• Discussions taking place within this forum are intended for the purpose of assisting you in discussing options with your vet. Any other use of advice given here is done so at your risk, is solely your responsibility and not that of this forum or its owner. Before posting it is your responsibility you abide by this Statement

Lump On Neck

Status
Not open for further replies.
missljay

missljay

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Aug 10, 2014
Messages
140
Reaction score
108
Points
275
Location
Sheffield, United Kingdom
Hey guys,

On Tuesday I felt what was quite a large lump for a guinea pig. Its on her neck and to be fair looks like she has a double chin. A close friend of mine suggested I bathe it with salt water and I've checked her again today and her fur its a little yellow around the area. She is off to the vets tomorrow but ia there anything else I can do? I'm really worried its something sinister :(
 
Hi sounds like Lymphadenitis which is a cyst which the vet will lance then give her a course of antibiotics, one of my pigs had one about a month ago fine now.
 
Ah right. Well hopefully it is that. I was thinking that I wasn't paying enough attention to her to miss such a big lump. Will the bathing help at all? X
 
Sounds like a cyst to me too, if not an abcess. Good luck at the vets.
 
Hi guys! Just to let you know daisy has an abscess :( put her on anti biotics for 10 days. Is there anything that could have caused it?
 
I don't believe so, sending lots of healing vibes. Hopefully one of our Health & Illness bods will be around shortly
 
I wouldn't think so at all, it won't be something that can be transmitted as far as I am aware
 
Just keep an eye on them, they shouldn't but just keep a close on and if you feel they are irritating her, then I would think about it.
 
Has the vet drained the abcess/cut it out or given you any information about flushing it/bathing it? An abcess will not normally clear up with just antibiotics. Did the vet say whether the abcess was in the neck lymph node or under the skin?



I hope by clarifying a few definitions that have arisen in this thread you will understand why I am asking the above questions.

Cervical lymphadenitis is NOT a cyst - it is a very specific type of infection of the lymph nodes in the neck with a specific bacteria (Streptococcus zooepidemicus ). The bug enters via abrasions in the oral cavity and creates a pus-filled abcess(es) in the lymph nodes draining the neck. Treatment is removal of the abcess AND lymph node. In my own experience, this particular bug/disease CAN be spread between guinea pigs so hygiene and quarantine are necessary.

An Abcess is a pus-filled sac that can occur anywhere in the body (commonly underneath the skin but can be internally within organs/tissues) and is caused specifically by bacterial infection. Any and all Abcesses require excision and drainage (if possible) along with antibiotic treatment to prevent bacteria spreading further throughout the tissues. Abcesses can appear suddenly and grow rapidly and can kill if not treated.

Not all abcesses in the neck are situated in the lymph node or caused by the bug responsible for cervical lymphadenitis - they may be underneath the skin and due to a wound/trauma becoming infected with any one of a number of different bacteria....which it sounds like maybe the case with little Daisy here.

Cysts are not normally caused directly by bacterial infection and unlike abcesses, are regarded as fluid/debris-filled sacs that are benign (ie non-invasive of other tissues/organs) - although they can (a) grow in size (normally slowly) and (b) get infected and an abcess result.

Hope this clears up any confusion
x
 
No incision or drainage happened at all. She inserted a needle in the middle of it and nothing went in the syringe as pus had blocked it. She weighed her and gave her a 10 day course of antibiotics. I'm going to carry on bathing her with salt water since the abscess has been punctured.
 
I am slightly concerned......your vet stated it was an abcess and prescribed antibioitcs but has not addressed getting rid of the pus/flushing or draining. It is starting to sound like this is not an abcess but a lipoma....but if it is an abcess it sounds like it is an old one (no pus coming out) and it will need more than antibiotics to clear it up.

I'm going to tag the abcess queen
@furryfriends Excellent Adventure Sanctuary
 
She said the pus was too thick to go in the syringe :/ To be honest I took her to the PDSA as I was made redundant last month so she wasn't a pig specialist. Approximately how much do lancing procedures generally cost?
 
Even with the very best antibiotics you need drainage of the pus so the abscess can heal from the inside.. If this really is an abscess then it needs to be lanced and drained or completely removed. I am rather concerned that your vet tried a needle aspiration, as we have found when that has been done, the pus can leak out under the skin and cause various pockets of pus that make the abscess much harder to deal with. You really need to get a definite diagnosis so the appropriate treatment can be applied.
 
Thanks Debbie.
I would definitely support a second opinion and sadly Sheffield is not known for its cavy savvy vets...however a good bunny vet should be able to deal with this problem

However - this may NOT be an abcess - if nothing came out into the needle it could be a harmless fatty lump. You do however need to get an experienced vet to decide what it is and what course of action to take.

William Taylor at Rotherham branch of Springfield vets is your nearest from the vet locator.
http://www.springfieldvetgroup.co.uk/page0/


However you could also try dedicated exotics vets Ark vets in Sheffield - the write-up and qualifications of the vets on their website looks good!
http://www.arkvetsheffield.co.uk/about-us/our-team

HTH x
 
Definitely a second opinion, as guinea pig abscesses do not clear up with antibiotics alone. They lack an enzyme that makes pus more watery, so that the pus is quite thick and pasty and impossible for the body to clear on its own, even with an antibiotic. There are also conditions, like fatty lumps or tumors, both benign and malignant, that may present the same. The fact that the vet did a needle biopsy but got no discharge/drainage at all makes me question the diagnosis. Yes, guinea pigs have thick pus, but any hole in a sac of pus under pressure, as an abscess basically is, ought to promote some leakage/drainage of the contents. If you gently press on the mass, does anything drain from the needle stick? Is there an odour at all (nothing stinks like an abscess!) Lots of luck, and hope you find a good vet for a reasonable price!
 
Morning guys. I've decided to give Daisy the antibiotics just on the off chance that it is an abscess. She is eating & drinking normally and isnt in any pain so I think I'm going to monitor the lump (size) and see how she is in a few days
 
Hey guys. Well Daisy still has the lump in question. Hasn't really reduced in size at all with the antibiotics :( She's still a hefty 1.1kg and its really active and eating well. I am taking her to a different vet on Tuesday as your comment about the previous one have put me off. Any recommendations in the mean time? X
 
If she's eating and maintaining her weight and seems happy, there isn't much else you can do while you wait for the vet. Generally abscesses in guinea pigs need to be lanced and drained or surgically removed and do not go away with antibiotics alone. If the abscess is lanced and drained, it will be left open so you can continue to irrigate it and express any pus that refills to allow it to heal from the inside. It seems daunting and is more than a little gross at times and can be a long process, but it is the best way to heal them up. One of my pigs, Sundae, had a huge abscess on her jaw last fall that made it impossible for her to eat... it took many months of daily irrigation and cleaning to get it to clear, but she did make a full recovery. Good luck with the new vet, I hope you get some good advice and definitive treatment!
 
Freela said:
If she's eating and maintaining her weight and seems happy, there isn't much else you can do while you wait for the vet. Generally abscesses in guinea pigs need to be lanced and drained or surgically removed and do not go away with antibiotics alone. If the abscess is lanced and drained, it will be left open so you can continue to irrigate it and express any pus that refills to allow it to heal from the inside. It seems daunting and is more than a little gross at times and can be a long process, but it is the best way to heal them up. One of my pigs, Sundae, had a huge abscess on her jaw last fall that made it impossible for her to eat... it took many months of daily irrigation and cleaning to get it to clear, but she did make a full recovery. Good luck with the new vet, I hope you get some good advice and definitive treatment!
Click to expand...
Thanks for your well wishes Freela! Just out of curiosity, was the abscess on your pig hard? Daisy's has no give in it at all x
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top