Deformed Sinuses Help Please

[Kronny]

We have a poorly Bob. He had always been a sneezy piggie. We have often taken him to our lovely vet worried he has a chest infection for his lungs etc to be clear.

He has dust free hay and bedding but is still quite snuffly and sneezy. He is about 2 and has always been like this.

Last week we took him to vet. He was put on antibiotics because although his chest sounded clear he had nasal discharge.

We took him again today as it was still a problem. She decided to saline wash his worse side. However when she did it saline came out of both nostrils. She said this shouldn't happen and it would seem that there is a deformity in his sinuses and this could account for his problems.

He has had some more injections and we are going to see how he goes. However he has lost a fair amount of weight and doesn't seem himself.

Really sad as he is such a lovely piggy.

We have wondered about his nose because he has always been so sneezy. Xx

 

[emma1989]

Oh no poor piggy, I hope he will be ok. I will keep my fingers crossed for you. x

 

[worried val of york]

Is your vet a recommended vet for guinea pigs. You can check by using the Vet Locator shown on the green title bar above. It does sound as though he has an upper respiratory infection but I am no expert. I trust my vet to tell me if there is a URI after her has done the relevant checks which could include an x-ray, scan or nasal swab. If he is losing weight I would definitely find a vet trained in exotics (which includes guinea pigs) to give me a diagnosis.

 

[Kronny]

She isn't on the list here but I trust her totally. She loves guinea pigs and has her own. She is very knowledgeable about guinea pigs. She spent a lot of time checking him. He has had this problem as long as we've had him.

 

[Abi_nurse]

I wouldn't say just because the saline came out both sides that there is a deformaty. Sounds like an ongoing respiratory infection. I would consider a very log course of antibiotics and a few months of nebulizing in F10 solution.

x

 

[worried val of york]

I hope Bob gets better soon. It is a worrying time for you.

 

[Kronny]

Thank you everyone. I am worried about him. They're like my extra children!

 

[Freela]

Hmmmm... I don't think it's abnormal to have a saline flush come out both nostrils. Nostrils do connect to the same sinuses, after all. When Linney was having nosebleeds, the vet asked if the blood was from one nostril or both as a means of trying to determine how far up the nasal passages the bleeding was originating it. They weren't concerned about her anatomy if it came from both, it would just have them suspect that the source of bleeding was high enough to reach both nasal passages or was backing up into the sinuses. At any rate, I do hope the injections help and he feels better. It is frustrating not to know what's wrong.

 

[Kronny]

Ah ok thank you. Yes the blood was coming from both like you say. Maybe that's it. He is brighter in himself today although I know they do hide how they feel.

I am hand feeding him as well as the hay he is nibbling on because of the weight he has lost.

Hopefully he will carry on making a little bit of progress each day.

 

[gizzy]

I trust my vet to tell me if there is a URI after her has done the relevant checks which could include an x-ray, scan or nasal swab. If he is losing weight I would definitely find a vet trained in exotics (which includes guinea pigs) to give me a diagnosis.

a nasal swab would be very usefull , my vet dos the two together , as if l remember corecly the pig may need light sidation, for the swab, so swab and xray at the same time would be cheaper then doing it sepratly