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Teeth Problems = Swollen Cheek

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mrsw0nka

mrsw0nka

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So I went to the vets yesterday as Kiara has a swollen cheek. They seem to think its teeth and they don't think it is worth operating as they can't fix the teeth and so it will come back. I wanted them to check if the lump was that and not an abscess, so they made a small cut into her cheek and said no puss came out so it is not an abscess.
I made the decision to not have them operate since the risk is too high, Kiara is only 2 1/2 years old but since they can't fix the problem it seems pointless... She is still herself and eating, popcorning at floor time. So I don't want to put her through more pain and operations.
I have bactrim and antibiotics - started bactrim yesterday but i had been giving her the antibiotics since last week as i had it at home.

But today her wound smells reaaaaally bad. She shook her head and i got wet drops all over my face and my mouth that had the same smell. The other 2 pigs run away from her face. I just tried cleaning it with salty water, it doesn't look gross, it looks normal. Should i be worried? I also noticed the smell as soon as i put her back into her cage at home after the vets yesterday, so i thought maybe it was to do with the vets smells and whatever they put on it to be cleaned. But it's worse today. It would be weird for a wound to get infected literally right after it happens?

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Is she the same pig that had a bulging eye a few months back? If so it may be linked?
 
Is there any puss coming from it now? As I know my Fred had a lump which we did a biopsy on. It came back negative for puss but the lump most certainly turned into an abscess it ended up quite big and he had to have it flushed under General anaesthetic.
 
i am waiting to talk with the vet on the phone, it is leaking fluid it is not thick puss but certainly not nice and smells bad. the other two wont go near her :( poor little pig
 
There is certainly something nasty going on and even if it was dental there may be options to treat some problems....

Good luck.
 
Yeah something needs doing but the vets said yesterday that the only person who is good with guineas is on sick leave right now.. typical luck for me. Still waiting for them to phone me back
 
Oh poor little mite! I can't be of any help I'm sorry to say, but I wanted to wish her healing vibes. Must be horrible to be poorly and your companions not want to be near you. I prescribe 1 peg per nose in your house hold, plus some cuddles as needed!

Hope she gets better soon :hug:
 
Poor girl! Abscesses smell really foul... even if they didn't manage to get pus out of it yesterday, it still looks so much like a dental abscess to me (I've had two pigs with very similar ones.) An infected wound is a smell you won't soon forget! I'm wondering if the just didn't probe deeply enough to find the pus in there when they made the incision... abscesses can start quite low down. When Sundae had hers flushed, the vet told me that they had to trim away some muscle tissue to get all the way to the bottom, as it was embedded in the very deep tissue of her lower jaw.
 
Thanks everyone.

Spoke with the vet. She said it's good the liquid is coming out, and it sounds fine - the liquid itself - as there is no blood in it. Just have to keep a close eye that she doesn't open the cut open anymore then they would need to do something. what though., i don't know... I have an extra bottle of metacam i can pick up as she seems better with some painkillers in her, it must be sore definitely after cutting it open.
 
just an update - today the wound is dry and not red or got any puss coming out. so that is good. it still smells bad, i'm just keeping it clean and making sure she gets the bactrim and metacam in her. she seems bright and herself still, and she put on some weight! i feel a lot better than yesterday, i got myself all worked up and upset. i hate seeing my pigs hurting.
 
With Kiara's history, and due to the location of the swelling/ close proximity to the eye, I would encourage you to seek specialist advice - It is quite possible that Kiara has an abscess related to dental issues. . . With the right treatment, one would hope to avoid complications at a later date.

Azithromycin (Zithromax) is often used to treat abscesses - Especially, facial abscesses/abscesses related to dental issues etc. However, many veterinarians are reluctant to prescribe Azithromycin, and/or prescribe an insufficient dose/course. Therefore, hopefully, your veterinarian has provided an adequate dose/course of Bactrim?
 
Guinea-pigGaga said:
With Kiara's history, and due to the location of the swelling/ close proximity to the eye, I would encourage you to seek specialist advice - It is quite possible that Kiara has an abscess related to dental issues. . . With the right treatment, one would hope to avoid complications at a later date.

Azithromycin (Zithromax) is often used to treat abscesses - Especially, facial abscesses/abscesses related to dental issues etc. However, many veterinarians are reluctant to prescribe Azithromycin, and/or prescribe an insufficient dose/course. Therefore, hopefully, your veterinarian has provided an adequate dose/course of Bactrim?
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The bactrim I am giving her is on the same dosage as before, as i didnt get a new prescription because i had my bottle left. I am giving her 1ml daily, it says 10 days which are up tomorrow but i was going to keep giving her it until monday as i go on holiday then. my boyfriend is staying and going to look after them, we have two bottles of metacam for pain/swelling that he will give her daily 0.25ml.
The vet didn't say anything anbout Azithromycin - they say they cannot fix dental problems there. And the only vet who is good with guineas was also sick at the time i went in...
Her wound has scabbed over now and is fine but obviously she still has her lump which isn't going to go away without surgery but the vets seemed to think the risk of loosing her during was too high... :(
 
mrsw0nka said:
The bactrim I am giving her is on the same dosage as before, as i didnt get a new prescription because i had my bottle left. I am giving her 1ml daily, it says 10 days which are up tomorrow but i was going to keep giving her it until monday as i go on holiday then. my boyfriend is staying and going to look after them, we have two bottles of metacam for pain/swelling that he will give her daily 0.25ml.
The vet didn't say anything anbout Azithromycin - they say they cannot fix dental problems there. And the only vet who is good with guineas was also sick at the time i went in...
Her wound has scabbed over now and is fine but obviously she still has her lump which isn't going to go away without surgery but the vets seemed to think the risk of loosing her during was too high... :(
Click to expand...

There's some risk inherent in any surgery, but lancing and draining an abscess (if that's what it is) is fairly low-risk as far as surgeries go. It's also sometimes possible to remove an entire abscess capsule, though location is important as there needs to be enough give in the skin to be able to suture the wound shut afterwards. When Sundae had a facial abscess treated, there was not enough skin to do a repair after a total excision, so it was lanced and drained and then there was a lot of aftercare to keep flushing it so it could heal.
 
just chaching up, but if you havent alredy had it seen to, if it very important that you get is sorted by a vet ASAP.
as if the abssess travels to the bone , it may result in a condition caled osteomyelitis (nasty)
 
I have been away for a week visiting family, and left my girls with my boyfriend who has done such a good job looking after her...
When i was away,everything happened. The cyst burst through the healing scab from before and it was full of puss as i thought. My bf had her in warm water squeezing it all out and done so well, (as he always says he doesn't want pets, and is a germaphobe!) He has been flushing the wound daily with sterilised salt water. I got back yesterday, we gave it a good clean as it was easier with me there apparently. We have the vets soon to see if they can sedate her and clean it out properly.

[QUOTE="When Sundae had a facial abscess treated, there was not enough skin to do a repair after a total excision, so it was lanced and drained and then there was a lot of aftercare to keep flushing it so it could heal.[/QUOTE]
As you say here about Sundea, Kiara has a big open hole in her face now, which is good for us to be able to flush out at home but it is going to be a slow healing process... She is eating ALOT better now though, it must be less painful now without the big lump on her face.

I will update with what happens at the vets today...
 
Update!

At the vets they were very surprised at how clean the hole was, she said there was no point in them trying to clean it cos she can't see any puss so we just took her home again and kept flushing the wound daily. Last week it started scabbing over and i washed away the scab a couple of times but there didn't seem to be any puss left, so now we have left her for a week although she keeps pulling the scab off herself now. But the wound is looking great! She is eating sooo well again and has put on about 50g so i am so happy she is herself again. Just keeping a close eye that it doesn't come back as then we will know for sure it is teeth...
 
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