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Post by rachelblue on Aug 14, 2009 14:22:58 GMT
My old boy has been lame for two weeks vet has been out five times since and on the last visit thought in was cellilitus(not sure if I have spelt it right) he has had antibiotics for two weeks but is still lame not hopping and his fetlcok joint is extremely swollen and skin is pink and sore - has anyone ever had this, I have the vet coming out again on monday
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Post by poniesrus on Aug 14, 2009 14:50:10 GMT
Haven't had it in a horse, but am prone to it myself and suffer terribly ... even being admitted on a ski-ing holiday in Austria where it had gone from cellulitis to full blown blood poisoning, nearly losing a leg and coming home on an air ambulance !!
So I'd imagine it can be just as severe in our animal friends.
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Post by rachelblue on Aug 14, 2009 16:52:50 GMT
I have also had it when my other horse stood on my calf. Just wish I knew if there was anything else I could do i have put him on Naf d-tox as a friend recommended this
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Post by Guestless on Aug 25, 2009 10:30:46 GMT
Friend's previous horse suffered from cellulitis. Can't say I know much about it, but she always had to bandage horse's legs when it was standing in to prevent swelling and the horse had MUCH less hassle when it was living out and able to move around freely.
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Post by sageandonion on Aug 25, 2009 20:30:37 GMT
Like poniesrus I unfortunately have to deal with recurrent cellulitis of the leg and I dare say the treatment for a horse and the way that poor horse is feeling is not too different.
Take your horses temperature and notice if he is under the weather. Cellulitis will give severe flu like symptoms and temperature is a clue as to whether the infection is under control. Check the legs thoroughly, the slightest scratch/bite can be the source of infection and treat this topically with an antibacterial wash and tea tree. It may be your horse needs a change or antibiotic or something in addition to what he already has. Cellulitis can take a long time to resolve with repeated courses of antibiotics and I find with this hot weather it is more difficult to treat. It is a bacterial infection as bacteria of course loves warm weather. If your chap is rather grumpy or snappy, just be nice to him he really can't help it, it may feel really rotten.
With regard to the leg swelling, certainly in humans this sometimes remains or takes a long time to go down. Humans wear compression stockings to help with this.
Once your vet is happy the acute infection is under control, you can use gentle massage, very light strokes, upwards and towards the lymph nodes (ask your vet where this is). You could use a soft grooming brush and use strokes UPWARDS about the pressure you would use to groom the face. You kind of want to be pushing the toothpaste up the tube if you know what I mean to distribute the fluid upwards.
Try to be relaxed about it, it just might take a while. Bless him, he truly has my sympathy.
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Post by sageandonion on Aug 25, 2009 20:41:37 GMT
Oh one other thing. Bandaging may be useful (if it is done really correctly) to keep swelling down once the infection is under control. However, certainly with humans, whilst the infection is active you must not wear compression garments (the equivalent for the horse would be bandaging).
Should the leg swell further under bandages they can become too tight and that might be disastrous. The vet may tell you to bandage now, but please be cautious as Doctors seem to know very little about this condition (except for a few specialists) so I don't expect a vet to know much more.
If your horse's skin is pink, then the cellulitis is most definitely active and will need further antibiotics.
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Post by Guestless on Aug 26, 2009 13:15:58 GMT
Oh one other thing. Bandaging may be useful (if it is done really correctly) to keep swelling down once the infection is under control. However, certainly with humans, whilst the infection is active you must not wear compression garments (the equivalent for the horse would be bandaging). Absolutely. I should have said that my reference to friend bandaging her horse was AFTER infection had been cleared and was to avoid any future occurrences as she was told it could reoccur.
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Post by rachelblue on Aug 28, 2009 14:48:18 GMT
thankyou sageandonion and guestless for your comments, he is on the mend but think he may have a pulled tendon along with the infection as well, his fetlock joint is swollen and when he is resting in the field he has his toe down. The farrier is coming on tuesday pm and is going to try and lift his heel to help if it is a pulled tendon
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Post by sageandonion on Aug 28, 2009 19:24:34 GMT
Good news he is feeling better. Remember cellulitis swelling will make everything feel tight and uncomfortable and he will want to rest it so I hope it isn't tendon trouble as well.
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