Cleaning an abscess

[ArmyWife]

I'm also going to make him an e-collar tomorrow just in case he actually chewed off the scab. Every time I gave him an epsom salt compress, the water would make his fur wet and he would actually pull the hair out that was wet so he has some bald spots near his scrotum. He's still active, eating and pooping. He's still on the two anti-biotics and metacam. I've been feeding him some critical care twice daily just to make sure he's getting all the nutrients to help the healing.

Could the e-collar be a bad idea because it'll prevent him from eating with his paws??

 

[ArmyWife]

He's a picture of the abscess that I took this morning. It's already closing up again with a scab and I can't really get any more pus out. The swelling has gone down a significant amount since it ruptured and the pus drained. You can see where he's been pulling them fur out from when his fur gets wet from the compresses. I cleaned it again this morning with epsom salt/water and gave him his metacam.

Sorry for the gruesome picture...

 

[AZChins]

Just using compresses sometimes can make a chin lose fur like that. It will grow back, it's nothing to worry about. I know that it looks bad right now, but isn't really all THAT bad. I've seen worse and larger abscesses and the chins have healed completely.

There's a lot of inflammation and it may need to drain out later. This is a really tender part of a chin's body, so it could take a little longer to heal up than if he had an abscess on his neck or side or somewhere else. Just keep an eye on him and get him to the vet if it just isn't healing or gets worse in the next week.

 

[ArmyWife]

My vet was happy that he actually looks like he has a penis again. Before, the abscess was just taking over. The redness has gone down some since that picture and he's happy and content.

 

[Riven]

Keep up the good work!

 

[ArmyWife]

Keep up the good work!

Thank you! He's doing good. Still some discharge/blood coming from the scab but it's healing nicely. I'm crossing my fingers that the swelling doesn't increase!

 

[ArmyWife]

Tonight I checked him and it appears that the wound opened up again. I was able to get a lot of pus out. I did notice somewhat of a smell from the pus but the pus was still a light tan color. Is it normal for the abscess to bleed afterwards? I'm sure I irritated it a lot because I had to squeeze different areas of it to push the pus out. I'm still concerned that he may be chewing on it and causing the abscess to open up, unless it's normal for it to re-open like that. I hand fed him some CC as well. He's eating and pooping but my husband and I noticed that he has lost some weight.

 

[AZChins]

It's very normal for it to bleed a little when the abscess opens up. Just always make sure to not put too much pressure when applying the compresses. Gently squeeze, that's enough for helping to get the puss out. The weight loss is probably from the medication affecting his appetite.

 

[addictedtochins]

It is normal for an abcess to open up, and some blood is normal. Is his antibiotic strong enough? Maybe he needs a stronger dose?. Is he on probiotics? If he is don't you have to give them at diff times or else the probiotic will take away the antibiotics medical affect. Can you get a syringe in the hole and rinse it from the inside?. Poor guy, he will come though this I'm sure. I just remembered when I had a bad infection from my motorcycle accdent (took 6 months to close) they gave me an strong IV antibiotic, maybe he could use that? idk. Has he had the puss cultured? That will tell them exactly what strain it is and what meds will kill it

 

[Zoaea]

How deep is the abscess? It should be healing from the inside out, so if you notice it getting shallower thats a good thing. If it doesnt seem to be healing I would ask the vet if there is a topical treatment you can use, also you can ask if you should flush it gently with saline in a syringe. If its shallow that's not necessary but if its deep flushes can help remove debris that might block healing.

 

[ArmyWife]

He's on baytril, smz-tmp and metacam. I stopped giving him Probiotics because he kept rubbing his face in the pellets because he thought it was dust. If I mixed the powder around, he dug his pellets out. I had to work the pus out last night like it was in different pockets of the abscess so I think it may be deep. The swelling has gone down a lot since it first developed but it's still filling up with pus. My vet did take a culture but since he went on vacation he didn't follow up so that just reminded me that I need to call the vet clinic today

 

[Dreamlite]

You can mix the probiotics with a small amount of critical care just so he gets it. Putting it on their food rarely works.I would deffnetly do a culture. Has the vet changed the meds or were those the original? It can take quite a while to get results when dealing with a deep infection like this. Keep up the saoks and make sure it keep draining.

 

[ArmyWife]

You can mix the probiotics with a small amount of critical care just so he gets it. Putting it on their food rarely works.I would deffnetly do a culture. Has the vet changed the meds or were those the original? It can take quite a while to get results when dealing with a deep infection like this. Keep up the saoks and make sure it keep draining.

That's a great idea, I never thought of that. Those are the same medications he's been on since the abscess was formed.

 

[ArmyWife]

My Mother has been taking care of my male chin while I went on vacation for a week. She's done an amazing job cleaning the abscess as well as giving him his medication. She reports that it's still swollen and that she's been able to work out a little pus here and there but it's scabbed over now. I'm going to check on him tonight before I have to leave again for a few days. I scheduled an appointment for him on Monday when I return to have the vet check out the abscess. I'm going to try and push for them to make it so the abscess stays open and drains as pus is still forming. I may also ask for a stronger antibiotic (if that's possible? Not sure if baytril is the strongest?). He's still just as happy and eating/pooping normal. My Mother has always been in love with my chins since she's helped care for them in the past but now she's even more attached.

 

[ArmyWife]

My husband brought him to the vet today just so they could check on the healing. The vet felt around and stuck a needle in it and nothing came out so no more pus! He got the results back from the culture and apparently whatever kind of bacteria it is, the tmz-smp and baytril worked to get rid of it. He's off his medications and I just need to keep an eye on it. We're finally in the clear

 

[AZChins]

That took forever! I am so glad he's better now.

 

[addictedtochins]

Yayayayay!!!

 

[Claire D]

Don't be too surprised if a stitch pops out of the suture line at some point in the future. Some chins are allergic to some suture materials and that can cause problems - like a rip-roaring infection as you have described - or a piece of stitch works it's way out of the wound with a little bit of pus/serous fluid.

With an abscess caused by an allergic reaction to a suture, (basically, in layman's terms) it can go something like this:
Inflammatory response from the allergic reaction = redness, pain, swelling.
The chin worries at the itchy, sore bit of skin and/or opens the wound up.
Infection develops = abscess .....

Or

Inflammatory response from the allergic reaction = redness, pain, swelling.
Inflammation leads to tissue damage below the skin due to swelling/pressure.
Abscess develops .... pops.....


It may not happen but it is worth keeping an eye on the wound over the next few weeks .... you may see a tiny pimple in the scar line and then a bit of stitch pops out. Usually once the piece of suture pops out then that's the end of the problem.


It's not always the case but I just thought I would mention it.

 

[ArmyWife]

Don't be too surprised if a stitch pops out of the suture line at some point in the future. Some chins are allergic to some suture materials and that can cause problems - like a rip-roaring infection as you have described - or a piece of stitch works it's way out of the wound with a little bit of pus/serous fluid.

With an abscess caused by an allergic reaction to a suture, (basically, in layman's terms) it can go something like this:
Inflammatory response from the allergic reaction = redness, pain, swelling.
The chin worries at the itchy, sore bit of skin and/or opens the wound up.
Infection develops = abscess .....

Or

Inflammatory response from the allergic reaction = redness, pain, swelling.
Inflammation leads to tissue damage below the skin due to swelling/pressure.
Abscess develops .... pops.....


It may not happen but it is worth keeping an eye on the wound over the next few weeks .... you may see a tiny pimple in the scar line and then a bit of stitch pops out. Usually once the piece of suture pops out then that's the end of the problem.


It's not always the case but I just thought I would mention it.

Thank you for that information Claire. He had sutures when they originally drained the abscess but when it filled up again they ended up keeping the wound open because he kept healing so fast. Since then, it would open up and drain, scab over and then re-open to drain some more. Now it has scabbed over completely with barely any scab left, just the hole where the needle was. He does have a lot of dead tissue where the abscess was so the abscess hasn't completely gone down. It sounds like it's definitely possible that an allergic reaction occurred from the original sutures and the abscess was a result of it. I will keep an eye out for that.