Stubborn chest infection

[beccalovar]

Hi guys. My guinea pig devito has had a stubborn chest infection for maybe a month and a half by now, started on baytril but has been on sulfatrim for about a month. Maybe a bit over.

An xray was done, just showed inflammation of his lungs. No liquid or anything like that. The xray was for suspected bladder sludge at first, but all clear on that. Reintroducing veggies starting tomorrow!

I don't know what else to do. It's quite distressing and they said they don't really have any other antibiotics for it. I have got an air purifier, I am using filtered water. Making sure the cage is always clean.

I've been patting around his lungs. Rubbing his chest and front of his chest. Some days he sounds a bit better, some are worse. Vet has said for a few weeks now that it's "clearing up" and I'd agree. It does sound better, as in its less severe and frequent. There are times where its still pretty bad though.

What else can I or should I do? Anyone else dealt with stubborn chest infections in piggies? He's nearly 7.

 

[Evenfall Rose]

I've had great luck giving albuterol sulfate via nebulizer. One of my girls has a chronic respiratory condition that doesn't respond well to antibiotics so she's on the albuterol long term; possibly forever. The vet also prescribed metacam for her to help with the inflammation. X-rays have showed this treatment is working for her, so you may want to look into it for your boy.

It's a bit concerning he's been on antibiotics for a month & hasn't improved. You may want to see how he does without them, or if you want to try a last resort, consider azithromycin. Several years ago I had a baby with a very stubborn & resistant URI -- similar situation to your pig where we tried many different things over the course of a month yet nothing worked. The vet prescribed the azithromycin as a last resort & it cured her in a few days! It's very strong so I wouldn't turn to it first, but since this is an extreme case, I think it's worth considering.

 

[beccalovar]

I've had great luck giving albuterol sulfate via nebulizer. One of my girls has a chronic respiratory condition that doesn't respond well to antibiotics so she's on the albuterol long term; possibly forever. The vet also prescribed metacam for her to help with the inflammation. X-rays have showed this treatment is working for her, so you may want to look into it for your boy.

It's a bit concerning he's been on antibiotics for a month & hasn't improved. You may want to see how he does without them, or if you want to try a last resort, consider azithromycin. Several years ago I had a baby with a very stubborn & resistant URI -- similar situation to your pig where we tried many different things over the course of a month yet nothing worked. The vet prescribed the azithromycin as a last resort & it cured her in a few days! It's very strong so I wouldn't turn to it first, but since this is an extreme case, I think it's worth considering.

Forgot to mention he is on metacam aswell! I also did consider it may be a more asthma like situation, and was wondering about inhaler or nebuliser situations. I'll be seeing the vet sometime this week with him so I'll ask her about it then.

I know that he's likely built an immunity towards the antibiotic since he's been on it so long. Vet thinks the infection has improved but that there's irritation left. I'll bring up stopping the antibiotics and see how he is. It scares me sometimes how bad he sounds. It's quite wheezy. It's definitely coming more from his lungs, he's had no discharge from nose or eyes which is a good sign but it's horrible listening to him. His brother passed away a few weeks back, so I assumed the jnfection was sticking around due to stress but he genuinely seems happier since he passed.

 

[piggieminder]

I had 5 piggies with a very stubborn respiratory infection last year. They were on Baytril, 1 only needed Baytril for 2 weeks, I think 3 of the other's needed 4-6 weeks and poor Brillo needed 2 months. Progress can be very slow but where there's a slight improvement there is hope. I have since lost 2 of them but to other conditions. The remaining 3 are doing very well.

2 of the 5 were helped by Terbutaline Sulphate, the effectiveness of this depends on where the congestion is. Another big help was nebulising with F10 antiseptic solution. This may give you some other options as well as ABs to discuss with your vet. I hope he improves soon. I am so sorry you are having to go through this, I know how hard it is to see them so unwell.