How to remove an abscess

[mdavenport0121]

I got the CL test back from the vet. The test was negative for CL! Now to get rid of the abscess. It is a little smaller that baseball size. It is located below her eye on her jaw bone. I can fill the top of it from inside her mouth. The vet said they would cut it open and flush it out. I don't want to pay a vet bill. What would be the best way of removing the abscess? Any medicine to give her to keep from infection?

 

[xa.logan]

Yes. What we'd do at the vet clinic.

Shave the area as best as possible.
Take a scalpel or small sharp blade (a razor works well too), and make a small incision at the lower end of the abscess (to help it drain).
At the vet, it's possible that they would insert a drain tube to help it drain. It's important that it says draining through the next few days. In order for this to occur, the incision must not close up.
After you make the incision, you're basically going to squish out all that gunk.
After that, you're going to want to run the water hose or an antiseptic flush through it. Chlorhexadine works really well as an antiseptic agent.
At my vet, we would put an antibacterial ointment in the wound to help it heal from the inside out. Animax was the doctors choice. Iodine might be able to work but you'll have to check that.
Flush twice daily for 5 days and it should start to heal up in no time. I would even do a round (7 days) of penicillin injections of you're not milking her.
If she were my goat, I would probably make an incision across the top too. Just so I could flush the whole abscess more easily, but that's up to you and your comfort level.
Oh, and make horizontal incisions. They drain better.
Oh! Also, you can use a mixture of distilled vinegar and water to make an antiseptic flush. You'll have to look up the recipe online. I don't know it off the top of my head.

Good luck!

Edit: you could probably squirt some penicillin inside the wound after you flush it. In place of the animax.

 

[mdavenport0121]

What is the dosage on penicillin G? Do you give it SQ?

 

[sprocket]

Yes. What we'd do at the vet clinic.

Shave the area as best as possible.
Take a scalpel or small sharp blade (a razor works well too), and make a small incision at the lower end of the abscess (to help it drain).
At the vet, it's possible that they would insert a drain tube to help it drain. It's important that it says draining through the next few days. In order for this to occur, the incision must not close up.
After you make the incision, you're basically going to squish out all that gunk.
After that, you're going to want to run the water hose or an antiseptic flush through it. Chlorhexadine works really well as an antiseptic agent.
At my vet, we would put an antibacterial ointment in the wound to help it heal from the inside out. Animax was the doctors choice. Iodine might be able to work but you'll have to check that.
Flush twice daily for 5 days and it should start to heal up in no time. I would even do a round (7 days) of penicillin injections of you're not milking her.
If she were my goat, I would probably make an incision across the top too. Just so I could flush the whole abscess more easily, but that's up to you and your comfort level.
Oh, and make horizontal incisions. They drain better.
Oh! Also, you can use a mixture of distilled vinegar and water to make an antiseptic flush. You'll have to look up the recipe online. I don't know it off the top of my head.

Good luck!

Edit: you could probably squirt some penicillin inside the wound after you flush it. In place of the animax.

To help drain an abscess, I like to take a cotton gauze (available from the first aid section of a drug store/supermarket) cut into a relatively short strip and soak it in 7-8% iodine. I then pack the gauze into the cavity and leave a short strip hanging out. Each day, pull a bit more out and cut it off. The iodine helps to dry things up and prevents it from reforming, and leaving the little bit hanging out ensures constant drainage.