Wound Management At Home

At some point in time in a dog or cat owner's life there is that moment where he/she suddenly notices a cut or bruise on the animal's skin.  Often times the way the wound is dealt with at home before a vet can see and treat it determines how well it may heal or how serious the wound can become.

Treating an infected cut is quite expensive.  Clients are usually taken aback at the cost associated with the proper treatment of a maggot wound or severely infected cut.  Healing time is also long in these instances and clients may not be able to devote the time and care needed for these situations.  It is therefore better if proper care is administered before veterinary care is given.

Once the skin is broken, the owner should take care to gently clean the area with cotton and a diluted solution of Savlon, Hydrogen peroxide or Dettol.  It is important for these solutions to be diluted so as not to irritate the skin.  Be sure to dry the area after with a piece of cotton. In DOGS ONLY, wound and maggot powder may be applied sparingly to the area. DO NOT APPLY the purple spray that is used to treat wounds in farm animals, as this spray is irritating to dogs' skin and also the area becomes occluded so that the vet is unable to assess the extent of the damage. DO NOT APPLY Sevin's powder or any other poisonous chemicals that you will not use on yourself.

DO NOT USE any topical medications on cats since they groom themselves and may become poisoned if these chemicals are ingested.

DO NOT administer any oral medications such as tablets or liquids for any reason unless you speak to your vet.  Many human medications are harmful to animals and even though your intentions may be good, you may be causing more harm than good.



If the wound is a sharp, neat slice and hence may be stitched to ensure proper healing, do not apply ANY medication to it, and seek medical attention as soon as possible.  Once a wound is more than 10 hours old, it is considered to be contaminated and your vet may opt to not stitch it, to avoid developing an abscess.




Do not bandage any wounds before speaking to your vet, as bandaging creates a nice, warm, humid environment that may cause bacteria to thrive and set up an unmanageable infection.  Instead, leave the wound open until your vet has treated it and given advice.

These suggestions do not replace the need for a visit from your veterinarian.  They are only meant as suggestions for immediate care at home if a wound is noticed at a time when vet care cannot be sought immediately.  Once a vet has treated the wound, be sure to ask lots of questions and follow his/her advice closely to ensure your pet has a speedy recovery.

It may be desirable to confine your pet to a kennel for a few days to minimise movement which may damage the wound more.  Consider getting an E Collar for your pet if he/she is obsessively licking or nibbling at the wound.

 

Canine Parvo Virus

Intravenous fluids in a puppy

Parvo Virus is an acute (sudden onset with rapid progression and short duration of symptoms, in urgent need of care) virus that affects dogs, mainly puppies.

Because it is such a serious illness, by the time owners observe the onset of symptoms, there is already just a small window of opportunity to administer treatment to try to save a pup's life.

There is no cure for the parvo virus. As such, treatment relies on supportive care while the puppy's body goes through the devastating effects of the virus.

The most telling sign of parvo virus infection is the foetid (extremely unpleasant smell) watery, bloody diarrhoea. The presence of the blood is due to the damage that the virus causes to the gut lining. Often times the virus affects the gut lining so badly that "chunks" of flesh may be expelled with the diarrhoea. Other early symptoms include decrease in appetite, unwillingness to drink water, general lethargy (puppy appears quieter than normal, reluctant to play or run around, lying down a lot of the time). The puppy may also develop vomitting.

Proper care includes intravenous fluids, since drinking water is not enough to counteract the dehydration caused by the vomitting and/or diarrhoea. A puppy may also be given antibiotics to combat secondary bacterial infections. PLEASE NOTE that the antibiotics does not kill the parvo virus, it just kills bacteria that set up secondary infections, complicating the symptoms and lessening the puppy's likelihood of recovery.

Adult dogs may contract a milder strain of the virus, but this is so mild that sometimes symptoms are missed.

The virus is most severe in unvaccinated puppies, especially around 6-8 weeks of age and 3-4 months of age. In these cases the virus develops so rapidly and so severely that a high percentage of puppies die, even if given the appropriate treatment.

Owners of puppies must then be aware that while treatment must be given as soon as the pup appears to be sick, it is still not a guarantee that the puppy will live.

Each case is so different that even an experienced vet cannot predict the outcome of your puppy's illness. Sometimes, the puppy appears bright and very responsive and still dies overnight! Other times the puppy gets very sick and lethargic, almost unresponsive and over time steadily improves and recovers.

Please note then that after medical treatment is sought, it is a waiting game to monitor the progress of the puppy and decide when treatment may be stopped.

Parvo virus lives in the environment for a long time and may only be killed with bleach. It is important, then, for you to use diluted bleach to clean any and everywhere your puppy stayed while sick.

Since parvo virus is so deadly, it is much easier to try to prevent it. Here are some tips:

(1) until a puppy is vaccinated, do not let him/her roam the yard. Let him/her stay in a kennel away from other dogs or puppies.

(2) clean your puppy's kennel/enclosure with diluted bleach once or twice daily.

(3) start vaccinating your puppy at 6 weeks of age.

(4) follow your vet's vaccination plan by bringing in your puppy for vaccines on time, every 3 weeks for a total of 4 (for most breeds) or 5 (for rotts, german shepherds, dobermans and any mixes of these breeds) times.

I hope that this was useful. Please feel free to contact us for further information at 474-9750 or 693-1721... or leave your comments here. Here's to preventing parvo virus and helping keep our puppies healthy :)