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Specialist Abscess on face - HELP

Cherrychops100

Cherrychops100

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hi there, my guinea pig had a large lump on her face so we took her to the vet. She examined her and said that she had 2 abscesses, so cut them open to drain the puss and bacteria. She's on antibiotics and we're draining it with hibiscrub to try and squeeze everything out. However there is a large lump in the same location that we though was part of the original lumps so we're trying to squeeze it and nothing is coming out. We had brilliant advice from cavie corner but obviously it's late now and need some advice as I don't know what to do as I've never had to take a piggie to the vet. Could someone give us some advice or help please, thank you in advance 💜
 
I’m not a health expert but my feeling is that another vet trip is needed.
It’s no fun dealing with abscesses and they can take time.
A health expert will be able to give better advice
 
Cherrychops100 said:
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Hi there, my guinea pig had a large lump on her face so we took her to the vet. She examined her and said that she had 2 abscesses, so cut them open to drain the puss and bacteria. She's on antibiotics and we're draining it with hibiscrub to try and squeeze everything out. However there is a large lump in the same location that we though was part of the original lumps so we're trying to squeeze it and nothing is coming out. We had brilliant advice from cavie corner but obviously it's late now and need some advice as I don't know what to do as I've never had to take a piggie to the vet. Could someone give us some advice or help please, thank you in advance 💜
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Hi!

Please leave the large lump alone; it is likely another abscess that may need lancing and draining as well, but this should be done by your vet and not you. Your vet may also want to take another closer look at the area as it is obviously a bit more complicated than expected. Multiple abscesses like this are not quite common.

Try to ring your vet just before or as soon as they open tomorrow to hopefully bag their emergency slot for that first thing tomorrow in view of the weekend coming up.

Please follow the care advice you have been given; it is the one we would give as well. You may need to work the scab off that forms in the coming days in order to flush and drain the abscess for as long as possible. Abscesses need to heal from the inside out and any fleck of infection should come out to prevent the abscess from coming back again. They can be rather tedious to deal with unfortunately and are definitely no joy for you and your piggy!

What antibiotic have you been given?

@furryfriends (TEAS)
 
Wiebke said:
Hi!

Please leave the large lump alone; it is likely another abscess that may need lancing and draining as well, but this should be done by your vet and not you. Your vet may also want to take another closer look at the area as it is obviously a bit more complicated than expected. Multiple abscesses like this are not quite common.

Try to ring your vet just before or as soon as they open tomorrow to hopefully bag their emergency slot for that first thing tomorrow in view of the weekend coming up.

Please follow the care advice you have been given; it is the one we would give as well. You may need to work the scab off that forms in the coming days in order to flush and drain the abscess for as long as possible. Abscesses need to heal from the inside out and any fleck of infection should come out to prevent the abscess from coming back again. They can be rather tedious to deal with unfortunately and are definitely no joy for you and your piggy!

What antibiotic have you been given?

@furryfriends (TEAS)
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Baytril 0.28ml twice a day and metacam 0.3ml once a day
 
Cherrychops100 said:
And she's nearly 3
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Even at 700g the dosage is still very low for an abscess.

Please split the metacam dose into half and give every 12 hours as guinea pigs have a much faster metabolism than dogs and cats.
Ideally you do the same for the baytril. You can give in both cases the prescribed dose safely twice daily if necessary.

How piggy savvy is the vet you are seeing?
Recommended Guinea Pig Vets
 
Wiebke said:
Even at 700g the dosage is still very low for an abscess.

Please split the metacam dose into half and give every 12 hours as guinea pigs have a much faster metabolism.
Ideally you do the same for the baytril. You can give the same dose safely twice daily if necessary.

How piggy savvy is the vet you are seeing?
Recommended Guinea Pig Vets
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I split the metacam in half and gave twice a day but I've only been given a small amount of medication
 
You will need to see a vet over the remaining lump anyway, so you can discuss medication levels then, especially with an even larger lump still lurking.

General vets not familiar with guinea pigs tend to scale down from cats, but guinea pigs need higher dosages in comparison because of their faster metabolism. :(
 
Wiebke said:
You will need to see a vet over the remaining lump anyway, so you can discuss medication levels then, especially with an even larger lump still lurking.

General vets not familiar with guinea pigs tend to scale down from cats, but guinea pigs need higher dosages in comparison because of their faster metabolism. :(
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Ah I live in Hampshire, is there anywhere you could recommend?
 
Cherrychops100 said:
Ah yes thank you
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If you add your county to location in your account details (accessed by clicking on your username on the top bar), it makes it appear with every post you make and allows us to tailor any recommendations to what is available/relevant where you are straight away. ;)
 
Wiebke said:
If you add your county to location in your account details (accessed by clicking on your username on the top bar), it makes it appear with every post you make and allows us to tailor any recommendations to what is available/relevant where you are straight away. ;)
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I'm going to the vets tomorrow and I don't want it to be a wasted visit again so is there any advice on what to say/ask
 
Cherrychops100 said:
I'm going to the vets tomorrow and I don't want it to be a wasted visit again so is there any advice on what to say/ask
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Please discuss the faster metabolism of guinea pigs with your vet and what that means re. antibiotic and painkillers.
The general course of treatment with flushing/draining is correct.

How the large lump is going to be dealt with depends on how close to the surface it is. Abscesses near the skin are generally treated by lancing and if necessary marsupialising (stitching open) the hole of deeper and larger abscesses to allow flushing and drainage for as long as possible.
Deep sitting encapsulated abscesses are generally operated out.

PS: When my Bedo had some abscessed bite wounds on his face after he'd wiggled into another husboars cage, his medication levels were much higher, and that is allowing for weight.
 
One of my pigs had a nasty abscess in that same location. They do take quite a lot of time to resolve. If you are feeling another lump underneath that isn't draining to the surface, it's likely that there is another pocket of infection there that has not been opened yet... this will have to be done by your vet.

It's also worth asking about stronger or different antibiotics... Baytril is generally regarded as the safest antibiotic for guinea pigs, but there do exist other safe meds and Baytril is not the best med for dealing with abscesses. One of my pigs did well with chloramphenicol with a facial abscess, and I know a lot of people on the forum have had great success with azithromycin.

How has your pig been eating while this abscess has been brewing? My pig with an abscess in a similar location had concurrent dental problems (probably due to chewing unevenly due to jaw pain, leading to the teeth on the sore side overgrowing.) It may be worth taking a look the teeth while your pig is having the abscess dealt with, just to ensure that everything looks normal back there.

Hope this helps a bit and best wishes!
 
I can't really add much to the good advice above.
My Grace had a facial cheek abscess that was marsupialised (stitched open) as the vet couldn't remove the pus capsule as it had gone round/over tendons & veins.

I had the joyous task of picking off the scab/poking a cotton bud in her face & , flushing through with Baytril.

Grace had just over a months treatment with Zithromax, Inc 1week before surgery to dry out the pus.

Ask your vet if you can try Zithromax, graces abscess cleared up a treat & she had no teeth problems afterwards either, when the hair had grown back you'd never guess she'd had
A problem :D

Definitely ask about upping the painkillers & spreading the dose evenly throughout the day.
The Zithromax may need mixing at the vets as it comes in a powdered form.

With the extra lump get them to ultrasound/xray it to see what it is & then they can treat it appropriately, as above it may need lancing/marsupialising if another abscess. But the Zithromax should improve it a bit anyway

Good luck & fingers crossed here for a speedy recovery,x
 
IMG_9745.JPGIMG_9748.JPGIMG_9750.JPGIMG_9751.JPGHi there, I took my piggie to the vet this morning (it's me from last night). They wouldn't increase the metacam (it's the dog one not the cat one). However they've increased the baytril to 0.4ml twice a day, from 0.28ml.
The second picture is of the smaller one which now has an open flap which we think is the original bite that caused it. We've managed to squeeze out the puss and it been with a small syringe and saline solution. But the bigger lump (the slit they made originally wasn't totally open) and even though we've picked the scab. There's nothing coming out from the large lump. The vet said that if there isn't an improvement then she'll have to be put to sleep and that's not even something I can comprehend doing. She's bright in herself and she's eating and gaining a little bit of weight as she only weighs 725g (she's almost 3) ANY advice would be much appreciated, we have to go back to the vets on Tuesday
 
Glad that the antibiotic has been upped. Very sorry about the big lump. Where is it exactly located?
Could you please take a picture with a wider angle so we can have a better idea?
 
Wiebke said:
Glad that the antibiotic has been upped. Very sorry about the big lump. Where is it exactly located?
Could you please take a picture with a wider angle so we can have a better idea?
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It's on her face under her ear near her chin
 

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I wouldn't be considering putting her to sleep until all options have been explored! Do you have a more experienced cavy savvy vet local to you? Try looking on the recommended vet locator on the top left menu bar, there maybe a vet that's more suitable than your current one!

As I said above in my previous post, see if you can get the antibiotic 'Zithromax' prescribed it worked wonders for my old girl Grace :)

You may need to sign a disclaimer as I think it's licenced for humans but not guineas, but many members have had success with treating abscesses with it.

Its good that your Guinea has the dog Metacam as that's the stronger variety compared to the cat one, are you splitting the dose into 2 even time slots? Eg 8am & 8pm? This is usually more effective than the whole dose once a day, as their metabolism is so fast it wears off before the 24hrs are up.

Keep going with the bathing/flushing as any infection left inside will be trapped inside if you stop too soon, this will cause another abscess :(

Keep up the good work, these abscesses are difficult to get rid of, but it can be done - it's easier if the teeth aren't the cause of it too :)
My Grace had hers marsupialised(stitched open), I was flushing it with baytril, giving her Zithromax orally & it was about 6wks from start to finish, but as soon as her hair grew back you would never have known it was there :)
Make sure she keeps eating to keep her teeth & digestive system in good working order.

Definitely get a second opinion from another vet, I personally wouldn't have any faith/trust in the first one. Xx

Healing vibes being sent your way for a full & speedy recovery xx
 
GPTV said:
I wouldn't be considering putting her to sleep until all options have been explored! Do you have a more experienced cavy savvy vet local to you? Try looking on the recommended vet locator on the top left menu bar, there maybe a vet that's more suitable than your current one!

As I said above in my previous post, see if you can get the antibiotic 'Zithromax' prescribed it worked wonders for my old girl Grace :)

You may need to sign a disclaimer as I think it's licenced for humans but not guineas, but many members have had success with treating abscesses with it.

Its good that your Guinea has the dog Metacam as that's the stronger variety compared to the cat one, are you splitting the dose into 2 even time slots? Eg 8am & 8pm? This is usually more effective than the whole dose once a day, as their metabolism is so fast it wears off before the 24hrs are up.

Keep going with the bathing/flushing as any infection left inside will be trapped inside if you stop too soon, this will cause another abscess :(

Keep up the good work, these abscesses are difficult to get rid of, but it can be done - it's easier if the teeth aren't the cause of it too :)
My Grace had hers marsupialised(stitched open), I was flushing it with baytril, giving her Zithromax orally & it was about 6wks from start to finish, but as soon as her hair grew back you would never have known it was there :)
Make sure she keeps eating to keep her teeth & digestive system in good working order.

Definitely get a second opinion from another vet, I personally wouldn't have any faith/trust in the first one. Xx

Healing vibes being sent your way for a full & speedy recovery xx
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Hiya, yes I'm splitting the dose of metacam and my vet said that they can order the 'Z' medication so I'll ask on Tuesday x
 
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