Red Pee!

[naomi.davies7]

Just hoping someone can shed some light on a piggy mystery I'm experiencing! Since just before Christmas I have been changing the towelling of my 2 boys and noticing red stained urine patches, and a lot of them too! As soon as I noticed it I managed to separate them long enough to work out which one it was and took them immediately to the vets who said it's likely crystals in their urine and prescribed baytril (?) antibiotic. Anyway it didn't clear in the slightest so went back to the vets, and this time have been given a different antibiotic, this one seems to be helping slightly in terms of how dark the red is but whatever is wrong seems really stubborn considering the amount of antibiotics I've put in my little pig

In himself he seems absolutely fine, running round chasing his brother, knocking everything over in sight and eating and drinking completely normally.

Has anyone experienced anything similar and found a solution? The vet wants me to take him back for another course of antibiotics at the weekend but I am worrying about how much he's being given now!

 

[Wiebke]

Just hoping someone can shed some light on a piggy mystery I'm experiencing! Since just before Christmas I have been changing the towelling of my 2 boys and noticing red stained urine patches, and a lot of them too! As soon as I noticed it I managed to separate them long enough to work out which one it was and took them immediately to the vets who said it's likely crystals in their urine and prescribed baytril (?) antibiotic. Anyway it didn't clear in the slightest so went back to the vets, and this time have been given a different antibiotic, this one seems to be helping slightly in terms of how dark the red is but whatever is wrong seems really stubborn considering the amount of antibiotics I've put in my little pig

In himself he seems absolutely fine, running round chasing his brother, knocking everything over in sight and eating and drinking completely normally.

Has anyone experienced anything similar and found a solution? The vet wants me to take him back for another course of antibiotics at the weekend but I am worrying about how much he's being given now!

How long have you been giving the antibiotics for? Urinary tract infections (UTIs) usually take a course of 2-4 weeks to clear out. Septrin/sulfatrim is slower to work, but tends to cut through it better than baytril. If symptoms don't subside, your vet may want to look at either the possibility of bladder stones or sludge or cystitis, an inflammation to the bladder walls, which we call interstitial cystitis (IC) if keeps returning and is not reacting to antibiotics much. IC can only be managed, but not cured as things stand, but it has become more common in the last the last few years. All these different issues have very similar symptoms, so you work your way from the easiest to the most difficult to diagnose one (IC), which you reach at by eliminating all the other possibilities.

If the urine is coming out clear, but colours up really strongly red in contact with air, you are dealing with a kind of milder bacteria always present in the bladder that is generally kept under control by the immune system, but that can suddenly flourish when the immune system is for some reason depressed in connection with urinary tract issues. It doesn't necessarily contain much or even any blood.

Please continue with the treatment for a bit longer. If it doesn't work, you vet may want to take an x-ray and then take things from there.

 

[naomi.davies7]

How long have you been giving the antibiotics for? Urinary tract infections (UTIs) usually take a course of 2-4 weeks to clear out. Septrin/sulfatrim is slower to work, but tends to cut through it better than baytril. If symptoms don't subside, your vet may want to look at either the possibility of bladder stones or sludge or cystitis, an inflammation to the bladder walls, which we call interstitial cystitis (IC) if keeps returning and is not reacting to antibiotics much. IC can only be managed, but not cured as things stand, but it has become more common in the last the last few years. All these different issues have very similar symptoms, so you work your way from the easiest to the most difficult to diagnose one (IC), which you reach at by eliminating all the other possibilities.

If the urine is coming out clear, but colours up really strongly red in contact with air, you are dealing with a kind of milder bacteria always present in the bladder that is generally kept under control by the immune system, but that can suddenly flourish when the immune system is for some reason depressed in connection with urinary tract issues. It doesn't necessarily contain much or even any blood.

Please continue with the treatment for a bit longer. If it doesn't work, you vet may want to take an x-ray and then take things from there.

Thank you so much, that is the most helpful information I have had since this started! He's going back to the vets today for another check and more antibiotics (think it's the sulfatrim). Any idea where I can get more information on the bacteria you mentioned? I have noticed it coming out clear at times then thought the blood was just not constant, but what you said about it reacting with the air could be the reason! Would the treatment just be the same?

Thank you again!

 

[Wiebke]

Try to strengthen the immune system by giving additional vitamin C (please do NOT add it to the water).

I would recommend to discuss with your vets that he has this clear urine that colours up really strongly (pictures always help). Your vet may want to do a dip stick test for the blood content and then make a decision where to go from there.

Here is a recent thread about the same issue with some pics: Blood Or Coloured Urine?