Pressure Sore Still Not Healed

[GreyhoundGirl]

Molly's broken paw resulted in, not surprising, a pressure sore on her elbow. 3 months later it's STILL not healed. I've tried putting a shirt on it, leaving it bare, we've tried antibiotics, etc. The e-vet yesterday (when she was giving blood) suggested getting a shirt that would add more pressure to it (a special athletic type shirt-I forgot what he called it right now).

 

I'm contemplating another vet visit because it's been getting more red lately.

 

Any other ideas or suggestions? It doesn't seem to be bothering her; she's running, wrestling with Fred, eating, drinking, talking back to me , etc. but I think it should still be healed by now.

 

TIA!!

[Remolacha]

Not quite the same thing, but Sallie gets hot spots and the best thing I have found to clear them up is Manuka honey. I cover it with a non stick pad and some vet wrap.

[FiveRoooooers]

I second trying the Manuka honey. Foster Sweet had a bad, chronic sore on a front paw that has almost completely healed in the month that she's been here since I started applying the honey and wrapping it. An elbow could be a tricky spot to wrap but if the honey is going to work you should see progress pretty quickly.

[GreyhoundGirl]

Great, where do I get it from?

[Remolacha]

Some health food stores carry it, even some grocery stores, it is becoming more popular. Amazon often has the best prices, and it is expensive, but it will last forever. Get at least UMF of 10, often called "active 12+" or "16+" I like at least 16.

[tbhounds]

Fit her for a human wrist sweat band. They usually are thick, and fit right over our hounds elbows. It may not stay in place while she's up but, slide it on when she's laying down.

[Neighsayer]

A third vote for Manuka honey.

[DesiRayMom]

Vote #4 for Manuka honey. Got mine at Whole Foods. Desi had an owie in between 2 inside toes that I couldn't get to heal.

Manuka honey fixed it in just a couple of days.

[gracegirl]

Can you explain, in detail, how to apply the Manuka honey? If its sticky like regular honey, I'm having a hard time figuring out how to dress a wound with it. Wouldn't it stick terribly to a piece of gauze? Help!

Edited November 3, 2013 by gracegirl

[NeylasMom]

Cold laser therapy?

 

Something that promotes granulation? I've used Trypzyme with good success in the past.

[4My2Greys]

Manuka honey is what healed a very nasty pressure sore that developed on Nadir's elbow as a result of wearing a splint after a broken toe. I also use it quite often for him when he has stomach problems. This is my favorite brand and strength.

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B001O0BL9E/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1383396553&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX110_SY165_QL70

 

Lauren, I applied it to a non-stick telfa pad. I then put a sock which I had cut the toes out of over that. Then I secured both ends of the sock with vet wrap.

[DocsDoctor]

Applying the Manuka honey: clean wound, pat dry, slather on a little bit of the honey using a clean knife or spatula, cover with a low-adhesive dressing, then fix the dressing on...

 

... the last is actually the tricky bit, with elbows - getting the dressing to stay put! I have recent experience as Doc fell down playing with his teddy bear and gave himself a haematoma on his, which ended up having to be drained. Regular bandages kept falling off/down, even when applied by the vet - the best solution turned out to be to use the smallest size of human tubigrip bandage. I would apply the honey, hold the dressing over the wound, apply a small double-sided sticky pad (the kind people use to stick things to the wall) to the back of it, wriggle the tubigrip up over it and into position and then get it to stick to the pad.

 

If you are using a tubigrip it will apply pressure to the leg, so you need to watch out that the paw doesn't swell - you can overcome this by moving the tubigrip around, taking it off altogether while the dog is resting and you are around, and a bit of gentle massage. The alternative is to bandage the whole leg, but Doc is a bit of a wobbly old boy these days so we didn't want to do that and muck up his balance.

 

I made him an elbow protector to go over that, he is still wearing that indoors for now as although his elbow has healed there is still a little bag of skin that needs to shrink. That's made from fleece, with velcro fastenings above and below the elbow joint, and a section of neoprene (a vandalised bottle carrier!) sewn on to prevent any damage if he bangs himself down on his elbows as he lies down.

[Neighsayer]

I put the honey on a nonstick pad and apply to wound. It stays in place while I wrap it with gauze...extending several inches in both directions past the pad. Then use vet wrap on the extensions to hold them on the leg at both ends. The pad can move but has no place to go. The honey maximizes granulation, and prevents infection. Doctors use it on human burn patients.

[4My2Greys]

I put the honey on a nonstick pad and apply to wound. It stays in place while I wrap it with gauze...extending several inches in both directions past the pad. Then use vet wrap on the extensions to hold them on the leg at both ends. The pad can move but has no place to go. The honey maximizes granulation, and prevents infection. Doctors use it on human burn patients.

Wrapping gauze around the non-stick pad is the part I forgot about. After securing the gauze I would then slip the sock over it.

This honey is really some amazing stuff and something no home should be without.

[EllenEveBaz]

On a different tack, when humans have pressure sores, it's thought that extra protein in the diet promotes healing.