Gilligan

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Renonvsparky

Post   » Wed May 11, 2022 3:32 pm


Gilligan has always been a strong and healthy guinea pig. Even though this issue with his abscess, he hasn't diminished in the slightest. Dr Hardy got back to me this morning and he prescribed 0.76 ml of Enrofloxacin (11.3 mg/ml) once daily. He also gave me a 2% solution of Chlorhexidine and a syringe to flush the wound with. The abscess isn't producing anywhere near the amount of pus as it was at the beginning. You can barely see any swelling, but the scab is pretty easy to spot. It shouldn't take too many times of flushing it and the antibiotic to knock this out. Of course I will be giving him probiotic to offset what the Enrofloxacin will do to the good bacteria in his gut.

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Sef
I dissent.

Post   » Wed May 11, 2022 5:42 pm


I'm not sure I'd want to use Chlorhexidine for this. For one thing, it can be very drying and can cause skin irritation (needs to be diluted); also, it shouldn't be used anywhere near the eyes:
https://www.guinealynx.info/antiseptic_s ... orhexidine

I'd think that a warm, sterile solution would be a better choice but I don't want to contradict what your vet has instructed you to do. Maybe others can weigh-in on this.

Fingers crossed that he does okay on the Baytril and that you see continued improvement with the abscess.

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Renonvsparky

Post   » Wed May 11, 2022 9:56 pm


What I have is 15 ml of 2% solution and I have to mix it with a gallon of distilled water before using it. I imagine that is plenty diluted enough to be safe. I should be able to keep it out of his eye.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Thu May 12, 2022 12:04 am


I agree with Sef. The warm sterile saline would be a better choice. We've had discussions about flushing abscesses over the years. It is a very safe choice. I have used a chorhex solution to soak my guinea pig's foot and it was indeed drying (still was helpful).

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Renonvsparky

Post   » Thu May 12, 2022 2:19 am


This might be a mute point. Went to drain the abscess and flush it and there was next to nothing in there to drain. The lump was smaller than a pea. The scab was more dried blood than dried pus like it has been. I had to wet it and wait a minute for it to soften enough to come off so the pus could come out. It wasn't as thick either. I got more blood out than I have been getting too. The vet's instructions are to flush with 2-3 ml of the solution, but it didn't take that much to get the pus out. About half of it came out clean. I think the worst of this is behind us, but we're going to keep treating it until it's totally gone.

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ItsaZoo
Supporter in 2023

Post   » Thu May 12, 2022 4:44 pm


I hope you’re right, it sounds like you’re doing everything to get this cleared up.

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Renonvsparky

Post   » Fri May 13, 2022 1:47 am


Nothing to drain from Gilligan tonight. The wound has completely closed up with a dark brown scab as opposed to the yellowish one. I tried to get it to open up, but it wouldn't and I didn't see the need to torture him any further. I'm still going to complete the course of antibiotics to keep it from coming back and watch it closely in case it comes back.

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Renonvsparky

Post   » Sat May 14, 2022 1:56 pm


Second night in a row with nothing to drain from Gilligan, so I believe the abscess is pretty much gone. There's still a scab where the drain hole is, but it's getting smaller. He's pretty happy about not having to be tortured too. We're going to be watching this closely and will be ready to handle it if there's a reoccurrence.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Sat May 14, 2022 3:53 pm


Sounds like good news! I too hope it doesn't come back.

Bookfan
For the Love of Pigs

Post   » Mon May 16, 2022 7:19 pm


Yay!

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