Injured Kit, Swollen Head

[Riven]

Keep the entire wound fairly moist ( not soaked though) so it doesn't dry out, dry tissue is dead tissue.

You can find a "recipe" for saline solution online. Try to mix it closely to the measurements. The body naturally has a saline solution. It is more ideal than just water because it matches the body's balance. Basically everything moves from a concentration of high to low. To put it simply, if you put plain water into the body, the water will try to move into the cells and can cause them to rupture. If you put too much salt in the body it will cause the water to move out of the cells causing them to dehydrate. Don't worry if it's not perfect, a saline recipe will get you close. I'm not trying to scare you or anything, just trying to make it easier on the chinnie body. Usually it's like 1 tsp or 1 Tbs of salt per cup of water, you can find it easily online.

 

[Claire D]

Erin, if you don't have saline & don't want to try making some then cooled boiled water will do just as well until you get to your vets tomorrow.

Also to address the earlier comment: an abscess is a collection of pus in cavity ........ which is exactly what this head wound is

 

[ErinsChins]

I actually have saline on hand and have used the gauze to get it moist again. What antibiotics do I want to request?

 

[Claire D]

I actually have saline on hand and have used the gauze to get it moist again. What antibiotics do I want to request?

Excellent :thumbsup:

Personally if I have to use an antibiotic for kits I use Septrin (Trimethoprim Sulpha) as it is good with soft tissue infections & kind on little kit bodies (including the gut). Baytril is too harsh & not recommended for kits.

 

[AZChins]

You could get the vet to maybe call in the Septrin to a pharmacy - they should have it just about anywhere. (Septra is used fairly often for small children, sometimes they will actually have it mixed up in a flavored base like grape.) I wouldn't use baytril either.

I hope that it isn't too late to get the infection to subside so that the little one can heal.

 

[Riven]

Also to address the earlier comment: an abscess is a collection of pus in cavity ........ which is exactly what this head wound is

I think there is some confusion here actually. I was referring to the actual hole in the head, not the bubble. According to yourself that "hole" was not filled with pus, but was exposing the spongey tissue.
The "bubble" is possibly an abscess but since we don't know if it's a build up of fluids, puss, blood no one is really sure. Unless I missed something where it was decided what was in it.

 

[Claire D]

*sigh* The wound is a cavity in the kit's head containing slough (soft, dead tissue) which is the result of death of the tissue from a build up of infected material under pressure - pus. The wound/cavity is the result of an abscess which is, in turn, the result of a traumatic injury (bite). In fact, it could be best described as an open abscess wound since it still appears to be draining & is surrounded by inflamed tissue.......

 

[Ash]

Septrin is also called Bactrim, and many techs know it by that name. I know in our CVS system, tri-sulfa doesn't come up if you search Septrim, just if you search Bactrim. Just food for thought if you get a "Well idk if we have this" when calling/asking around. Also, it comes in 2 strengths, so double check which strength the vet wants you to get as one is less common than the other. In human pharmacies, anyway.

 

[kathiva]

good luck with your baby, hopefully he gets better, I don't know much about his wound, but I am sending you my wishes to you

 

[ErinsChins]

Hello everyone. Just an update. I was able to get bactrim and something else I forgot the name of (I will let you know soon). The vet said that it has already drained as much as it is going to. She also said that there is probably brain damage and that if I don't see serious improvement to consider letting her go..I will update more when I get home.

 

[tunes]

What made her decide there is brain damage? You didn't mention the kit having those types of issues. Is she falling over? Walking in circles? Unable to stand? Unable to nurse?

 

[ErinsChins]

What made her decide there is brain damage? You didn't mention the kit having those types of issues. Is she falling over? Walking in circles? Unable to stand? Unable to nurse?

I'm not entirely sure. I will be taking her to UT hopefully tomorrow to get a better answer. I'm not very happy with my vet atm. She (vet) has changed a lot and..idk how to explain it. What she thinks is brain damage, I think is feeling around because she can't see. She's (kit) very umm..twitchy like she pokes things a couple times before moving. I think she's just assuming that with that and the fact that there is an abscess that there is probably brain damage. Either way i'm going to try my hardest to keep her alive, but her quality of life is what's important to me. She confirmed that she is blind in both eyes.

 

[Riven]

A personal story here and why not to put too much into her being blind right now....

When I split from my ex he kept our weimaraner. I kept a puppy born right after we split. Fast forward two years she decides he can't care of her... ya think, just because I'm the one who still paid for all of her vet care etc.
At first things were okay, a little tension, but there was a new dog, then Cami the younger dog snapped and attacked her mother ( who she didn't grow up with ). I let Cami inside, Chelsie didn't come, I called, I called, I called, I went to get a flash light and she stumbled up the porch covered in blood. We didn't hear any fighting or anything outside, they were in our fenced yard. I called the vet, Dr. Pat said you of all people know it looks worse than it is, I said yea, but I'm looking at it and it looks like she shouldn't be alive. So I took her in, we put her on steroids and an IV, cleaned her up, her entire neck looked like hamburger. I told Pat it's the weekend and I'm not leaving her here she agreed she was better off with me where I could watch her 24/7. By the next morning her tongue swelled to the point that it wouldn't even fit in her mouth, she laid on the floor in my bedroom and cried, I had to carry her outside, I thought she wasn't going to make it. She was living off an IV drip because she couldn't drink, eat or swallow due to swelling. I slept with her on the floor because she would cry if I didn't. After a week the swelling went down, but that's when I realized she was blind, she only had one eye anyway due to a puppy-hood injury. I was amazed at how well she knew the house but she'd fall over things like toys or stuff that wasn't where it belonged, if you were walking and stopped she'd run into you, stuff like that. Dr. Pat told me to give her time, and three weeks after the incident she regained her site. Her vision loss was due to the swelling on her brain. She lived several years after than, Cami lived at my mom's. Cami now lives with us again, and has never attacked another dog. My mom has 5 female dogs, 3 yorkies and 2 toy aussies, never an issue. It must be something with larger female dogs that set her off.

Give her time before declaring her offically blind. She probably pokes because she can't see, and is trying to make sure she knows what is in front of her. Healing takes time.

 

[BooBoo*TheKiddo*]

You said her eyes were covered or something and you were having to use a warm damp cloth to clean them, correct?

To me, which I don't know for sure, maybe she can't see as clearly has normal right now due to the condition of her eyes right now so poking around, as you said, is her way of figuring finding her way around, finding what she is looking for, whats around her, etc.

 

[ErinsChins]

Nicole- Thank you for that story, it made me smile and maybe there is some hope that she isn't blind

Bonnie- I have been cleaning her eyes off, but they are very very glazed over, but i'm not an expert, so she may very well just be feeling around because of that.

To everyone- I really appreciate your advice and prayers. It's great to know that there is a forum of friendly, knowledgeable people that are more than willing to help. Thank you all. I will keep you updated.

 

[Riven]

You may need to ask for some eye ointment to help them from drying out if they are. If they are getting dry it can cause severe issues if her sight does return, so that is one thing to watch for.

 

[ErinsChins]

What type of ointment would be best?

 

[6Dusters]

The ointment a vet would give you will be very soft and will melt with body warmth. It would have an antibiotic infused in it.

 

[ticklechin]

Even if she does end up blind, blind chins do fine. Tito was blind from birth and as long as his cage and play area was not changed around too much he did well.

 

[addictedtochins]

How is she doing?