Sarah, interestingly an acid environment will stop the bacteria producing and something that is very effective for this is actually white wine vinegar but we just can't pour this in an open wound, as it would be absolutely excruciating for him.
Also, pus can't form in an environment without moisture, so would it be possible to marsupialize the wound, allowing it to dry out? I don't know if this would be possible in Mack's case, but it's worth discussing with your vet
Development of antibiotic resistance in bacteria is a problem of great concern. It is important to establish the convenience of antimicrobial susceptibility tests in animal infections. The aim of this study was to test the susceptibility to antibiotics of Pseudomonas strains isolated from chronic canine otitis externa. We tested 23 strains of Pseudomonas: 19 Ps. aeruginosa, three Ps. fluorescens and one Pseudomonas spp. The most effective antibiotics were tobramycin (100 % susceptible), marbofloxacin (91.3 %) and ceftazidime (91.3 %). Ticarcillin and gentamicin, commonly used for the treatment of otitis externa also showed good results (susceptibility of strains was 86 and 65.2 % respectively). Lower susceptibility was found using enrofloxacin (52.1 %) probably due to its indiscriminate use. We emphasize the need for a rational policy of antibiotic prescribing in order to prevent the selection of resistant strains
Citricidal (grapefruit seed extract) can be used without problems, but you wouldn't use it neat - it's pretty concentrated. You can mix it in water, or in with the honey etc. Mixing it with the honey would prevent it from being so bitter too. I've not used it for this exact purpose though, so a bit reluctant to say it's the ideal thing for Mack.
I'm trying to find anything about its use as a topical treatment, but I'm sure Sabby at The Rat Warehouse will try her best to answer any queries on any products she sells, as she often discusses things in thorough detail with her reps/suppliers before selling new products - contact details on www.ratwarehouse.co.uk
Edit: Saying that, can't see it on her site anymore
I did a search on Citricidal and Pseudomonas and some information on using it to clean wounds has come up (it also said it is bacteriastatic as well as bacteriacidal), so will raise it with Rob as an alternative to the sterile water for flushing the wound and see what he thinks.
Glad it might be another possibility, I could only find a brief mention of it being used topically, nothing concrete, but there's lots of speil about it being good - maybe true or maybe not but worth looking further into as another option! I do know there was a fair debate about it being used internally though, due to the preservatives etc used in lots of brands of GSE.
I'm sure if you called Sabby at The Rat Warehouse anyway she'd give you all the info she has on it, she's a lovely lady and when debates/queries on products arise on the rat forum I'm on, she's always finding scientific papers to back up her opinions
The Citricidal is a difficult one because there is a lot of mixed opinions coming up on it compared to very little scientific fact.....for example some sites say it has no effect on gut flora whilst others say it's affect on gut bacteria is unknown. There are also sites which indicate itas being useful for treating wounds at the right dilution whilst others say not to use it on open wounds at all. :roll:
I suppose I could always try it on myself first and see if it hurts or not.
I was debating suggesting that :lol: If I can find my bottle and someone with an open wound I'll test it out :lol: Can assure you that it tastes gross though, I had about 3 drops in a pint glass full of strong orange squash and BLEUGH, never again :lol: