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Peppa's Abscess Is Back : (

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lewpylew

lewpylew

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after a tough 12days I've just been back to the vets and it appears the abscess is back : ( I saw a different vet today and I came away feeling so upset. The other 2 vets have been lovely, but this one was very matter of fact. He basically said her chances are 50/50.

I can't give up on her as she's doing amazingly well, only lost about 25g and back to normal. Climbing, playing and eating well.

The stitches have been removed and there is puss evident. I noticed the wound smelling yesterday and thought it was an infection but guess not all was removed after surgery.

We are back on Baytril 0.5ml twice a day and he's put manuka honey on it. Just been reading up on it and had never heard of this before but sounds amazing. I really hope it works as not ready to lose my piggy especially after what we've been through.

What do I need to be doing with the wound? It's open . Should I be putting saline solution on it, leave it be or just apply honey once a day.

Any advice and hugs much appreciated : ( xx
 
I'm so sorry to hear this. From my (limited) experience some abscesses are very persistent. Was it lanced and drained or was the whole abscess removed? Poor you and poor peppa ((hugs)) x
 
Hugs from me and my furry friends I can't Imagen what your going through feel free to message me if you want to let it all out ! xox :)
 
When Rambo had her abscess it burst on its own and I kept it open and flushed it everyday with salt water. Would be worth doing that to keep it clean so it can heal the best, also I'm sure there's a different medication that will work better for abscesses but I can't remember what its called.

I doubt its 50/50 once you've got a routine of cleaning and medication in she'll be fine :)
All the best to you and Peppa :)
 
We were going to try an antibiotic (zithromax?) On Toffee after 2 weeks of baytril had not worked. It was off licence though so the vet said I would have to sign a disclaimer and collect it from a pharmacy myself. Is it worth asking your vets about an alternative? Obviously being off licence its at yout own risk. Xx
 
I would bathe it first unless the vet said otherwise, using a warm saline solution to keep it open as cold water encourages them to close over & they need to be kept open & very clean. Gently ease around the sides as you bathe it to encourage any puss to come out. I have used a warm diluted Hydrogen Peroxide solution for bathing an abscess on my guineas especially if it's stubborn. Manuka is usually excellent as an aid to healing. Hope it helps. I have used it on dogs & it worked well. Fingers crossed for your piggy :)
 
Zithromax is excellent for abscesses, but as it is not licensed for piggies, many vets won't even consider it as an option. It really is a miracle worker though, so if you can get hold of some, do. Keep the abscess open - you may need to pick off the scab as it attempts to heal. If squeezing pus from the wound, try to squeeze from beneath it, towards the surface, to encourage the pus to the outside, rather than push it back in.
 
The first vet I saw would not consider Zithromax, I had to see another vet at a different practice.
 
Thanks everyone. Have no idea how to squeeze the puss and don't want to hurt her : ( yesterday seeing her squeaking in distress made my 18 month old cry as he loves Peppa so much which then set me off x
 
Could you get your vet or one of the nurses to show you? If the wound is not left open to drain you will be fighting a never ending battle.
 
I haven't had a piggy who had an abscess but I did have a pig who's eye socket became infected after she sadly had to have her eye removed.

we had to treat it like an abscess therefore leaving the eye socket open. We had to flush the socket out daily using a syringe and saline solution that the vet gave us. We also used diluted hibi scrub which also helped to remove dry pus and scabs and to keep the wound clean.

At first, I couldn't do it so I took Eliza to the vet every day for almost a week until I was confident enough to do it myself.

It is distressing but it's so important to keep the wound open and flush the pus out. It took a while for the infection to clear up and the wound to heal but we got there.

A few months later, Eliza's wound began to open up again as she kept scratching at it. we were advised to use manuka honey and she had to be coned as some of her problem was self inflicted.

Sadly Eliza died from unrelated causes before the wound fully healed the second time but the manuka honey was working wonders by that stage.

I must admit, it was a tough few months and there were many tears but it was worth it.

All the best for Peppa and (((hugs))) for you x
 
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@lewpylew I'm really sorry, I know its awful to see them in pain because you are trying squeeze an abscess - I couldn't do it to Toffee either, it was heart-breaking. I am so sorry for your child as well, my 3 year old was crying when I had to do it to Toffee too. Do you have any pain killer for her? I had to go back to ask for metacam for Toffee.
 
I am so lost what to do :( Feel bad for keeping on but pets are for life and I am not giving up on her, even if the vet made me feel it is a 50/50 scenario which I don't feel it is. Peppa is acting like her normal cheeky self, eating & drinking, climbing up to say hi which is why I am fighting with her. My bill is around £150 at the moment which I don't really have but hey ho.

The wound has obviously closed up and I tried squeezing it when I was cleaning it but obviously nothing happened. Will leave it til tomorrow and go back as don't want to be a pain or may go to the other branch of the vets. Just scared now of seeing that vet as I came away heartbroken and so upset. I am sure he didn't mean to be rude, but some people are cold like that.

The other 2 vets had been so good that's why last night was hard :( :( :(
 
What about speaking to the vets that you have got on better with for some reassurance? As said by others - i would encourage you to see if a vet nurse can show you the cleaning technique - and that is what it is - once you get used to it, it becomes much easier.
Is Peppa on a pain killer? I used to time the abscess cleaning to be an hour after metacam dose. Peppa will squeak when you clean her up but that is not necessarily pain - if is also 'oi get off me' - a bit like getting a plaster off a toddler!
 
I am so sorry that you are feeling like this :( Could you not see one of the vets who you felt more comfortable with?

I would leave the wound alone today and let the vet reopen it tomorrow so they can show you what to do.

After the initial eye removal op, my vet didn't charge me again except for medication as it was all classed as being follow up after care treatment but I guess all vets are different.

Please don't feel too disheartened by what the vet said regarding it being 50:50 and never apologise for 'going on'. You're just a concerned piggy mummy wanting to do what is best for your piggy and we are all here to support each other x
 
I'm so sorry for you too. I cried after speaking to the first vet I saw about Toffee too, but the second (and third!) vet I saw at a different practice were lovely and treated her so nicely and were so sympathetic. Some vets are not very good with people, even though they may be good with animals ((hugs)) perhaps he was just trying to be realistic so as not to give you false hope, ((hugs)) in his opinion. Personally I feel she is worth fighting for as you say she is active and cheeky etc.
 
Please ask your vet for a prescription for Zithromax it really is a miracle worker you will have to sign a disclaimer but I have had several piggies on Zithromax and it has always been successful
 
My experience with abscesses is that you need to leave them open and encourage them to heal from the inside out. When Sundae had a major abscess along her jawbone, I used a dental syringe (purchased from the drug store) to irrigate with saline twice a day. I would also squeeze the wound upwards and outwards to help to push any pus upwards and outwards. She didn't enjoy the process and it was gross on my end too, but it was necessary to help it heal. Baytril is not the best antibiotic for abscesses, but I know it's sometimes hard to get vets to agree to prescribe anything else. My vet uses chloramphenicol for abscesses, and although Sundae didn't appear to heal up as quickly as the pigs on Zithromax, it did eventually clear. ((HUGS))- and be optimistic. The fact that she is eating and behaving normally is a really good sign.
 
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