Antibiotics and boils

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skymone

Post   » Tue Sep 10, 2019 7:13 am


Hi,

I'm just asking for advice about antibiotics treatments. I've seen the overview on the webpage, but I'd like to hear if anyone has any personal experience with cases like mine.

My piggy boy, Mr. Pancakes (3 years) had some teeth issues earlier this year - they'd grown too long. We had xrays, teeth were fixed, so far, so good.
Shortly after, he developed a boil under his chin. Mind you, not tooth related, since the xrays showed it wasn't a tooth root that had grown downwards (or however it's called).

He had surgery to cut open the boil and clean out the puss, and we cleaned it for a couple of weeks after that daily, plus treated with Baytril. This was in June.

This weekend, he got a boil again. Same spot.
My vet was considering a different antibiotics, but she's unsure if it will help. Do any of you have experience? She mentioned one - I forgot the name, sadly, but she said it has been used with good effects on bunnies, but she couldn't find any documentation of it being used on piggies, and therefore is hesitant to try it.

Has anyone tried similar? What antibiotics did you use?
Thanks in advance!

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Tue Sep 10, 2019 8:56 am


Did she remove the sac around the abscess if there was one? And have you flush it twice daily to keep it open so it could heal from the inside out?

If not, antibiotics are unlikely to help the situation. Guinea pig pus is very thick and cheesy, and unless it's flushed out, the antibiotics probably won't clear the infection by themselves.

Unless you can remember the name of the antibiotic she suggested, there's no way for us to know if anyone has any experience with it. And given the difficulties that GPs have with antibiotics in general, I'd be reluctant to try one that hasn't been used on them before.

skymone

Post   » Tue Sep 10, 2019 9:29 am


I'm not sure if she removed the sack. I think she lanced it and flushed it.
Last time she gave me some salve made for eyes that I had to squeeze into the wound once a day. No flushing.
I'm going to pick him up from there in a half hour, and then I'll try to get the name of those antibiotics. We agreed not to try it, but I would like to know if others have experience with it, if so I'd pass that on to her.
I'll ask if we can try flushing it instead. I saw some other posts about the topic here where some vets were using shunts. I don't think this is a method any vets in Denmark (where I am) use, but I'll ask her about it.
She said it was a "soft" abscess, which is supposedly less dangerous/bad than a "hard" one? (though, to me it felt like a hard ball both times, but eh, I'm not a vet)

User avatar
Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Tue Sep 10, 2019 10:21 am


This may be Cervical Lymphadenitis (CL) rather than a "boil". A culture would help identify the bacteria involved so it can be better treated.
https://www.guinealynx.info/lumps.html

skymone

Post   » Wed Sep 11, 2019 2:20 am


While they had him under to clean it out yesterday, they decided to do a new set of xray. It took them a few tries, but finally, they spotted that one of the front lower incisors had a rotten root. Possibly a straw had somehow gotten stuck in the gum and caused it. They removed the tooth, and it's placement was a match for where the boil was placed.
I've never heard of Danish vets doing cultures on bacteria, I don't think it's part of their routine, sadly.
But hopefully, all is now well.
To be honest, a bad tooth would explain why his teeth had gotten too long (possibly it has been painful for him to eat the tougher foods like hay and grass) and explains the boil as well that came almost at the same time as the overgrown teeth.
For now, we're only giving pain killers and antibiotics (baytril).
Tomorrow we have a check-up again where the vet will decide if I need to flush the boil. They cleaned it out yesterday, and the cause has hopefully gone, so she's not sure that more pus will come, but that's what we're figuring out tomorrow.

This particular pig is very much a food lover, he was eating as soon as he got home yesterday, despite still being hazy from having been under and having a tooth removed. That's why no one suspected a bad tooth - he eats like a champ always, and he's on the heavy side, despite my attempts at getting him to eat less.

Anywho, perhaps my story here will help others - double check those teeth!

User avatar
Sef
I dissent.

Post   » Wed Sep 11, 2019 6:23 am


Baytril can be hard on the gut, so you might consider adding a probiotic such as acidophilus:
https://www.guinealynx.info/probiotics.html

Fingers crossed that he is on the mend!

skymone

Post   » Wed Sep 11, 2019 9:28 am


Unfortunately, he's had a lot of experience with baytril this year already, thankfully his stomach seems to handle it ok. I think the Critical Care I'm feeding him contains probiotics as well :)

User avatar
Sef
I dissent.

Post   » Wed Sep 11, 2019 6:06 pm


It doesn't contain probiotics that I know of (pretty sure Oxbow stopped putting probiotics in CC a couple of years ago), but some pigs do tolerate ABs better than others. You will just want to watch for diarrhea or other gastric upset, inappetence and weight loss.

skymone

Post   » Thu Sep 12, 2019 7:23 am


Alright, tbh, I thought it did. In any case, he's eating with his usual gusto and pooping like a champ. Vet checked him out again today, and the abscess is looking fine, no new pus has developed, so we're not gonna flush and all that, he's just getting meds and lots of cuddles and treats, so he could heal up now ^^

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