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Lance An Abscess Please! Asap

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Pinki

Pinki

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hi all

First time here.

My guinea has an urgent need to have her abscess lanced on her jaw. We have had one abscess lanced already but now there is a need to lance a side pocket and the vet who did it is away on holiday. I don't want her to have a general anaesthetic as we didn't need it last time…but does anyone know a vet or someone who can do this delicate thing? I am in Bristol but can travel.

Thanks!
 
Hi, welcome to the forum and sorry to hear about your piggy! Have you tried the recommended vet locator at the top of this page?
 
Hi and welcome to this fab forum, you have done a good thing by joining as there are lots of lovely helpful people on here.
Have a look at the recommend vets in the vet locator at the top of this page it will tell you all the vets near your postcode. I would give all the ones within the distance you can travel too, a ring and ask them about costs and their treatment approach to lancing an abscess in the mouth then you can make up you mind which one sounds as good as the treatment you had last time from your normal vet.
Kell
 
Thanks everyone. Will do, and will let you know how it goes. And thanks for the warm welcome. I love guinea pigs!
 
Poor thing... I'm sorry. We've had jaw abscesses lanced and drained here (two different pigs, unfortunately!) Both were under general anesthesia, as they were quite deep into the tissue, though the aftercare could be done without further anesthesia. Luckily both did quite well with the surgery/anesthesia, though helping the abscess heal from the inside out was a long process! I hope you are able to find a vet in your area- best wishes to your piggie!
 
Thanks Freela, that's good to hear. Probably will get it lanced today. I'll be coming back for tips on the post op care draining!
 
Well the abscess burst yesterday after having grown to the size of a plum. Luckily it drained through the hole and she is fine and the lump is now much much smaller.
I now need to 'flush it out' with saline solution but I've no idea how to do that. Can any one talk me through it please. Also I've been told to use Intrasite Gel but does that mean on the surface of the wound or inside? Thanks
 
The easiest way to flush the wound is with a syringe, gently poke the tip into or as close to the hole/wound as you can (without touching flesh) and flush the site several times. I gently apply pressure around the wound to help any puss build up work its way out of the hole and gently wipe it up with cotton wool balls dipped in saline as the first step in cleaning and the flush the hole after. I am a great believer in picking scabs when it comes to abscesses. It is unpleasant but it really helps for the wound to heal from the inside out and helps to stave off the possibility of infection. I soaked the scab with warm water/saline solution around Fudge's abscess so it softened enough for me to pull it off without causing him too much discomfort. I also recommend gently dabbing the hole with manuka honey after flushing as it has amazing healing and anti bacterial properties. As it has burst you may find some of the skin will turn black and become necrotic, it should be fairly minor and come away with scabbing and flushing, but do keep an eye on it as it can turn quite nasty, if in any doubt see a savvy vet :)
Healing vibes to your little one! Abscesses can be a right pain to deal with x
 
When cleaning out Sundae's abscess, I would use some diluted hydrogen peroxide to soften the scab and make it easy to remove. I then used a syringe to flush inside the wound with an antiseptic that the vet provided to me. I would then apply pressure to the sides of the wounds in order to work out any new pus that had accumulated since the last cleaning (some days there was practically nothing, other times there was a lot!) After that, I would rinse the wound again. I did this twice a day for quite a while, then when I was no longer getting much pus out, I switched to once a day. It took a long time to heal fully (over six months... so long I lost track, honestly!) but it did eventually heal from the inside out and hasn't recurred thus far. HTH- lots of luck! Abscesses are nasty things!
 
Hi…I see you are in Bristol. We don't really have a vet in Bristol. I use CCT most of the time. The last vet said abscesses were impossible to treat and they always seem to get it wrong in my experience. That said if you know a Bristol guinea vet that would be amazing. Thanks
 
Have a look on the recommended Vets Locator, it is best that abcesses are also treated with antibiotics (Zithromax is a good one) aswell as being drained and left open etc. As far as I aware the CCT can't prescribe medication.
 
CCT don't prescribe you are right, but there is a lot of treatments that they do do that don't involve prescription drugs. They are amazing.

Antibiotics…some say yes, some say no. Peter Gurney has said this:
"I, and many people whom I have taught how to lance abscesses of their own animals have had a near enough ninety nine percent success record and we never use antibiotics."
But I know some recommend them.

Anyhow at the moment I'm doing nothing as the abscess has burst and all the lump has gone and all seems well. It was very large so she is relieved to say the least. Hopefully it won't come back. I just don't want to flush inside as I am not capable of doing that. I can bathe the wound in saline solution and squeeze it, but I don't feel confident, until someone shows me, to do the flushing out bit.

Thanks
 
Peter Gurney in his day did wonderful things for guinea pig health. It was at a time when all vets did was throw baytril at guinea pIgs if they were lucky

You are new to this forum but I think you will find that we now have some incredible vets for guinea pigs throughout the country (albeit still not enough!) so you have additional options to relying on historic information and home treatment

Being in Bristol I would suggest you go to Highcroft surgery - they are known and experienced at dealing with guinea pig issues including some really complicated abcess situations.

HTH
x
 
Brilliant…thanks!

She does smell rather bad around the wound, but I guess that's normal. But she's totally perky and eating well. I'll go to the vet's you recommend tomorrow and hopefully they can show me what to do.
 
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From our vet locator - please make sure you see one of the cavy-savvy vets named:
Highcroft Veterinary Group
Jemma, Polly or Vim or Richard Saunders

615 Wells Road
Whitchurch
Bristol, BS14 9BE
01275 832410
 
Thanks Pebble
Phoned this morning and they can see me Friday evening….three of the people you mention are away on holiday or leave. Anyhow I'm sure I'll be fine until then..I'm swabbing with saline solution 3 times a day and the smell is a bit better today.
 
Vader had an abscess , and my vet said they don't usually give antibiotics it just needed several weeks off TLC and me flushing the wound with saline ( I used my contacts solution- also recommended by my vet) it is a smelly,messy process but persevere and it should heal nicely- Vader had no traumatic side effects and is now happy and healthy
 
Thanks Sara. When you say 'flush' with the saline solution, what exactly did you do? I'm using soaked cotton wool and holding quite firmly onto the wound.
 
Depending on where you are in Bristol, I'd recommend Polly or Vim at Highcroft (Jemma is on maternity leave), that's where my sick pig currently is - or Sonya at Zetland, usually at either the Westbury surgery or the Stoke Bishop surgery.

Highcroft have treated my pigs for abscesses in various locations and most needed surgical treatment, salt water alone won't fix them!
 
Thanks. Sorry to hear your pig is sick.
I'm pretty sure the abscess has gone….the smell has disappeared and the lump has gone. So I'm going to wait before I do anything else. Vim is available tomorrow evening though if I notice any change tomorrow.

Great news we have some guinea vets in Bristol.
 
Pinki said:
Thanks. Sorry to hear your pig is sick.
I'm pretty sure the abscess has gone….the smell has disappeared and the lump has gone. So I'm going to wait before I do anything else. Vim is available tomorrow evening though if I notice any change tomorrow.

Great news we have some guinea vets in Bristol.
Click to expand...

Highcroft also have a referrals department for complicated cases, with some of the most qualified exotics vets in Europe. My pig has been to see the far too often!
 
This is great news!

I've never really had a good time with official vets and so sought out alternatives, which has been brilliant.
I mean, I've never found a vet who can trim teeth without a general anaesthetic! Can they do that at Highcroft? If they can it's a first for me. Of course I know people who can trim teeth, but they are not vets! It's crazy.

But some times a vet is necessary I know. So I'm delighted to hear what you say about Highcroft, really pleased.
 
Nowhere near Bristol but Simon Maddock in Northampton trims teeth all the time without anaesthetic and I know of other vets who do too. Obviously there are times when an anaesthetic is needed if the pig is very stressed or it is more complex but there are vets out there who can.
 
I don't know about dental work, it's not something I've ever needed for any of my pigs. As Helen says, sometimes a GA is necessary, personally I'd never put one of my pigs through a conscious dental but that's personal choice - luckily something that's never been required :)
 
Flushing a wound is actually quite easy and low-tech. All you will need is sterile solution (ask your vet- for saline, contact lens solution is sterile from the package) and a syringe (as you would use to give medicine or syringe feed.) Fill the syringe with saline, insert it in (or near) the opening of the wound, and squirt, trying to get the solution into the wound. After that, you can gently squeeze out any additional pus or fluid (it can help to loosen up the pus that is deeper in the abscess so you can clean it out.) Make sure you clean the syringe with something that kills germs between each session so you don't reintroduce new bacteria into the wound. If there's no more lump or discharge, it may not be necessary, just putting it out there for the sake of information!
 
I think the CCT line is that with good flushing and care, a lanced abscess does not need antibiotics. I prefer not to give antibiotics unless they are necessary, for me and my piggies, as more and more bacteria are becoming resistant. Keep a close eye, but it's sounding positive.
 
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