Steroids through inhaler

[Pumpkin&Spice]

Hi all,

Just wondering whether anyone has any experience with giving their piggie a steroid inhaler? I know now that steroids are generally best avoided with piggies, but my piggie’s vet prescribed an inhaler to try today and now I’m not sure whether I should give it a try or not - I don’t want to make her any worse. I was planning on giving it to her in a similar way to her nebuliser, in a plastic box so she can just breathe it in.

She’s had a noisy chest now for around a year now following a bad URI - she’s fine in herself - eating, running around etc. but her chest is really wheezy so that’s why the inhaler was suggested. I’ve tried a nebuliser, which has been helping a little and it was a thought that the steroid inhaler could be good alongside it - it’s only been prescribed for very short term.

Does anyone know whether is safe enough to use Was wondering whether it’s mainly oral/injected steroids that are not good for them? Her vet has never given her steroids of any kind that have been oral or injected. If it’s just as risky inhaled though, I won’t bother giving it a try as I don’t want to put her at risk!

Thank you sooo for any help!

 

[Deleted member 147316]

I'm not sure and i've never tried the inhale steroids on my piggles. If i were you, i'd tell the vet about your doubts and see if there's a way around it!

 

[MildredMaudeandEnid]

My Enid only had steroids once. She was really unwell and it didn't look good for her so the vet gave her steroids as a last ditch effort. It was an injection and it buoyed her up until the antibiotics worked. I don't think it's recommended all the time though as it suppresses the immune system.

Is your vet a guinea pig specialist? Enid was always snotty and wheezy, even without an infection, and she was diagnosed with chronic respiratory disease. She had scarring in her airways from previous URIs and I just managed her symptoms with the nebuliser and loxicom.

 

[Wiebke]

I'm not sure and i've never tried the inhale steroids on my piggles. If i were you, i'd tell the vet about your doubts and see if there's a way around it!

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[Wiebke]

Hi all,

Just wondering whether anyone has any experience with giving their piggie a steroid inhaler? I know now that steroids are generally best avoided with piggies, but my piggie’s vet prescribed an inhaler to try today and now I’m not sure whether I should give it a try or not - I don’t want to make her any worse. I was planning on giving it to her in a similar way to her nebuliser, in a plastic box so she can just breathe it in.

She’s had a noisy chest now for around a year now following a bad URI - she’s fine in herself - eating, running around etc. but her chest is really wheezy so that’s why the inhaler was suggested. I’ve tried a nebuliser, which has been helping a little and it was a thought that the steroid inhaler could be good alongside it - it’s only been prescribed for very short term.

Does anyone know whether is safe enough to use Was wondering whether it’s mainly oral/injected steroids that are not good for them? Her vet has never given her steroids of any kind that have been oral or injected. If it’s just as risky inhaled though, I won’t bother giving it a try as I don’t want to put her at risk!

Thank you sooo for any help!

I haven't come across a steroid inhaler for respiratory issues so far (usually a mild antiseptic is used) but the major steroid problems for rodents come mainly from steroid injections and not from topical (i.e. on the spot) applications in a comparatively smaller concentration.

 

[Pumpkin&Spice]

Thank you so much all, that’s really helpful to know.

@Wiebke that’s really interesting that the problems tend to come from injections - thank you for letting me know about that. I did read somewhere that doing it via inhaling can be a safer way to go about it.

@MildredMaudeandEnid she isn’t with a specialist piggie vet as such, but she has seen a specialist about it. Her local vet that she saw today has been really good with her to be fair. She’s been fully honest with me about everything and got Floss out of a really bad place when we first took her to the emergency vet a year ago - I honestly thought we we’re going to lose her but she pulled through. As I say, even at her illest she didn’t receive any steroids from her vet - and she’s been really good at researching things before she does anything with Floss, which I’m really thankful for.

Floss saw piggie specialist (Northampton cat and rabbit clinic, who are fantastic!) about her breathing a couple of months ago, just to make sure her local vet and I were along the right lines with her medicine and Simon confirmed that we were, so that’s good. I do really need to find a local specialist, though!

I think the reason it was suggested to try the steroid inhaler, was because there seems to be a bit of fluid building on her chest again - it’s frustrating because it’s so stubborn! She’s upped her Frusol temporarily, which she takes with her Loxicom and she suggesting giving this steroid inhaler a try to see if it helps to bring it back down to being manageable. Thankfully Floss is still bright in herself at the moment. She doesn’t really suffer with a snotty nose - even when the I use the neb.

Can I please ask whether you know what kind of symptoms injected steroids tend to bring on? I think I might try the inhaled steroids very very temporarily and keep and really close eye on her to make sure it’s not bringing on any side effects. I can stop immediately then if I have the slightest doubt.

Gosh, sorry for the essay! Really appreciate your comments.

 

[MildredMaudeandEnid]

Thank you so much all, that’s really helpful to know.

@Wiebke that’s really interesting that the problems tend to come from injections - thank you for letting me know about that. I did read somewhere that doing it via inhaling can be a safer way to go about it.

@MildredMaudeandEnid she isn’t with a specialist piggie vet as such, but she has seen a specialist about it. Her local vet that she saw today has been really good with her to be fair. She’s been fully honest with me about everything and got Floss out of a really bad place when we first took her to the emergency vet a year ago - I honestly thought we we’re going to lose her but she pulled through. As I say, even at her illest she didn’t receive any steroids from her vet - and she’s been really good at researching things before she does anything with Floss, which I’m really thankful for.

Floss saw piggie specialist (Northampton cat and rabbit clinic, who are fantastic!) about her breathing a couple of months ago, just to make sure her local vet and I were along the right lines with her medicine and Simon confirmed that we were, so that’s good. I do really need to find a local specialist, though!

I think the reason it was suggested to try the steroid inhaler, was because there seems to be a bit of fluid building on her chest again - it’s frustrating because it’s so stubborn! She’s upped her Frusol temporarily, which she takes with her Loxicom and she suggesting giving this steroid inhaler a try to see if it helps to bring it back down to being manageable. Thankfully Floss is still bright in herself at the moment. She doesn’t really suffer with a snotty nose - even when the I use the neb.

Can I please ask whether you know what kind of symptoms injected steroids tend to bring on? I think I might try the inhaled steroids very very temporarily and keep and really close eye on her to make sure it’s not bringing on any side effects. I can stop immediately then if I have the slightest doubt.

Gosh, sorry for the essay! Really appreciate your comments.

As far as I'm aware, steroids act as an immune suppressant and can leave piggies open to infection. I'll see if any of the more experienced piggy experts pop by to elaborate. I'm afraid I only had the one experience but Enid was at death's door so there was nothing to lose.

 

[Pumpkin&Spice]

As far as I'm aware, steroids act as an immune suppressant and can leave piggies open to infection. I'll see if any of the more experienced piggy experts pop by to elaborate. I'm afraid I only had the one experience but Enid was at death's door so there was nothing to lose.

Thank you so much. That makes sense - not a good side effect. I’m not sure what to do for the best, so I think I’ll look a bit more into it first!

 

[MildredMaudeandEnid]

Thank you so much. That makes sense - not a good side effect. I’m not sure what to do for the best, so I think I’ll look a bit more into it first!

I would worry that, since her respiratory system is already compromised, she could catch a URI and the steroids would prevent her from fighting it off. It could be that her breathing will always be noisy but the F10 neb and painkillers will help keep her airways open and comfortable.

I'd try to get her seen by an exotics specialist and get their opinion. I took Enid to a regular vet at first but eventually took her to a specialist vet who was able to explain her condition to me and get her on a good maintenance treatment.

I can only speak from my experience but most of the time my Enid was happy and playful so it was just a case of symptom management and keeping her comfortable.

I hope you get some answers!

 

[Pumpkin&Spice]

I would worry that, since her respiratory system is already compromised, she could catch a URI and the steroids would prevent her from fighting it off. It could be that her breathing will always be noisy but the F10 neb and painkillers will help keep her airways open and comfortable.

I'd try to get her seen by an exotics specialist and get their opinion. I took Enid to a regular vet at first but eventually took her to a specialist vet who was able to explain her condition to me and get her on a good maintenance treatment.

I can only speak from my experience but most of the time my Enid was happy and playful so it was just a case of symptom management and keeping her comfortable.

I hope you get some answers!

Thank you! That would be my worry too if it compromises their immune.

I’ve just given the piggie specialist in Northampton that she saw a couple of months ago, a call, and they’re going to have a chat about it when the vets are back from holiday on Monday, so I’ll let you know what they say. They basically said the same as you have when they saw her - that she’ll probably breathe noisily continuously, but we’ll just need to manage it with medication/the nebuliser.

Thank you so much for chatting it through with me - really don’t want to do something that could compromise her health!