cellulitis-help please, how to prevent?

[Prince33Sp4rkle]

horse has just come down with cellulitis for the second time, im thinking first time a fluke but second time-i need to think about how to prevent this happening again.

he's bay with four white, and it seems to be that cuts on the dark area=fine, but if he gets even a tiny graze on the pink skin, the whole pink skin area puffs up, and tiny crusty yellow lesions start to break through the skin all over the pink area, not just where the original graze was.the leg gets VERY hot and obviously sore to touch, and weirdly, no matter which leg had the original tiny graze, all four legs eventually become infected.

weeks worth of norodine clears it completely.

he is turned out all day on very dry graxing,NO mud even in winter and good thick grass covering.overnight in on shavings and mats.

i have never really liked using boots or turnout chaps but do you think this would be an option now? and if so should i use them all year round? am really scared about over heating the tendons in summer.....

any help would be hugely appreciated.

(mum is on her way to collect norondine as i type but if anyone can help me prevent this again, id be eternally grateful, as would my poor sore boy).

 

[eventingdraft]

Hi. My boy also has four whites and suffers from the same problem. Personally I never use boots as I find it triggers the problem/makes it worse. It's really frustrating but best thing I've found is to keep a large tub of Flamazine cream in at all times (from vet) and keep a really close eye out for any pink patches of skin - get the Flamazine on as soon as I see any. Sometimes I still have to resort to Norodine to cure but most times the cream seems to stop it in its tracks. I also tend to bandage if he's kept in for longer than normal to stop him swelling!

 

[Prince33Sp4rkle]

yes have got some flamazine in.

i thought we had caught it in time but he's very sore today so on a weeks norodine.

i was thinking that when he comes in from the field to use a mister to lightly spray his legs with dilute hibiscrub, so that every little cut even the ones too small to see is being cleaned? would that we any help do you think? it seems to be that if he gets a tiny graze on his pink skin, its starts off the infection-he had a tiny nick on the inside pastern last week but by the time i found it (must have done it early in the day) it was dried up neatly and scabbed over so i didnt disturb it.thats healed fine but now all 4 whites are up with the cellulitis-connected? should i have picked the scab off and hibiscrubbed?

 

[Horseback Rider]

Agree with enventingdraft boots seem to trigger it if anything. It's a pain but I check my boy's legs everyday and if there is cut ( usually easy to spot with him as he always bleeds loads) I clean it with a warm water and hibiscrub then put septicleanse on it it's a like a black powder but really good at helping the healing process and touch wood this seems to work for us.

I think there are several different triggers thom have you thought about adding a supplement to his feed that coudl help ?

 

[delberts_racquel]

hi i've posted loads about this as i came very close to losing my boy in august over it. I am obsessed with his legs, he fills when in his stable so I worry with him being in all the time cuz of the weather and i check his legs avery day. even if i suspect a cut i'll spray it with anticeptic spray just to make sure!! he's a total special case so he's good at knocking himself which doesn't help!!

I've heard of a suppliment called clivers or cleavers you can add to their feed to aid the lymph glands and I'm asking about some homeopathic remedy called apis mel which people have said about. it will take weeks for his leg to go down, del's was massive for ages and took 15mins of cold hosing 2x a day to make it go down. I'd apply cool gel too if you've got any just to help the swelling.

 

[Prince33Sp4rkle]

hi all, thanks for the help.

have been to tack shop today and got a immune system supplement-apparently this will help him fight it every time he gets a small cut???

can be spelt clivers or cleavers and its a herb i think, well, a weed!!! you know the sticky bud weed-thats it!!! have got some i dried in the summer, so am adding that to his feed.

im prety good at leg checks as lady who brings them in checks and i check again when i bandage up to ride, but i guess we need to be obsessive lol.thats why i wondered if misting with dilute hiiscrub would be a good idea as it would reach all the tiny grazes the naked eye cant even see?????

just been out to skip/hay/check and he's very sore on his fore legs, it obviously hurts like hell if i touch him

going to vets to get norodine tomorrow but have given him a bute as he looks so miserable, much worse than yesterday.poor lad.

sounds like its a case of being obsessive, and time.last time he was back to normal after day 3 of the norodine so fingers crossed, hate seeing him so down and sore.

thank you xxx

 

[delberts_racquel]

thanx, i was going into my local tack shop at the weekend to get something for him.

it is awful to see them so ill, i was on a hen night so didn't know it had happened. Luckily two amazing girls at my yard helped me out so much- they calmed me down and got him to vets. I was desperate to get back to him but by the time I would have got there the assessment would have been made so I was told to stay put and wait for a verdict. luckily they said he'd pull through and to go see them the next day. I'm not ashamed to say I had a bit of a cry when I saw how bad his legs were... he was busy destroying a hay net at the time so i knew he'd be ok!! I do get told I'm obsessive but I'd rather be like this and spend £20-30 on a prevention than have to face a vet bill and all the worry again!!

 

[Prince33Sp4rkle]

absolutely agree-so what if i get through an ocean of hibiscrub and supplement-at £6 and £18 repsectively, i think thats far better than leaving it to chance again. would do anything to have been able to get the antibiotics tonight but no can do

 

[TarrSteps]

I've had cellulitis - not fun!

On the subject of horses, though, I have an immune-pathetic horse, very given to reactions, who got a substantial vasculitis last winter. Many courses of antibiotics and various topical treatments later, we ended up going with the they very old fashioned route of iodine wash and furacin for any new cuts/lesions. He had been doing the hibiscrub routine but - as eventually suspected - actually had a positive skin test to the hibiscrub so we were in fact making thing worse! Just a thought.

In previous life he had been on an immune supplement that I cannot get here so have tried him on the similar Global Herbs product and would say I'm tentatively pleased with the result. I also put him on MSM, which I've used for inflammatory issues in the past, and he's been wearing chaps for turn out. So far he's not shown signs again but I'm afraid to stop any of the options, just in case! (I will add, he's also moved, which might be the biggest contributory factor but obviously not an option for everyone.)

So no specific help, just my experiences, sorry.

 

[PennywithHenry]

QR

I've got a load of Trimedazine in from my TB's last bout of cellulitis if I'd seen this sooner I could have popped it in the post to you.

I used to wash his legs down every day, dry them really well with the hairdryer. any obvious cut, even tiny ones, I clipped the hair away, gave it a good clean then applied antibiotic cream. He had to be turned out daily, whatever the weather, and come in as late as possible. Hay in the field had b divided between loads of tiny piles to keep him moving around.

 

[katrinamward]

Hi there,
I'm an equine vet and my advice would be wash down his legs with dilute hibiscrub and dry well every night, being vigilant for any nicks/cuts or scabs. If you do find any of these then apply a topical antibiotic. At our practice we make up a cream that is a mixture of aqueous cream, powdered antibiotic and hydrocortizone (an antiinflammatory). This works a treat on mud fever. Alternatively you can get a can of antibiotic spray from your vet such as teramycin or cyclospray which is brilliant for preventing infection in small cuts and scrapes.

Hope this helps!

Kat x

 

[Prince33Sp4rkle]

thank you both,thats great

at least i know what to ask vet for now.
TBH the norodine doesnt seem to be having the same wonderous effect it did last time, swelling still comming and going....so it looks like a possible visit from the vet again next week

i am working him lightly as his legs seem much less painful when the swelling is reduced,is this ok? he feels happy to go and im using gamgee padding under fleece bandages to cushion his legs in case he bumps himself.

 

[katrinamward]

It may be that the norodine which is TMPS is not being effective now either because the bacteria involved are resistant to this antibiotic, in which case he needs to go on to another, or that the current swelling is not due to infection but it down to the after effects that the infection has caused. quite often horses that have had a cellulitis or lymphangitis will have a degree of fluctuating swelling for several months after the infection has been resolved because the lymphatics have been damaged. Ask your vet about it when they come out.

Is he on any form of antiinflammatory such as bute or danilon? This may help too and will of course make him less sore.

As far as exercise goes, as long as he's not lame then great! gentle exercise will help to increase circulation and hopefully decrease the swelling.

 

[brighteyes]

At the risk of hijacking the post a bit, is this why legs sometimes show mild localised swelling intermittently around an injury site, even after the wound has healed?

We had mud fever followed by mites and raging elephant legs with oozing. A flamazine and malaseb merry-go-round then ivermectin jabs and AB's. Dear God, never want to go through THAT again

 

[katrinamward]

yes it can be but beware of heat and redness along with swelling as that can be an indication of infection.

With regards to the mite problem we use a drug called Dectomax which is actually licensed for use in cattle and sheep but can be used in horses off license and works very well. Its given by intramuscular injection. If you have further problems ask your vet about using it.

Also as i said in previous post if you've got really irritated skin like you are describing with the mites, applying a cream with steriod in it such as hydrocortisone can really help.