Itrafungal

[Toots33]

I have a guinea pig with Cheilitis and have had a difficult time with my local vet (supposedly an exotic specialist) who refused to prescribe itrafungal as he believed it would cause irreversible damage to Luna’s kidneys.

I’ve had a second opinion from Simon at the Cat and Rabbit clinic who didn’t hesitate in prescribing itrafungal. We’ve got a three week course before going back for follow up visit and we’re on day 4 of treatment. I’ve noticed that the crusts are looking worse and just wondered if it’s normal for things to look worse before they start to look better with this treatment?

She’s also been prescribed metacam as well to try and manage the pain.

 

[Wiebke]

I have a guinea pig with Cheilitis and have had a difficult time with my local vet (supposedly an exotic specialist) who refused to prescribe itrafungal as he believed it would cause irreversible damage to Luna’s kidneys.

I’ve had a second opinion from Simon at the Cat and Rabbit clinic who didn’t hesitate in prescribing itrafungal. We’ve got a three week course before going back for follow up visit and we’re on day 4 of treatment. I’ve noticed that the crusts are looking worse and just wondered if it’s normal for things to look worse before they start to look better with this treatment?

She’s also been prescribed metacam as well to try and manage the pain.

Hi!

If the crusts are getting noticeably worse, I would recommend to contact the clinic again tomorrow and telling them that. I have only ever had experience with just the mildest start of cheilitis once, which cleared immediately, so I cannot judge whether that is normal or not.

It very much depends on what is causing the cheilitis, whether it is fungal, bacterial or - if you are very unfortunate - a virus from the pox family. Response to treatment can vary for that reason.
Guinea Lynx :: Cheilitis

 

[furryfriends (TEAS)]

I’ve always found it looks worse before it gets better, but definitely worth checking with Simon or Kim.

 

[Toots33]

Thanks I’ll give them a call tomorrow.
We do think it’s fungal as we’ve requested her history from the local vet and they did a swab of the affected area which showed there were yeast spores present. They didn’t tell us this, they just advised that it was dermatitis.

 

[furryfriends (TEAS)]

We had a piggy with Cheilitis and it took a few weeks to clear. The scabs definitely looked worse, during the first few days of medication and then slowly started to dry up and fall off.

 

[Wiebke]

Thanks I’ll give them a call tomorrow.
We do think it’s fungal as we’ve requested her history from the local vet and they did a swab of the affected area which showed there were yeast spores present. They didn’t tell us this, they just advised that it was dermatitis.

In this case, please hang on in there but if you are worried, contact the clinic. It should get better, but not necessarily clear up as quickly as with some other fungal issues.