Advice needed! Swollen Parotid Gland

S

stargemma

New User
Joined
18 June 2010
Messages
1
Visit site
In March the left Parotid (gland between eye and ear) of my horse suddenly swelled up to about the size of an large egg. It has stayed swollen ever since and the vets have said that it is either a melanoma or due to grass/pollen. I think I have kind of resigned myself to the fact it may be a melanoma (grey 12year old mare with a few under tail) but the weird thing is that the last owner thinks it was swollen last summer too. Has anyone heard of only one gland swelling up with the grass and staying swollen for a few months? All the posts here seem to say grass glands go down after a few hours inside- this one does not. Also anyone had experience of a melanoma in the parotid gland! Vets just seem to want to wait and see but I am still feeling a bit stressed about it!
 
Hi did you find a solution to this, my mare has a very similar egg where the throat lash goes. More noticeable on the one side than other. Thought it went down and up but seems to be up at the moment. Got vet booked to come out! Best regards K
 
If it started at roughly the same time that the spring grass started to come through then there's a common condition known as grass glands. Greedy horses dive into the new grass and chew and chew and chew til their salivary glands go into overdrive. It usually settles down after a few weeks or as the grass slows down for the summer. If the horse is well in every other way, keeping weight on, appetite good etc etc then I'd probably do as the vet said, keep a close watch on it. Interestingly, you said the previous owner knew the salivary gland became swollen the spring before you bought the horse. If the gland came up again the first spring you had her, then the gland must have subsided. I wonder why it didn't this time.
 
hi, my grey anglo arab gelding 13years old has alwasy had his glands swell up and they go down... since he was a baby, but now there seems to be a new development... i'm worried its a melanoma that developed from his parotid gland. Its a hard swelling, its not gone down for 2 months, its not painful, no heat, doesnt seem to bother him at all, but it seems to be increasing in size too quickly for my liking. I read up about them as much as possible, cant seem to find any good articles of sections in vet books about the spicific melanoma that develops in the parotid gland and when yo know for sure its a melanoma and when is it allergies? can you only tell by biopsy? What kind of treatment or therapy will be helpful?any one have any ideas?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top