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Aston's Licking-Wound -- E-Vet, Or Wait Until Morning?


o_rooly

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Last Friday, I came home to Aston with a raw spot on his hip, about 1 inch in diameter:

20121214_181141.jpg

Odd since he's never had a hotspot before.. I checked around the house to see if he could have banged his hip on something and gotten a cut to start with, but didn't find any clues.

After an unsuccessful attempt at making a no-bite collar for Aston's neck using a regular-size bathtowel, covering the complete area between his ears and shoulders -- Aston was still able to snake around and bother the wound -- I decided to keep his 4-legged knit jammies on him 24/7 (works out pretty well, since it has been colder out).
I also sprayed the wound a few times a day with Bactine with Lidocaine to clean and numb it up a bit.
As the scab started to shrink last week, I started putting petroleum jelly on it in hopes that I would be able to prevent the scab from yanking on the skin around it (which was completely intact and non-irritated, as of yesterday).

Last night, he figured out how to get his needlenose under his jammies, and he ripped the scab away from half of the wound edge. The skin didn't look particularly irritated around the rip, and the skin underneath was pink as it had been in the initial photo above.
I called my vet's office during business hours today for advice, and they just advised to keep the wound in open air, and keep Aston away from it by any means possible, even if it meant a Cone of Shame. They said that otherwise, I should just keep an eye on it for signs of infection. I put Aston's jammies back on him, and put his basket muzzle on before heading to work.

I came home to find a much angrier wound. Judging by the moist area in his jammies directly over the wound, he repeatedly tried to lick it through his muzzle. Here's how it looks now (sorry if this shows up HUGE -- having trouble with Photobucket's editing):

20121221_210341.jpg

The exposed tissue under the scab looks pinker and not oozy in person, if that matters. It REALLY looks yellow with the flash on it, though. :(

Is it safe to wait for regular vet tomorrow?
Even if it is, I'm really out of ideas in regard to keeping Aston away from the wound.
I ran to Petco and bought an e-collar that would fit Aston's neck size, but it's not nearly deep enough to prevent him from snaking around and hitting the wound, and it moves up and down his neck really easily (and over his head).
Right now, he's on the couch with a blanket over him, and if he reaches around toward that hip, he gets a firm AH-AH! that deters him.

my poor buddy. :(

Edited by o_rooly
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No e-vet. Do you have some duct tape? You can put that over the end of his muzzle in a way that keeps him from licking through. You want some strategically placed holes that let him get water into the muzzle when he drinks, but the holes need to be in the wrong location for him to get his tongue through to his leg. For tonight, the blanket is a good idea. If he's still trying to sneak his head under the blanket, tuck it in around him, so that he'd have to stand up or really pull on the blanket with his teeth.

 

Good luck.

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Kathy and Q (CRT Qadeer from Fuzzy's Cannon and CRT Bonnie) and
Jane (WW's Aunt Jane from Trent Lee and Aunt M); photos to come.

Missing Silver (5.19.2005-10.27.2016), Tigger (4.5.2007-3.18.2016),
darling Sam (5.10.2000-8.8.2013), Jacey-Kasey (5.19.2003-8.22.2011), and Oreo (1997-3.30.2006)

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That looks like an infected pressure sore and possibly with more problematic bugs than usual. You need the right broad spectrum antibiotic from the vet.

In the meantime use antibacterial spray and put on a muzzle with stool guard as suggested.

You could clean the wound with lukewarm salty water or vetscrub if you have any. Aloe Vera gel (or even some sap from a cut off leaf base (if the plant's owner doesn't mind) can speed healing and also help stop itching.

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Poor Aston! I glad to read he's safe back home now.

Hopefully the debrideing surgery, antibiotics and pain meds will give him a lot of relief and then you can work on stopping him licking.

Did the vet have any idea how that infection got in there? Did they culture it?

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Poor Aston! I glad to read he's safe back home now.

Hopefully the debrideing surgery, antibiotics and pain meds will give him a lot of relief and then you can work on stopping him licking.

Did the vet have any idea how that infection got in there? Did they culture it?

 

Vet wasn't sure how the infection got in there, but the turnaround was VERY quick. On Thursday the scab was opened, but the skin was not inflamed, and any "ooze" was clear; inflamed, crusty and oozing opaquely by Friday evening. They didn't culture the infection.

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Poor bug, and poor worried person too. Hope he makes a quick recovery.

Star aka Starz Ovation (Ronco x Oneco Maggie*, litter #48538), Coco aka Low Key (Kiowa Mon Manny x Party Hardy, litter # 59881), and mom in Illinois
We miss Reko Batman (Trouper Zeke x Marque Louisiana), 11/15/95-6/29/06, Rocco the thistledown whippet, 04/29/93-10/14/08, Reko Zema (Mo Kick x Reko Princess), 8/16/98-4/18/10, the most beautiful girl in the whole USA, my good egg Joseph aka Won by a Nose (Oneco Cufflink x Buy Back), 09/22/2003-03/01/2013, and our gentle sweet Gidget (Digitizer, Dodgem by Design x Sobe Mulberry), 1/29/2006-11/22/2014, gone much too soon. Never forgetting CJC's Buckshot, 1/2/07-10/25/10.

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Guest undergreysspell

Mine had surgery on his hip area and I had to put boxers on him when it started itching - I would get some so you'll be ready if he starts picking at it..hope he feels better soon!!

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