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Poorly Blodwen with stubborn URI but a good vet trip!

PigglePuggle

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Thought I'd post this in case it helps anyone with a piggy suffering from a recurrent or stubborn URI and also so my little Blod can ask for some healing wheeks (and grapes, Blod says send more grapes)...
So Blod had a URI in July that seemed to clear up with baytril but then came back last week, only 5 or 6 weeks later. So we went back to the vet last week and Blod got baytril again, plus some very good decongestant powder called Bisolvon to sprinkle on her food. I'd not heard of Bisolvon before but several experienced forum members and staff assured me it was safe, and very effective- and it really is, helps URI symptoms a lot, great for relief from raspy honky grunty breathing!
But unfortunately its only relieving the symptoms, bot clearing the infection, so Blod went back to the vet today and I was very insistent about exploring other things rather than just prescribing baytril.
So Blod has had a teethy check (teeth a bit long but nothing urgent or likely to affect her breathing), a conscious xray with no sedation or anaesthetic (showed a classic pattern of a bronchial infection in her chest, nothing wrong in her sinuses or teeth roots, no odd lumps in her chest or anything sinister) so we are going to swap the baytril antibiotic for sulfatrim and keep going with the Bisolvon powder as it is an excuse for Blod to ask for grapes if they have decongestant sprinkles.
Here's poor Blod after her vet trip, sitting on piggy daddy whose wallet is £202 emptier than it was at lunchtime:
20200907_153007.jpg
And here's Blod being welcomed home and suspi

ciously sniffed by her friends, trying to clean the vet smell off herself!
20200907_153145.jpg
Just thought I'd share that as people often post on here about stubborn URIs and just being given baytril again and again, there's no magic formula for treating these things but its good to explore options with the vet for trying different antibiotics and getting more diagnostic tests done, like checking the teeth and having an xray etc.
Please send Blod healing wheeks (and grapes she says)!
 
Thank you! I was really impressed with the vet today, seems Blod saw a locum last week who wasnt as good as my vets usually are, so I phoned ahead today and spoke to the receptionist who made sure that the vet phoned me twice- once during the initial consultation, then again after the xrays- and we discussed everything very thoroughly, and agreed to try sulfatrim for 7 days then go back for a follow up appointment.
I'm sad little Blod is still poorly, but I'm confident that she's getting good vet care and the vet is exploring all options and discussing things with us!
 
Thought I'd post this in case it helps anyone with a piggy suffering from a recurrent or stubborn URI and also so my little Blod can ask for some healing wheeks (and grapes, Blod says send more grapes)...
So Blod had a URI in July that seemed to clear up with baytril but then came back last week, only 5 or 6 weeks later. So we went back to the vet last week and Blod got baytril again, plus some very good decongestant powder called Bisolvon to sprinkle on her food. I'd not heard of Bisolvon before but several experienced forum members and staff assured me it was safe, and very effective- and it really is, helps URI symptoms a lot, great for relief from raspy honky grunty breathing!
But unfortunately its only relieving the symptoms, bot clearing the infection, so Blod went back to the vet today and I was very insistent about exploring other things rather than just prescribing baytril.
So Blod has had a teethy check (teeth a bit long but nothing urgent or likely to affect her breathing), a conscious xray with no sedation or anaesthetic (showed a classic pattern of a bronchial infection in her chest, nothing wrong in her sinuses or teeth roots, no odd lumps in her chest or anything sinister) so we are going to swap the baytril antibiotic for sulfatrim and keep going with the Bisolvon powder as it is an excuse for Blod to ask for grapes if they have decongestant sprinkles.
Here's poor Blod after her vet trip, sitting on piggy daddy whose wallet is £202 emptier than it was at lunchtime:
View attachment 153107
And here's Blod being welcomed home and suspi

ciously sniffed by her friends, trying to clean the vet smell off herself!
View attachment 153108
Just thought I'd share that as people often post on here about stubborn URIs and just being given baytril again and again, there's no magic formula for treating these things but its good to explore options with the vet for trying different antibiotics and getting more diagnostic tests done, like checking the teeth and having an xray etc.
Please send Blod healing wheeks (and grapes she says)!

Thank you for posting. too many vets seem to think that a short course of baytril is enough; but it is not necessarily working for all piggies.

All the best that the sulfatrim will do the trick! Respiratory infections can be caused by a variety of bacteria and other bugs so good old baytril is not working for them all.
If problems persist with sulfatrim (UK brand name for the licensed small exotic pets version of bactrim or septrin (but now sold under a wider range of generic brand names; active ingredient trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole or TMP/SMX), then the next step would be to have a nasal swab lab tested for which of the unlicensed antibiotics Blodwen is responding to most.

Bisolvon is a UK brand for a mucus thinning powder; but you can always ask your vet for some comparable product if the nose and upper respiratory airways are sounding very congested but you are not UK based. Since guinea pigs are not much in the way of mouth breathers, a congested nasal and throat is impacting on their breathing a lot more than us humans. And after a decade with chronic sinusitis at some point in my life, I know fully well just how awful it is for humans...
If the lungs are congested, then a diuretic like furosemide or better (UK brand) frusol may help with easing the breathing in addition to any antibiotic.
 
Ted, Ginger and Posh sending lots of healing vibes to poor Blod 💕
When Ted suddenly went down with a URI and really struggling to breathe he was given Marbocyl by Simon Maddock. Initially by injections, which Debbie then did for a few days. Once he improved he went on to tablets. Simon thought he had regurgitated some food while he was asleep, he says it does happen sometimes in dental piggies. He was also given a diuretic.
Hoping Blod recovers very soon x
 
Poor Blod.
Sorry she’s having such a rough time.
My lot have said I should get grapes - some for Blod and some for them!
Hope the news meds make a difference quickly
 
Healing wheeks from our four and lots of grapes for you beautiful Blod 😘
Hopefully the sulfatrim will help kick the infection and get her better.
 
Healing wheeks and vibes for the lovely Blodwyn! I can't send grapes, but maybe she would like some plums instead! Hope the sulfatrim does the trick.
I had similar with Zebedee the first time he got a uri after I adopted him. 10 weeks of alternating baytril and Septrin which didn't resolve it, my vet suggested maybe he had an allergy... Luckily I saw an exotic vet about my other piggy and she offered to impart to my usual vet the hidden secret of Zithromax, which did the trick for that and all his subsequent URIs. Except the last, so we then tried Baytril, Marbocyl, etc. Until we were able to culture a sneeze and found this particular bug needed sulfatrim- pity we didn't try that earlier...
 
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