How To Heal A Wound

[JenniferS]

Quiet Man cut his tail (or got bit), in a scuffle with a loose dog about a week ago. I'm not sure how it happened b/c it happend so fast and I didn't know it was bleeding until I got home. (Spoke w/ the owners to make sure the dog had shots just in case).

Anyway.....I cleaned it with peroxide, put some EMT gel on it and wrapped it for the first few days to get the bleeding to stop (Not stitchable). Everytime I take the bandage off to give it some air he licks it raw. I don't know what is worse, keeping it covered, or letting him lick it? He licks the EMT gel right off too. It's not huge or too bad looking, I just don't want it to get infected.

I have a bite-not collar, but I'm trying to avoid having to use it.

[Batmom]

Disinfect it with something like nolvasan or betadine solution (better than hydr. per. - that can burn) one more time, smear some triple antibiotic ointment or SSD ointment on your gauze pad, then wrap it and leave it that way.

 

The "it needs air" thing is a bit of a myth. Wounds heal quite nicely in a moist environment.

[stlgrey]

You might want to use a cone collar or a no bite collar on him so that he can't reach his tail. Air healing would be best. I had a nasty tear wound on my whippet that was a month long process of healing. She licked that thing so much that she got cellulitus from it. Good luck..

Edited March 26, 2008 by stlgrey

[Jackandgrey]

Disinfect it with something like nolvasan or betadine solution (better than hydr. per. - that can burn) one more time, smear some triple antibiotic ointment or SSD ointment on your gauze pad, then wrap it and leave it that way.

 

The "it needs air" thing is a bit of a myth. Wounds heal quite nicely in a moist environment.

 

[Guest Winterwish]

and feel better soon sweetheart!

[Guest Tigonie]

How high up is the wound? Maybe you could wrap/treat it like happy tail. Tails take a long time to heal. I'd probably keep it wrapped and padded rather than unwrapping it (check and clean it every day or so, of course). Especially since he's messing with it.

[Guest spirys]

We had this same problem with a foster grey we had, Macho. He had an incredible case of happy tail, and somehow managed to get a cut on it. We cleaned and disinfected it, and kept up with neosporin, but he wouldn't leave it be and kept licking it raw. He wouildn't keep any sort of bandage on it, and we tried all kinds of things, including sliding a tampon tube up over the injury. He'd pull everything right off.

 

He would bother it when we weren't home, and then when he'd greet us when we came home, he wagged like mad and sprayed a fine mist of blood all over. I can't tell you how many times I scrubbed down our walls. It eventually did get infected, and we brought him to the vet. They gave him antibiotics, which cleared up the infection, but not the would itself, which he still wouldn't leave alone. His tail was too long, and the injury too close to the tip, to even make a cone effective.

 

Since there's no meat on the tail, the wound worked its way right down to the bone, and we had to amputate the bottom few inches of his tail. He did get adopted after the surgery, and I hear he healed very well, and since his tail was extra long to begin with, no one can tell he lost part of it. A happy ending to a long saga.

 

My advice -- keep a good eye on the wound, and seek quick attention if it appears infected.

[Guest sheila]

one product I used was http://www.nextag.com/bach-rescue-remedy-cream/search-html

I have a hound with an old open wound that will never fully heal and needs to be treated daily. This product has worked better than any other product I have used.

[Guest MomofSweetPotatoes]

Jen,

 

if it's not bleeding and is not deep, I would use blue lotion or just neosporin and wrap it. If you need to uncover it for any reason, put amuzzle with poop guard on. Personally I would just clean it and wrap it and keep it wrapped until you change bandages again.

[zimsmom]

Jen when Patches broke her tail it was near the end of the tail but the vet wrapped from top of tail to the end. We kept it on for 2 weeks before it was taken off. Checked in 2 weeks then back on again for another 2-3. It healed up nice & she could not get at it to lick.

[Guest Emma0422]

Agree with the others...keep it wrapped. Our foster had a dew claw removed and had stitches without it being bandaged. We ended up muzzling him so he'd leave it alone. We actually put some duct tape over the bottom so that he couldn't lick through it. Worked great and he didn't mind the muzzle at all. :-)

[Guest Cris_M]

This is my inventive, quirky side coming out....

 

How about a length of pipe insulation (the black foam kind) with a hole cut out where the injury is, then covering the hole with Tegaderm? Tegaderm is a translucent, breathable bandage that is sticky. For that matter, you could use the insulation but cover the hole with gauze. Either way, it would let air in, and, if Quiet Man licked it only the bandage would get wet. The insulation would also protect his tail if he hit it against something.

 

Okay, now I am off to figure out the 15 ways this idea won't work!

[Guest VelvetEars]

I would get a hard plastic hair curler with holes in it - slip that over the injury, and tape it in place with vet wrap.

 

Aloe gel mixed with a few drops of lavender essential oil, applied several times a day, helps with the itching and healing.

[JenniferS]

Well the bandage w/ neosporin worked for a few days, (the EMT gel just got too dry & crusty) but now he's learned how to get the bandage off, the little bugger, so we are taking backwards steps. I put it on a little tighter today, we'll see how long it lasts. Now I'm concerned about how much neosporin he has licked !

[Guest RooRoo]

Sorry to hear about QM's boo-boo Just sending good thoughts for continued healing...

[GreyWrangler]

Jen,

 

How is QM and his tail doing?

 

 

Nancy

[JenniferS]

Jen,

 

How is QM and his tail doing?

 

 

Nancy

Not greyt. He got the bandage off again last night, and I heard licking but it didn't dawn on me until it was too late that it was his tail. I have now learned to differenciate the sound of him licking his tail vs. licking his a*hem!

I took him to the beach today and hoped to get some salt water on it, but it was far too chilly! What concerns me is that he'll lick it to the bone That won't be good......

[Guest MomofSweetPotatoes]

Jen,

 

How is QM and his tail doing?

 

 

Nancy

Not greyt. He got the bandage off again last night, and I heard licking but it didn't dawn on me until it was too late that it was his tail. I have now learned to differenciate the sound of him licking his tail vs. licking his a*hem!

I took him to the beach today and hoped to get some salt water on it, but it was far too chilly! What concerns me is that he'll lick it to the bone That won't be good......

 

Jen,

 

You could try bandaging the wound and then bandaging it to his leg. Then putting a pair of pants on him so that he can't lick it.

 

have you tried anbesol on the edges (not in! ) the wound? If he licks the anbesol near the wound, he'll leave it alone, because it will make his tongue numb. Usually they won't lick themselves with a numb tongue.

If that doesn't work, I would muzzle him so that he can't get to it.

Edited March 30, 2008 by MomofSweetPotatoes