Specialist Cheilitis-crusty lips

[Stephanie Tang]

Anybody have experience treating cheilitis? My pig has had it for over a month with scabbing/crusting all over her lips with occasional lumps. My vet treated her with antibiotics (SMZ-TMP) and a topical (silver sulfadiazine) for weeks now with no improvement. They also recommended to wipe/debride her lips but it scabs/crusts back to its original state the next day. Fungal culture was negative. Will be grateful for any tips

 

[GPTV]

The only case I've experienced was years ago, with a scab on Doodles top lip, I was given her from her previous owner like it.

I fed her mostly dry food for about 2 weeks - just hay, pellets, grass & a small quantity of solid, non - juicy veg cut into sticks (eg. broccoli/cauliflower stumps, carrot).
Any juice from fruit or veg (eg. Cucumber, grapes & especially tomatoes/apples that are quite acidic) that runs into the scab will aggravate it & make it worse.

I think I dabbed Doodles scab with cooled, boiled water with just a pinch of salt dissolved in it about 2 or 3 times, then left it to dry out & the scab fell off, she never had a problem again.

If you have any Hibiscrub try a weak solution of that in some boiled, cooled/tepid water - it's an antimicrobial solution, so should help clean & disinfect the scab.

I think I've seen a thread on here or Guinealynx, I'll try & find it for you.

Edit-I've found the Guinealynx thread
Guinea Lynx :: Cheilitis
Xx

 

[Wiebke]

@Abi_nurse

 

[Stephanie Tang]

The only case I've experienced was years ago, with a scab on Doodles top lip, I was given her from her previous owner like it.

I fed her mostly dry food for about 2 weeks - just hay, pellets, grass & a small quantity of solid, non - juicy veg cut into sticks (eg. broccoli/cauliflower stumps, carrot).
Any juice from fruit or veg (eg. Cucumber, grapes & especially tomatoes/apples that are quite acidic) that runs into the scab will aggravate it & make it worse.

I think I dabbed Doodles scab with cooled, boiled water with just a pinch of salt dissolved in it about 2 or 3 times, then left it to dry out & the scab fell off, she never had a problem again.

If you have any Hibiscrub try a weak solution of that in some boiled, cooled/tepid water - it's an antimicrobial solution, so should help clean & disinfect the scab.

I think I've seen a thread on here or Guinealynx, I'll try & find it for you.

Edit-I've found the Guinealynx thread
Guinea Lynx :: Cheilitis
Xx

I will try this! Thank you so much!

 

[Abi_nurse]

These cases are difficult ones because we still don't completely understand the full cause of why they happen but some top tips from me would be -
- avoid all acidic food stuffs (tomato, apple, most fruits)
- clean the area with chorhexadine scrub but initially not be gentle about it, it's important the crusts come off and the scrub gets into the skin, alternatively you could scrub with F10
- potentially trial a different antibiotic treatment or do a bacterial culture
- consider adding some vitamin c supplement - I don't usually do this but it may help boost immunity etc

These things are best discussed with your vet and they are very frustrating cases to deal with I'm afraid. Thinking of you.

x

 

[Stephanie Tang]

These cases are difficult ones because we still don't completely understand the full cause of why they happen but some top tips from me would be -
- avoid all acidic food stuffs (tomato, apple, most fruits)
- clean the area with chorhexadine scrub but initially not be gentle about it, it's important the crusts come off and the scrub gets into the skin, alternatively you could scrub with F10
- potentially trial a different antibiotic treatment or do a bacterial culture
- consider adding some vitamin c supplement - I don't usually do this but it may help boost immunity etc

These things are best discussed with your vet and they are very frustrating cases to deal with I'm afraid. Thinking of you.

x

Thank you!