Abscess not eating or pooping.

[Camerafreak]

I will call around monday and find a new vet. I don't think anyone will be open tomorrow though. The plan of action was to keep with antibiotics and "it will continue to get smaller" Archie is with me now and the place where he picks off his scabs is wide open and you can see the suture material. She said she was fine with that and that it's not a large wound.. It makes me sad seeing him through all this pain and torture all the time.

 

[Paula]

Is he on pain medication at all?

 

[Camerafreak]

yes he's taking .1 ml of metacam once a day.

 

[Paula]

Good! Please let us know if you're able to get him to a different vet and how that goes.

 

[pinky]

When Rigatoni had his abscesses from his neuter, my vet had me rinse the area with diluted Chlorhexidine solution. She said not to use it full strength but to dilute it to a light blue color. She gave me a sterile bottle that could squirt it right into the wound. I would rinse the area multiple times a day while continuing the pain meds, antibiotic and probiotic. It worked.

 

[Paula]

Yes, it must be diluted. Chlorhex by itself is too strong, and an antibiotic cream to pack it is probably optional, but I know that it's always helped abscesses heal up much faster than the flush alone.

What I mean by leaving the wound open is shown here in this photo - this was my pig Ichabod who had an abscess on his jaw drained. You can see how my vet left it open just slightly so that it could be flushed and packed. You will need a curved tip syringe to make sure you're getting the flush and/or cream into the wound itself.

 

[kathlaaron]

Yes, and Camerafreak, on one of the link forum pages from guinea lynx that I gave you, ( I believe it is the Lynx Director) shows what the curved tip syringes look like, and you can purchase them online I think too. So just click on one of the links I gave you, if you would like to see.

 

[Camerafreak]

I called around and asked multiple pets in the Lincoln area if they cared for many guinea pigs and if they did I asked them what they would do for an abscess. Many of them said that they would flush it out and put him on medication. The other's said it would depend on the case. I'm starting to think that there aren't any good vets in my area and I know my mother wouldn't take me to Omaha where there is a suggested vet on guinealynx. I have another appointment with Archie's vet tomorrow and I am going to do whatever I need to in order to have her put a shunt in Archie so that I can flush it by myself. If she still refuses I'm not sure what else to do.

 

[kathlaaron]

Well I will be praying for you and Archie ! Just print out ( do you have a printer ?) all the medically accurate information from guinea lynx's web site relating to abscesses, and bring it in with you to your appointment, to share with your Vet.

Arming yourself with knowledgeable resources, steadies you-- and gives you the confidence to "do what you must" in order to make sure Archie gets the care, he so desperately needs. Infections in of themselves aren't usually life or death issues, but left untreated long enough and the infection spreads throughout the bloodstream and can cause other illnesses, and eventually death.

All the supplies you would need can be found online too. Take care and will be checking back with you to see how things went with your Vet and what you plan to do next. I am so sorry you are going through this the long hard way ( through no fault of your OWN !) with Archie. I am so sorry ! Warm wishes and thoughts.

P.S. By the way, it wouldn't hurt to ask for the supplies from your Vet, after all this, I am sure she would oblige you with all that you would need to flush out his wound and such.

 

[kathlaaron]

Just in case, you are not quite sure what supplies you should be looking for ( I am hoping that your Vet will oblige and give you all the appropriate supplies that you would need though, to take home with you tomorrow) or what your Vet hopefully will give you. Here is a photo/link below:

http://www.guinealynx.info/supplies.html

Good luck piggie pal !

 

[Paula]

I'm not entirely sure but I don't think you need a shunt - you need her to leave the incision open slightly so that you can work a curved-tip syringe in and flush and pack it yourself.

Another option might be to culture the bacteria and see if there's a more effective antibiotic to put him on to possibly resolve the infection internally.

 

[Camerafreak]

If we do this will she have to go ahead and suture him back up after it's all healed up? Also what were the things that I need to ask her for? A curved syringe, some kind of liquid, and cream? What are the names of the liquid and cream? I tried to find the later post with the names on it but I can't seem to find it. Maybe I just didn't look hard enough. If she doesn't have this stuff on hand could I buy it from a store? Sorry to reask the already stated.

 

[Deb's4Pigs]

Chlorhexidine is what pinky used on her pigs neuter. It must be diluted. Paula also said an antibiotic cream. Ask the vet if she can supply them.

 

[Paula]

Chlorhexidine flush and silver sulfadiazine cream. You need an Rx so you can't just buy them at a store and she needs to leave the wound open just enough to get the tip of a curved tip syringe in to flush then pack. Maybe 1/8 of an inch. Keeping it clean will help it to heal clean and you won't need to re-suture. You really should have her call Dr. Burgess for advice on this if you can't get him to a vet that knows how to do this. He is in every day this week except tomorrow afternoon, Thursday and Saturday.

She cannot simply drain the abscess and hope the infection will not come back. That does not work with guinea pig abscesses.

 

[Camerafreak]

Thank you so much Paula! I will give her your vets number again and ask her to call him if she has any questions. I'm also printing this thread and some guinealynx links so that she can see the infromation instead of just hearing it.

 

[foggycreekcavy]

You can also use saline to flush the wound.