Simon & Sam
Member Since 2009
Our civvie Jess is 19 years old. Until recently, he was very health and active and his general condition belied his years.
Three weeks ago a swelling came up on his face. We took him to the veterinary surgery and an abscess was diagnosed. He was initially placed on an antibiotic (The name of which I cannot recall) and was then moved on to Antirobe. He has been going to the vet for the abscess to be drained and cleaned on a daily basis. My step daughter, who is a trainee veterinary nurse working at a local practice, visits during the evening to repeat the draining and cleaning procedure. While Jess was on antirobe, the discharge of pus from the abscess was heavy and his medication was therefore, changed to Metronidazole. He appeared to improve on this antibiotic and the discharge became much less heavy. For the past three days, the discharge was fairly minimal and we really thought we had turned a corner. At the end of last week a swab was taken from the discharge and sent to the laboratory for analysis. This will inform us whether or not Metronidazole is effective against the infection and if not, which antibiotic might prove to be more effective.
I have just returned from the surgery. The discharge from the infection this morning was very heavy. Jess was examined by the vet at the end of last week and during this examination, Jess' teeth and gums were inspected. The vet said that there were no obvious signs that a dental or root problem were the cause of the infection. For the first time this morning, the veterinary nurse at the surgery who drained and cleaned the abscess mentioned a bone tumour.
We would be very grateful for any advice that any of our FDMB friends might be able to offer. We are trying to avoid any procedures that require sedation in view of Jess' age although we would proceed if it was considered absolutely necessary. Jess has had this abscess for three weeks and we have seen improvement on occasions, we are yet to evidence signs of a sustainable recovery. The surgery have advised that if the abscess was caused by a scratch, bite or foreign body penetrating the skin, then we should have been able to have resolved the problem by now. They also advised that if the problem was dental or root then the discharge from the abscess would be more likely to be constant in quantity. We are now having to face the possibility that the problem is caused by a bone tumour.
Thank you for any advice that you are able to give
Three weeks ago a swelling came up on his face. We took him to the veterinary surgery and an abscess was diagnosed. He was initially placed on an antibiotic (The name of which I cannot recall) and was then moved on to Antirobe. He has been going to the vet for the abscess to be drained and cleaned on a daily basis. My step daughter, who is a trainee veterinary nurse working at a local practice, visits during the evening to repeat the draining and cleaning procedure. While Jess was on antirobe, the discharge of pus from the abscess was heavy and his medication was therefore, changed to Metronidazole. He appeared to improve on this antibiotic and the discharge became much less heavy. For the past three days, the discharge was fairly minimal and we really thought we had turned a corner. At the end of last week a swab was taken from the discharge and sent to the laboratory for analysis. This will inform us whether or not Metronidazole is effective against the infection and if not, which antibiotic might prove to be more effective.
I have just returned from the surgery. The discharge from the infection this morning was very heavy. Jess was examined by the vet at the end of last week and during this examination, Jess' teeth and gums were inspected. The vet said that there were no obvious signs that a dental or root problem were the cause of the infection. For the first time this morning, the veterinary nurse at the surgery who drained and cleaned the abscess mentioned a bone tumour.
We would be very grateful for any advice that any of our FDMB friends might be able to offer. We are trying to avoid any procedures that require sedation in view of Jess' age although we would proceed if it was considered absolutely necessary. Jess has had this abscess for three weeks and we have seen improvement on occasions, we are yet to evidence signs of a sustainable recovery. The surgery have advised that if the abscess was caused by a scratch, bite or foreign body penetrating the skin, then we should have been able to have resolved the problem by now. They also advised that if the problem was dental or root then the discharge from the abscess would be more likely to be constant in quantity. We are now having to face the possibility that the problem is caused by a bone tumour.
Thank you for any advice that you are able to give
