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Post by Deleted on Dec 19, 2014 11:05:06 GMT -5
Charlie's has a BCT which was confirmed by the vet last month. It's right on the top right of his head next to his ear. I've been watching it closely. He can't have it removed b/c the vet says hes not strong enough to make it through the surgery. He's 8+ yrs old and has adrenal, Insulimona and maybe IBS. He's on .3 pred 2x day as well as carafate .5 3x a day to help with his stomach issues as well as an acid reducer 2x a day. Anyway, I noticed yesterday that it started to smell like an infection. So, last night I dabbed it with warm soap & water & a cotton ball put on some cortisone cream and let it be. Well, I woke up this morning to find a hole in the top of this thing and Im not sure how to treat it or if I should do anything at all. The smell is gone which is great, it's not oozing or bleeding and it's not itchy. He will not sit still for a picture but I found one on the internet which looks just like it and if I can figure out how to post it I will. LOL I should also note that I can not get to the vet until hubby comes home from work. He has my car b/c his is in the shop. What should I do, if anything?
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Post by Deleted on Dec 19, 2014 11:10:51 GMT -5
This is what it looks like now This is what it used to look like but it had a scab on it.
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Post by racheld on Dec 19, 2014 11:42:23 GMT -5
If it's bleeding he may have scratched the scab off during the night, if it's not it might have fallen off by itself. If it's not effecting his quality of life and surgery isn't safe you could probably just keep it clean and not worry too much about it...
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Post by Deleted on Dec 19, 2014 12:14:59 GMT -5
What should I do to keep it clean? Should I use soap and water? Should I use the cortisone cream? I'm not sure what's safe to use for wound care in ferrets..
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Post by racheld on Dec 19, 2014 12:24:51 GMT -5
I'd only use soap and water if I knew for sure I could rinse it away thoroughly, which might be hard on a ferret's head. I like Chlorhex solution for wound care, it's what I used on Naima's spay incision. 8 drops to 1 cup of warm water.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 19, 2014 12:30:23 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Dec 19, 2014 13:09:25 GMT -5
@poncesmom racheld. Thank you! I did read about the reshi mushroom and I'm going to look up Chlorhex. I've never heard of it. I was thinking neosporin but I wasn't sure that was safe for ferrets. I thought I read something on the internet that it wasn't recommended but honestly I've read so much I'm not sure now. Lol. Charlie is not one to hold still but if he needs it done then I'll do it. He's already not happy with mom shoving multiple meds in him 3 times a day. I wish I could just tell him I'm trying to help and not being mean to him on purpose. Makes me feel like Jekyll and Hyde and a bad mom.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 19, 2014 13:25:19 GMT -5
I understand. It really tugs at our hearts when they are sick and we can't explain anything to them. Charlie may not like the Meds, but I'm sure he trusts you and that goes a long way.
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Post by Heather on Dec 19, 2014 13:26:40 GMT -5
These tumours unless removed continue to grow, pop and then heal only to grow again. One of the problems is they often continue to grow in diameter too. As removal is not an option your only solution is to keep is clean and free from infection. Odin had one on his shoulder. I used sudocreme on it. With Odin's I would clip the fur a bit around it just before it broke open, this made it easier to clean. I would clean with a salt water solution, dry gently and then apply sudocreme. It had usually healed up (looked like a scar) within 48 hrs. Like your guy, surgery was not an option as he was 10 yrs old. He'd had surgery at 9 yrs to remove an infected canine (no way around this one) and his heart stopped 3 x on the table. I was right there with him and I have to admit it bothered me a bit to see just how fragile these guys are on the table. Good luck with your wee one. I had one removed from Thor....appears to have been about where you're describing your wee one's. It was removed because it just wouldn't heal. No, he didn't scratch it or worry it. It really doesn't seem to bother them. Thor was about 5 yrs old though and surgery was a viable option ciao
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Post by unclejoe on Dec 19, 2014 13:34:17 GMT -5
You can use Neosporin triple antibiotic on it to stop infection. Just make sure if it has pain reliever that it does't contain acetaminophen or ibuprofen.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 19, 2014 15:08:00 GMT -5
Heather any idea what it's called in the US? sudocrem seems to be a found in the UK. I did find it on Amazon but it won't be here until the end of Jan. to beginning of Feb 2015. I don't want to wait that long.
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Post by Heather on Dec 19, 2014 17:27:58 GMT -5
It's only available as far as I can tell on Amazon. I can get it up here in the stores but it seems a bit harder to get in the US ciao
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Post by Deleted on Dec 19, 2014 18:15:24 GMT -5
Quite awhile ago, I looked for sudocreme also. At that point Amazon wasn't carrying it.
I looked up the ingredients and tried to replicate them in another product. Desitin comes close, but it has cod liver oil in it. I was trying to use it to keep Roamy from attacking Mika and he loves Cod, so I didn't think that would work.
Maybe you can find a product similar to Desitin without the Cod Liver oil or even try expeditied shipping.
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Post by katt on Dec 19, 2014 20:27:20 GMT -5
If it is infected do not put steroid cream (hydrocortisone) on it. Steroids+infection = bad news. Steroids reduce inflammation, but they also suppress the immune system, so if there is an infection and you tell the immune system to tone it down, the infection can run rampant. In some cases if the inflammatory/immune response is TOO much suppressing it can be good, but in general you don't want to use steroids where there is an infection. Put some plain neosporin on it instead. You could also try Benadryl anti-itch cream if he is scratching at it a lot.
Better yet - do you have any Silver sulfadiazene? If not, ask your vet if he will give you some. That stuff works wonders for infections and healing.
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