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Poorly Blodwen with stubborn URI but a good vet trip!

PigglePuggle

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.webp
And here's Blod being welcomed home and suspi

ciously sniffed by her friends, trying to clean the vet smell off herself!
20200907_153145.webp
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!
 
PigglePuggle said:
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)!
Click to expand...

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...
 
Not sure how Blod is today as she is keeping a very low profile after her very extensive vet examinations yesterday! So apart from her medicines we're leaving her be to settle, her best buddy boss pig Clover is guarding her and sleeping next to her and everypig seems to have sprayed her lovely fur with wee to welcome her home and get rid of the vet smell, and Clover seems to have dragged a hay cookie 7ft from the back of the hayroom into their castle house so Blod doesnt have to go out and risk being abducted by the vet again... so she's covered in wee and bits of hay cookie and looks a bit of a mess, but her friends are looking after her in loyal smelly piggy herd style and I havent heard any raspy honking yet today! I'll clean up Blod and the cage tomorrow, when she's had a day off from hoomans messing with her :)
 
PigglePuggle said:
Not sure how Blod is today as she is keeping a very low profile after her very extensive vet examinations yesterday! So apart from her medicines we're leaving her be to settle, her best buddy boss pig Clover is guarding her and sleeping next to her and everypig seems to have sprayed her lovely fur with wee to welcome her home and get rid of the vet smell, and Clover seems to have dragged a hay cookie 7ft from the back of the hayroom into their castle house so Blod doesnt have to go out and risk being abducted by the vet again... so she's covered in wee and bits of hay cookie and looks a bit of a mess, but her friends are looking after her in loyal smelly piggy herd style and I havent heard any raspy honking yet today! I'll clean up Blod and the cage tomorrow, when she's had a day off from hoomans messing with her :)
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I hope that didnt come across like we dont care or arent checking on her, but for piggies who are nervous of hoomans there's probably nothing worse than an anxious hooman dragging you out of bed to inspect you every few minutes! I trust my herd as much as I trust my vet to let me know if something's wrong, nopig ate any hay while Blod was at the vet yesterday, it was all vigilant accusing piggy eyes for 3 hours! Often the other piggies are the first to know if something is wrong, if they are acting normal but protective then Blod just needs a rest and they will escort her to dinner in a protective herd formation or bring her food to eat in bed to make sure we dont take her away again :)
 
It’s so lovely to hear that the herd are looking after a Blodwen.
It’s probably the best medicine .
And no, you couldn’t possibly come across as uncaring .
 
I'm still worried about little Blodwen, her grunty honking seems worse if anything, though she has perked up a lot and is eating lots and lots... I hadnt really thought she had lost her appetite much, for a URI piggy trying to balance breathing with eating, but 24 hours after her last baytril dose and switching to sulfatrim she just wont stop eating, its just hay hay hay coriander hay can I have some more hay please that kilo seems to have mysteriously disappeared hay hay nom nom nom ooh babycorn peppers pellets hay hay hay can I have a grape now? And top up that hay while you're at it please, yes bring it closer slave you know I'm too poorly to get up ooh hay (secretly zooms and popcorns while we arent watching then reappears lying in a different hay tray 12 feet away) did I mention a hay top up at all hoomans?
But she is still breathing like a tractor full of geese :( albeit a very perky hungry one!
I am thinking if she is still running about hoovering up hay and anything else near her little grunty nose its just keep up the meds, try not to worry, and let the sulfatrim have chance to work? Its only day 3 of the sulfatrim, after 9 days of baytril... its hard not to fuss all the time with the awful breathing noise, but a greedy lively sociable poorly piggy who already saw the vet this week and has all her various medicines is best left with her hay and friends, does everyone think that's right?
 
Poor little girl.
What about steam?
That might help if you can adapt something suitable for a piggy.
Otherwise it’s probably just waiting & worrying
Holding you and Piggy Daddy and Blodwen in my heart
 
Merab's Slave said:
Poor little girl.
What about steam?
That might help if you can adapt something suitable for a piggy.
Otherwise it’s probably just waiting & worrying
Holding you and Piggy Daddy and Blodwen in my heart
Click to expand...
Yes I considered steam, but last time we tried that Blod got awfully soggy with her long thick fur getting damp... and its quite cold now at night to have a soggy Blod... and I dont want to stress her, she really needed a bum bath as well but I've put that off too because I dont want my little honky girl getting cold and stressed!
 
I'm so worried about stressing Blod out in fact that we are not calling her Blod the Pig this week, and not telling her she's having medicine, because she's had so much medicine and vet trips lately if she hears her name she knows whats about to happen and runs away in terror!
So we're calling her "little honks" who comes out for her "anti honking juice" this week and that seems much more acceptable :)
 
Merab's Slave said:
Don’t stress yourself out with worry as well as Little Honks.
Hope the Sulfatrim kicks in quickly
Click to expand...
Yes its hard with still being home all day not to constantly fuss and worry, but she gets her morning medicine, then breakfast and I watch until I see that she eats at least 2 bits of veg and nobody stole her food dish, then I top up the hay and watch from a distance that she's come out with the others... then I try to leave her alone until its time for the evening medicine and food, but if I sneakily look in through the doorway in between she's usually in a pile of hay munching away!
 
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