Permanent sinus damage

[Dilly's Piggies]

My 2 year old sow Harriet went to the vet yesterday with an ear infection, she had a skull xray to check her ear structure (which is thankfully alright) and they actually found 50% of her right sinus is permanently damaged. I didn't expect to hear that but it does make sense as Harriet has suffered with a snuffly nose since she was 6 months old, I'm glad we finally figured out what is causing that and we can manage it now.

My vet said there is very little they can do for it, they will never be able to get on top of her respiratory issues but they can prescribe lifelong metacam to reduce inflammation, she is already taking antihistamines as we thought it was allergies initially but I hear they may have some benefit still in this situation. I've just purchased a nebuliser for her as my vet recommended, with F10 antiseptic solution.

I'm not sure how to use that yet so I'll be asking my vet for guidance when Harriet sees them again this Friday, but I just wanted to come here and ask if anyone else has experienced this and any other ways I can help Harriet to prevent any further damage to her breathing? I already have an air purifier but I want to know if a dehumidifier or a humidifier would be of any benefit?

Any info is greatly appreciated, she's only 2 years old so I'm bummed that she has this condition so soon in her life, I want to keep her as healthy as possible for as long as possible!

 

[DM030819]

@CavyConnoisseur I'm sure I mentioned a nebuliser for Harriet before so it's great that you're now able to give it a try!

You can try to work out if anything makes it worse and try to reduce or remove it.

Damage sinuses and airways can easily happen. My vet showed me the area on a rabbit skull she had. It was tiny so imagine how small they are for a pig. Any kind of obstruction can cause quite an issue.

With my Anselmo draughts made him worse so I had to ensure the windows were either closed or he had protection for it.

Now you have a nebuliser if you ever need to use an antibiotic on her respiratory tract again some can be administered through nebulisers.

 

[Dilly's Piggies]

@CavyConnoisseur I'm sure I mentioned a nebuliser for Harriet before so it's great that you're now able to give it a try!

You can try to work out if anything makes it worse and try to reduce or remove it.

Damage sinuses and airways can easily happen. My vet showed me the area on a rabbit skull she had. It was tiny so imagine how small they are for a pig. Any kind of obstruction can cause quite an issue.

With my Anselmo draughts made him worse so I had to ensure the windows were either closed or he had protection for it.

Now you have a nebuliser if you ever need to use an antibiotic on her respiratory tract again some can be administered through nebulisers.

Do you use anything like an air purifier, dehumidifier or humidifier for Anselmo? It's so hot in the UK atm I can't get away with leaving the windows closed or fan off, air conditioners are too pricey!

 

[Julie M]

Hope you find a solution soon for Harriet. Poor little soul. I’m going through a similar thing with Frankie. We (me and vet)thought it was a uri at first and he kept getting antibiotics from the vets. However now we are thinking it’s allergies. We have a nebuliser but I think it’s not working properly (faulty nebuliser) so we tried the steam method under recommendation from vets until I get a new nebuliser. I put him in his carrier pop a towel over it and then put 1ml f10 into a bowl/tub then add 250ml hot water from the kettle to make steam. Pop it at door of carrier underneath towel. It makes a difference to Frankie. However I’m going to get another nebuliser soon hopefully one that’s actually working.

 

[DM030819]

Do you use anything like an air purifier, dehumidifier or humidifier for Anselmo? It's so hot in the UK atm I can't get away with leaving the windows closed or fan off, air conditioners are too pricey!

Once the outside temperature gets higher than indoors you need to close all of your windows and curtains. It sounds crazy but it works as it keeps the hot air out. Then on an evening/night when it cools down open all of the curtains and windows to get the rooms cooled down.

I didn't try anything like an air purifier, just the nebuliser seemed to help him.

If you drape a cold wet towel over a fan it can have a bit of an effect like an air con unit, it cools the air around it a little.