Blocked Salivary Glands and the use of steroids

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PrudenceQuinn

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Hi All,

I have a 3 year old who has been diagnosed to have blocked salivary glands. This has been going on for 4 months now and the vets can't seem to figure out what is causing the blockage! He has had all sorts of test, scans, scopes, ultrasounds but nothing is showing up. The has been on various courses of antibiotics and that did not work. He has now been on steroids for 4 months now as this is the only thing that keeps the swelling on his face down. I am worried of the side effects to the steroids - does anyone know if this is bad to be on the tablets for so long. He has been on 90 tablets a day! He now has developed sweet itch and had various bald patches.

The first signs was a lot of drawling out of his mouth and a swollen tongue and all under his jaw was swollen. He could not eat or drink- now it is not as bad and the swelling is just showing on the side of his face but is very hot and sore.

I wondered if anyone had experience with this problem? Please help as my youngster is very poorly.

Thanks,
Prudence
 
What mg tablets is he on? Im surprised your vet is dispensing prednisolone tablets for him as there is now a licenced prednisolone product ( powder ) for horses so your vet should be using that really? Have you signed a form for off licence use?

What does your horse weigh? My pony was on prednisolone ( equisolone ) powder last year and he was on 500mg a day. He weighed 390kg. Other than a bout of colic he had no other side effects from the drug and in my ponys case it didnt work anyway. Yes he was on a huge dose but due ro the nature of his serious injury we had nothing to lose as it was it was a case of choosing between 2 evils. He was put down due to his increasing deterioration.
 
Hi yeah he is on Prednisolone - small tiny tablets! I have not signed a form no! Should i have?

I am just worried as he has been on them for nearly 5 months and the vet does not seen phased. His feet are getting more and more brittle and his skin is bad and his tail is falling out! I think i will just wean him off them slowly now as it is not good to be on them this long. I have read that it can caused laminitis which I do not want obviously.

He weights about 500kg i'd say (hes 15.3hh) I am sorry to hear he was put down -what was his injury?

I hope this isn't the case for my little man - I have been advised by another vet to take him off the steroids and leave him and let nature take its course and hope he pulls through!
 
Hi , yes I have but the vets don't seem to think its that as they can't find anything on the scans and x-rays!?

They say its a blockage of an unknown source ( great help) I have tried to google everything. It's such a shame because I have had him since a foal and have spent thousands on him but there is only so much I can do.
 
They have sedated him and prodded and poked around- I am not sure if they just x-rayed the area where swollen and not the whole jaw. Researching stones can be in the jaw!
 
PrudenceQuinn said:
Hi yeah he is on Prednisolone - small tiny tablets! I have not signed a form no! Should i have?

I am just worried as he has been on them for nearly 5 months and the vet does not seen phased. His feet are getting more and more brittle and his skin is bad and his tail is falling out! I think i will just wean him off them slowly now as it is not good to be on them this long. I have read that it can caused laminitis which I do not want obviously.

He weights about 500kg i'd say (hes 15.3hh) I am sorry to hear he was put down -what was his injury?

I hope this isn't the case for my little man - I have been advised by another vet to take him off the steroids and leave him and let nature take its course and hope he pulls through!
Click to expand...

What dose is the tablets? It should say on the bottle and how many is he having a day? They come in 1mg, 5mg and 25mg tablets. Yes you should have signed an "off licence" form as your vet is using a small animal drug thats not licenced for use in horses- there is now a licenced prednisolone product for horses. Is he being treated by an equine clinic?

I suspect your horse an another issue issue going on, the general health of a horse is reflected in his feet and skin and if you now have issues with all four feet, skin and tail then there has to be something else going on. Watch a lecture by professor knottenbelt on it on epona tv.

My ponys hooves etc never changed while he was on sterids. He had a fracture at the base of his skull ( from a rotational fall on the flat from putting his foot in a hole while galloping ) which was affecting the nerves inserting into his brain and interfering with his brain stem. He had also had a bleed at the back of his brain. The specialist who was over seeing his care couldnt believe he had survived the fall as it should have killed him.

Is your horse insured? If so i would request a referral to a specialist hospital for a more indepth investigation and diagnostics, possibly a ct scan.
 
About thirty years ago I had similar symptoms. After seeing a specialist in jaw and facial matters I was advised to have a 'small operation' which would involve them popping the stones into my mouth from the salivary glands.
Some hours later I came round to find I had had major surgery, total removal of all glands on one side of my face and tubes from almost every orifice!
However, after a few days in hospital it healed and I've never had another problem, and don't suffer from dry mouth or lack of salivation etc as the glands the other side compensate for it. I was presented with the stones that were blocking the gland and they were the size of decent broad beans!
Whether your horse's gland is blocked by a stone or not I couldn't say, but I certainly am glad I haven't spent my life on steroiods.
On another note one of our horses suffers on and off from blocked tear ducts, which have to be washed through with saline and antibiotic wash every couple of years. Sounds like more investigation is needed with yours. I hope you find a solution. Long term steroid use is not an answer.
 
They are 5mg tablets - I have started to wean him off now- I was advised by another vet to take him off. I actually think it could be an abces snow as the steroids this time have not brought the swelling down and the lump is like a golf ball ( very hard and sore) and his breath is very smelly)! Might need draining and another course of antibiotics - poor lad.

No he is not injured anywhere - yes I think my next step was to ct scan.

Thanks for all your advice - really appreciated!
 
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