest seeing a vet for an opinion on this. Hopefully some antibiotics and some antibacterial wash which the vet suggests would be helpful. Sometimes wounds do get secondary infections and in the extreme circumstances can have things such as MRSA (dont panic - its highly unlikely), and this will stop wounds healing.

x.