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[apope43]

Ironic that we talked about her swelling being soft last night.  This morning Ken pointed out a 'gooshy' spot on the inside of her leg, and tonight...a draining lesion.  I cried, I started dabbing and cleaning it, then I threw up, then Izzy whimpered. I just dried it thoroughly after getting as much from it as I could without hurting her, and then gave her 50mg of tramadol.  The dosage is for 75, but I figured I would start with 50 and then add half a tab if needed.  I put ice on it again too.  Does that help?  Should I continue massaging it to try to squeeze that gunk out of the lesion??

This stuff is like a horror show....mind boggling.

[apope43]

PS - I should mention its nowhere near some of the abscesses I've seen from our other blasto moms and I'm still struggling.  How we get through this I don't know. Awful.  Awful. 

[Niners]

Poor Izzy! So sorry. But doesn't it seem good that it's working it's way out? It just seems like that should be good. But so painful for them.

ct

[benniesmom]

aw jeez......Poor izzy. I bet that smarts.... and. if it drains, maybe it won't hurt sommuch? Wash your hands....... and.. don't  spare that tramadol. it will really help. I'd give her the ful 75. Then maybe something soothing for you? Seriously, though. Bennie gets 100 mg when he needs it.... he weighs about 75 lbs.......Go for it!

[apope43]

You're right.  This stuff is so angry its escaping as best it can...I'm trying to remind myself of that.  Its all I can do to not dope her up and start pushing that gunk out, but I'm afraid I'll do more harm than good. 
She's SO good, and even when you knew her eye was killing her when it was twice her size she was so sweet and patient and never uttered a peep.  Our vet said that if a human had a similar eye they would have passed out from the pain.  So to hear her whimper...it just broke my heart and curse the day she breathed this stuff in.

[apope43]

Barb, thanks for the support.  Maybe I'm too tired, I don't know why it hit me so hard, but man it sent me reeling.

She's pretty knocked out on 50...sound asleep.  Didn't even wake up when I put some beef in front of her nose.  I'll probably give her the other half tab when she wakes up.

[Wilson3]

wilson had a really bad one we where told just to keep it clean and to not mess with it let it do what has to do
they are nasty do not cover it though not good at all no matter what it needs air to dry up yes it may drip but air is needed
good luck stay string
wilson3

[apope43]

We have pascalite clay coming soon...we've left it open to drain (blotted it some with sterile gauze to keep it dry) and aren't covering it.  But when the clay gets here I should make a masque of it and put it on there, right?

[Niners]

Just to insert an aside, hopefully a bit of humor this morning. When I read that you got sick with Izzy's lesion, it reminded me that I just cannot deal with vomit---from the kids, from the dogs, from anyone!!!! Dog poop, no problem. Blood, guts, I'll be ok. But the minute anyone even looks like they might puke, I start to gag. Too funny.

Though I know it wasn't funny for you. I'm guessing that your stress level isn't helping. I felt very shaky that last week with Niners---knowing that she was sick and trying to help her.

Hope you have a great day today. Hugs to Izzy.

ct

[Sadie123]

I am an ER nurse, and we deal with abscesses every day.  We treat at least 10 or greater alone in my 12 hr shift - every day.  I know these are fungal in nature in our dogs, but still the same as with the swelling and drainage.  Some of the abscesses are ready to lance while  others are not.  For those who are not ready, we tell them to soak in a hot tub or use a moist towel with a heating pad to help get it softer and ready to drain.  We hope the antibiotics clear them up without draining, but lots of them still need it done.  It is painful.  The pressure underneath the skin from the infection is what causes most of the pain.  Once we do drain them, most people get quite a bit of relief but still require pain meds.  So don't be afraid to give Izzy the tramadol.  He needs it for healing. And yes - someone mentioned air dry it.  Yes-Yes-Yes!!  Don't pack it in neosporin or anything that could potentially keep it moist.  Moisture is what harbors bacteria.  They thrive in it.  That could make this fungal infection turn into a secondary bacterial infection.  Just my thoughts. 

Another consideration if you are willing to look into it - surgical debridement.  But with dogs who have several spots that pop up, this may not be an effective or cost-alternative treatment option. 

[apope43]

Yeah, we learned early on not to do the neosporin, that's when we ordered the pascalite clay to help it dry out.

Since we're dealing with fungal, wouldn't warm moist heat harm more than help?  Sounds like that would foster a good growing environment for this stuff. 

She slept through the night and did not have any adverse reactions to the tramadol, and every once in a while I would wake up to soak up the drainage with a few gauze pads.  Her limp was much better this morning, so hopefully this is a good thing.

[apope43]

By the way CT -- that IS funny, because I'm the same way.  Blood, guts, poo, you name it I can handle it.  Vomit or...how shall I say...nasal discharge?  No way. 

Ken and I have an agreement that I handle all the poo in the house, he handles the vomit.  With two large dogs and two cats that are rarely, guess who gets the raw end of that deal??  I had to renegotiate to make him clean up every third poo incident.

I think a lot of it was being tired, especially when you added the 'gooshiness' and how painful I knew it had to be...I feel much better about the whole thing today!

[Sadie123]

You're absolutely right about the warm moist heat and fungal infections - NOT a good thing.  I was thinking in terms of boils and abscesses which are bacterial.  That's what we recommend patients to get them ready for draining.  Sorry, not thinking straight today. 

[apope43]

No worries - I'm open to any and all suggestions!!!!

[Cosmo]

Poor Izzy and poor you.  I hope that all goes well.
Jacci and Cosmo