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Patch Is Getting His Abscess Drained Tomorrow

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wendyhouse

wendyhouse

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One of our neutered 8 month old boys didn't wolf down his breakfast this morning and was very quiet and didn't chatter on when I cuddled him. I gave him a check and there was a swelling down below so made him an appointment at Vets4Pets in Washington. By tea time it was looking very angry. The vet gave him an injection of antibiotics and pain relief and gave him some critical care. I've to bring him back in the morning to drain the abscess, she said she will do both sides and show me how to continue to keep the wound clean. I looked up the hand feeding guide but the little sweetheart just ate it with no problem. He's all cosy now. Does anyone have any suggestions or hints.

Thanks in advance.

Wendy
 
Hope Patch gets well soon.. It is good that you went to a vet immediately. I'm like that too. I never wait to see if something will get better on its own. My Peanut Butter had benign prostatic hyper plasia with a ruptured semen tube so had to be neutered. Unfortunately he developed an abscess at the neuter site. Had to drain it twice and he got Zithromax antibiotics for it plus liquid Tramadol for pain. That was back in late 2014 and he is just fine now. So it may take a while but so long as you keep on top of it Patch should come out well.
 
no advice or experience regarding abscesses sorry, but just wanted to wish him lots of luck :hug:
 
Well done for spotting this quickly and getting prompt treatment.

My boar developed an abscess 6 months after h3 was neutered a couple of years ago and had to have it drained. It sounds like your vet is going to give you all the correct instructions.
It is important to keep the wound clean and to irrigate it - to stop it closing over too quickly. I kept Max separated from the other guinea pigs while he recovered. The vet advised me not to use bedding - so he was on puppy pads.
 
Hope all goes ok. Like others have said the most important thing is to keep the wound open while it heals as it heals from the inside out. You will need to flush it at least once daily. For antibiotics the most effective on abscesses is Zithromax (Azithromycin). If your vet would like to speak to a vet that uses it on a regular basis ask them to contact Simon or Kim Maddock at www.catandrabbit.co.uk
 
Patch is back from the vets. The abscess was on both sides of his boy bits so he has two open wounds to be flushed out. He has critical care and Baytrill. The vet has kept a sample of the abscess in the fridge in case it comes back so she can send it off to the lab. He's been a little poppet he is so gentle he just lay in my arms while I cleaned him tonight.

Helen can I ask how vigorous I should be in my flushing and what I should be doing - I just want to make sure I'm getting it right and also thanks for your advice.

Wendy image.webp
 
Pus from abscesses rarely culture, so sending off a sample won't tell your vet anything, should the situation arise. Baytril may work for Patch (I had a boy once who had it for an abscess, but he was on it for weeks), but as said above, Zithromax is the most effective antibiotic for abscesses. I would really recommend speaking to your vet about using it. It is not licensed for use in guinea pigs, but it is far more effective and is much less harsh on their system than Baytril. While needing to use probiotics with Baytril, I never have with Zithromax.

The best thing to use for flushing an abscess is a syringe (10ml is a good size) with a needle on the end (obviously held a couple of inches away from the piggy!). The needle causes the water to have increased pressure when it is squirted out, hopefully shifting more gloop from the wound. If you are going to squeeze pus from the abscess, try and squeeze it from underneath the wound, if that makes sense, moving any gunk from the inside to the outside of his body. Cotton buds and cotton wool pads are useful to have when cleaning out the wound. It is important to be more hands on than hands off with abscesses - don't be scared to get in there! Should his wounds start to close or scab over, it is best to pick it off to reopen it, otherwise any infection will once again get healed inside. Patch may well squeak his displeasure, but it will do him good in the long run. :)
 
I've become a big fan of Zithromax. Peanut Butter has been on Baytril, Septrin & Zithromax. That was finally the one that worked & we use it all the time now if he needs an anti-biotic. I have to say I am lucky in that my piggy savvy vet, whom we acquired only a year ago, is willing to try my suggestions, which I've actually obtained from this forum, instead of just dictating to me. The other thing we discovered with Peanut Butter is that a bad yeast infection can develop when anti-biotics are used. Because the bacteria is killed off the yeast has room to invade. The vet can see it with a poop sample on the slide. So he gets Nystatin & pro-biotics together an hour or so after anti-biotics to kill off yeast & re-establish good bacteria
 
Our Seamus had an abscess and spent lots of time feeling sorry for himself.
One of the best medicines are hugs!
He looked like Aslan with one shaved cheek.
Hope Patch gets well soon!
 
were you given pain relief to give him for a while aswell? this is really important. have to agree with hearing good things about zithromax aswell. baytril isn't the best antibiotic for most guinea pig problems, even though it is the one most given.
 
Hi Patch has had a canny day today. He had his medicine and critical care and I got him some probiotic as well. He has ate more and had wees, not too many poos yet but nothing seems blocked down below and he had a little wander around his cage tonight. He hasn't had any more pain relief from the vet should I be getting some? Hugs are helping too :)
 
Patch was discharged tonight from the vets. He is still taking his antibiotics but he is much happier and gaining his appetite and chirruping away again. He even had a lovely cuddle from Jenny the vet. Still keeping my fingers crossed though just to be sure :) image.webp
 
aww come on patch.... the power of the cuddle hey.

well done so far :tu: keep it up Patch :nod:
healing vibes from the girls & i too. xx

ps he's a handsome little fella isn't he :luv: xx
 
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