Best way to treat Foot Abscesses?

Hey

Molly has another abscess. :roll:

She has had sore hocks all her life, and we've tried several treatments, including Baytril antibiotics, Fuciderm gel, bandaging, Aloe vera gel, lancing, long term Metacam.

She only gets abscesses during the summer months. And low and behold, as soon as the warm weather started this year, an abscess has appeared. We went to the vet yesterday, and he's suggesting removal :shock: and that it may not be an abscess. She's on Baytril and Metacam (although the metacam is only 4 drops per day, I'm going to ask to increase that to a ml measurement, what sort of amount should she be getting?).

Last summer, she had one abscess at the start of the warmer weather. She went to the vet, had it lanced so I could drain the pus, and was put on Metacam for the rest of the summer. For the first time in her life, she didn't have a single abscess for the rest of the summer and the rest of the year. Previously, she's had 8-10 abscesses over the summer, so this treatment obviously agreed with her.

I just want to ask, is there a problem with using Metacam long term like this? Is removal recommended for a foot abscess? Are there better ways to treat foot abscesses these days, or is it just working out what works for each rabbit?

Baytril is not really the greatest antibiotic to treat abscesses imo. And that is quite a low dose of Metacam.

Has the vet lanced the abscess this time? I think it really needs to be done so that you can get the pus out, then clean it out every day and pack it with some Manuka Honey.

The abscess could be surgically removed if it was a big abscess, but personally I would want to try the option of lancing it, cleaning it out, packing with honey and treating with antibiotics prior to putting my bunny under any GA.

Oh, and no, using Metacam long term is fine. My Inca was on Metacam for almost two years and there are a few bunnies on RU in the same boat.

Thank you. No, the abscess wasn't lanced. We've got another vet appointment next week with a different vet, who has treated her well in the past, so I'll get it lanced and see about having metacam for the rest of the summer.

I haven't tried Manuka honey before though, I've just used salt water. Is Manuka Honey better? The abscess isn't huge, but it's about 5mm wide, and clearly visible on the side of the foot. I don't believe removal is necessary either, wouldn't it cause more problems due to weight distribution after the op?

And I'm going to ask today about increasing the dosage of Metacam, 4 drops seems tiny.

Molly seems a bit happier today. For the past few weeks, she's been really grumpy, and today, she's much happier to be picked up and stroked. She must have been in quite a bit of pain then. Poor baby, sorry I didn't notice sooner. But at least now she's not in any pain until I can get it lanced next week.

Does the abscess have a head? Sometimes if you lightly squeeze it then it pops by itself, letting you get the pus out yourself.

The salt water is to clean it out. I usually use dilute iodine for this. Then the Manuka honey is put in the hole if possible, or just on the general hole area. The honey has antibacterial properties and helps to break down the pus in the abscess. I have treated many abscesses like this, although I never had much luck with Inca just there as the abscess had spread too much into her foot and her leg and she was struggling with her other issues too.

Kermit said:

Does the abscess have a head? Sometimes if you lightly squeeze it then it pops by itself, letting you get the pus out yourself.

The salt water is to clean it out. I usually use dilute iodine for this. Then the Manuka honey is put in the hole if possible, or just on the general hole area. The honey has antibacterial properties and helps to break down the pus in the abscess. I have treated many abscesses like this, although I never had much luck with Inca just there as the abscess had spread too much into her foot and her leg and she was struggling with her other issues too.

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No, the abscess has no head. I'll get some Manuka Honey, thank you.

What amount of Metacam should i be looking to give her? I know metacam is best given twice daily.

EDIT: What type Manuka Honey should I get? There's 6+, 15+, 20+. What's better?

LionheadLuver said:

No, the abscess has no head. I'll get some Manuka Honey, thank you.

What amount of Metacam should i be looking to give her? I know metacam is best given twice daily.

EDIT: What type Manuka Honey should I get? There's 6+, 15+, 20+. What's better?

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The vet will tell you best about the Metacam. My vet wouldn't ever go for the twice a day idea !

Manuka Honey - get as high a factor as you can. I had UMF 25+ before. Holland & Barratt have a buy one get another for a penny sale. You can mix & match products if you were looking to buy anything else. It is expensive tho' http://www.hollandandbarrett.com/pages/product_detail.asp?pid=5028&prodid=6035&cid=198

Alternatively I don't mind sending you a wee drop down in a plastic food bag if you want to pm me your address. You would have to store it in a dark place tho as I would be sending it in a plastic clear food bag thing. Then you would just use a cotton bud to get a wee bit out of the bag when you needed it?

Kermit said:

The vet will tell you best about the Metacam. My vet wouldn't ever go for the twice a day idea !

Manuka Honey - get as high a factor as you can. I had UMF 25+ before. Holland & Barratt have a buy one get another for a penny sale. You can mix & match products if you were looking to buy anything else. It is expensive tho' http://www.hollandandbarrett.com/pages/product_detail.asp?pid=5028&prodid=6035&cid=198

Alternatively I don't mind sending you a wee drop down in a plastic food bag if you want to pm me your address. You would have to store it in a dark place tho as I would be sending it in a plastic clear food bag thing. Then you would just use a cotton bud to get a wee bit out of the bag when you needed it?

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Thank you. It's probably best to get a tub cos she gets them often, but thanks for the offer.

LionheadLuver said:

Thank you. It's probably best to get a tub cos she gets them often, but thanks for the offer.

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No worries