Wound That Won't Heal

[Guest GSP]

Our Moses had a splint for a fractured toe that wouldn't heal on its own. Then somehow the splint got wet... which caused a nasty skin infection. His skin broke down in multiple places. He had wounds all over his foot & toes, and tendons exposed in multiple places. Almost 9 weeks later, after many pain pills, antibiotics, and bandage changes, almost all of the wounds are healed. There is one spot left that is just not healing, though. It doesn't even seem to be making much progress. It just seems to be stable - which I guess is good but not really what we want! The vets say that it's over a bony area, which can make it more difficult for the skin to fill in, but other than that they seem pretty perplexed.

 

Last Saturday they taught me how to change his bandage and asked me to change it twice a day at home - eep! So he's getting regular bandage changes, a pain med, and an antibiotic. We're also doing a little bit of "physical therapy" to get the range of motion back in his toes. We will still take him in regularly to have them check on it, and of course take him in if anything looks troubling.

 

Any ideas on other things we can try to get this skin to heal already? Poor Moses wants his foot back!

[silverfish]

Sing along with me 'Manuka honey, Manuka honey, Manuka honneeeyyy!!'

 

 

Seriously, this stuff is nearly miraculous on wounds that won't heal. Recent things I've used it on:

 

A stitch abscess my husband developed on his wrist after carpal tunnel surgery and which healed overnight once I got the bit of stitch out that the nurse had left in, and put on a Manuka honey dressing. When DH told the consultant at his next visit, he was most impressed and made notes.

 

A non-healing knife cut near the top of my thumb which had split wide open and got red and sore. Again, an overnight improvement, with complete healing over the next day or so.

 

Neither of those are particularly challenging compared to yours, but Manuka honey has powerful disinfectant, anti-bacterial and healing properties. Get the medical grade stuff if you can - I got mine online from the New Zealand Honey Shop - and the highest UMF factor that you can find. You can buy Manuka honey dressings, too, which might be worth it for your boy's injury, or you can simply spread the stuff onto a non stick pad and tape it in place. You will need to cover it, because it's messy stuff, and anyway, a dog would lick it off because it tastes good!

[4My2Greys]

Well I'm glad Judy has brought up Manuka honey. I used it to heal an infected pressure sore Nadir developed on his elbow from a splint rubbing. When I carried him into the vet that morning his leg stunk so bad of rot and infection I thought he was going to lose his leg. After the vet removed the splint and cleaned out the wound he was left with a very large and deep wound, which she tried to stitch, but which later pulled open. Anyway he was put on Cephalexin for the infection and had s very bad reaction to it. I m decided to try the Manuka honey to heal the wound and fight the infection which had set in. It once again proved to me how invaluable this stuff is to have around the house. It did a beautiful job of clearing the infection and healing that open wound with minimal scarring. I just applied it to a Telfa pad, which I then placed on the wound and then wrapped with bandaging. A word of advice, for open wounds do not use the high UMF rated honey, as I have read it can almost feel like it has s burning effect, because it is so strong. I just used one with a 16+ rating for that job and Nadir never seemed to be bothered by it.

[JohnF]

Agree with the high-strength Manuka Honey.

You could also cut off the leaf of an Aloe Vera and squeeze the sap onto the wound area. It will speed graunlation and make it not itch so bad either. It is also in Vetzyme ointment.

[Guest june]

I haven't tried the Manuka honey, but one of my dogs had a wound on her leg where there was no skin. My vet had me make a thick sugar paste (just plain white sugar and water) and change the dressing 2x daily. The skin grew back (sans hair) quickly and she has not had any problems with it.

[Trihounds]

We just went through a broken toe repair process as well so I know what you went through! It's tough...damn splints!

 

Can I ask a question - how often did your vet change the splint while it was on?

[racindog]

Another vote for Manuka Honey. (Just be sure you get the real deal and not some cheap knock off imposter).

[silverfish]

It's true that the higher the UMF the more it may sting, but it won't do damage. If you and your dog can tolerate it, it's still the best to use.

 

I haven't tried the Manuka honey, but one of my dogs had a wound on her leg where there was no skin. My vet had me make a thick sugar paste (just plain white sugar and water) and change the dressing 2x daily. The skin grew back (sans hair) quickly and she has not had any problems with it.

 

I remember my mother telling me they used to do this in her field hospital in the war when antibiotics were not available. It works quite well, because the high sugar content draws water from the wound and prevents the growth of pretty much anything in the way of bacteria. That can sting, too, by the way, as my son will attest. He had a hideously large area of 'road rash' on his knee that wouldn't heal and was infected and weeping, so I made up a paste of icing (confectioner's) sugar and used that on a non-stick pad. It healed within three days. This was before we had such easy access to Manuka honey.

 

 

 

Another vote for Manuka Honey. (Just be sure you get the real deal and not some cheap knock off imposter).

 

Yes. It's only Manuka honey which is UMF rated, because UMF stands for 'unique Manuka factor'.

[Guest GSP]

So many quick replies - and unanimous support for manuka honey! Thanks everyone - I'll have to look into that.

 

 

We just went through a broken toe repair process as well so I know what you went through! It's tough...damn splints!

 

Can I ask a question - how often did your vet change the splint while it was on?

 

 

He had the split for 6 weeks total (before it turned into a bandage for the nasty skin infection). At first we were scheduled to go in every week, then towards the end they tried to let us stretch it to every 2 weeks... but there were several extra visits in between because any time he limped we got worried. At first he was limping for attention, it seemed, then later they did notice some pressure sores that they tried to address by padding it better, then later more limping but no change in the pressure sores. Between the appointment when we found the skin infection and the previous appointment it was 2 weeks, though... so I do wonder how long his skin was wet.

 

We went back today - they're pleased with how it looks and say it should start shrinking soon. Paws crossed!

[Trihounds]

So many quick replies - and unanimous support for manuka honey! Thanks everyone - I'll have to look into that.

 

 

We just went through a broken toe repair process as well so I know what you went through! It's tough...damn splints!

 

Can I ask a question - how often did your vet change the splint while it was on?

 

 

He had the split for 6 weeks total (before it turned into a bandage for the nasty skin infection). At first we were scheduled to go in every week, then towards the end they tried to let us stretch it to every 2 weeks... but there were several extra visits in between because any time he limped we got worried. At first he was limping for attention, it seemed, then later they did notice some pressure sores that they tried to address by padding it better, then later more limping but no change in the pressure sores. Between the appointment when we found the skin infection and the previous appointment it was 2 weeks, though... so I do wonder how long his skin was wet.

 

We went back today - they're pleased with how it looks and say it should start shrinking soon. Paws crossed!

 

Very interesting and similar treatment plan to ours. We changed weekly and stretched to a week and a half towards the end but I have to give my vet props for their wrapping job overall. One of the vet techs was far better than the other so we booked appts with her only and that made a difference for us (and Bumper).

 

Glad you guys are on the mend and with the honey, sounds like life should be back to normal soon!