does bleach help thrush???

[Triskar]

Use copper sulphate. If the thrush is really bad, hold copper sulphate crystals in place with impression material with a hoof boot over the top - for a week (check daily). Then mix copper sulphate crystals with water and use as a spray after hoof picking.

 

[curran]

My horse is currently at the vets with a bad case of thrush and abscess which made him very lame last week. Originally I was told by the vets to treat it with hydrogen peroxide but it did not improve much and made him very uncomfortable and distressed about his feet being dealt with. So much so, that he had to be taken into the vets so that he could be sedated each time his feet are looked at. They are now applying a sugardyne bandage once a day on all four feet. This seems to be much more effective and his feet are now hardening up well. It is simply a mixture of sugar and iodine which will form a paste. Good luck!

Definitely not undiluted 9% which is what you can normally buy. Dilute this x3 so one part H2O2 to 2 parts water. Then add a heaped tsp of sodium bicarbonate to every 500ml and you'll have a good foot wash. Can be kept for a few days - no need for fridge. Wash with soft brush - nothing scratchy then blot with cotton wool and spray with a v gentle biocide such as Frogwell and you should see much improvement within a week.

 

[K27]

I wouldn't use bleach but i think you mean Hydrogen Peroxide- which is excellent for thrush - either syringe it in or pour on neat ( feet need to be clean and dry for it to work well), hold feet up for 30 seconds-1 min and let it bubble up. fab stuff!- and cheap too.

 

[Goldenstar]

thxs for all your helpfull tips and advice!! I rang my farrier last night..he told me to wash the frogs with warm salty water then when dry,treat with iodine spray..

This is what I would do to start with . Bleach and HP can just be too harsh and can make matters worse and the horse very sore if you have to down the bleach route use Milton and see how you go.
If you can get the horse walking on an abrasive surface like sand this will help the trimmer who does my horse tells everyone who has thrush problems to get the horse to the beach ( abrasive and salty ) as course that's very dependant on where you live !
You need to find what works with your horse there's no one way for thrush it goes without saying that bedding must be kept clean and dry and if grazing is wet you need to allow time stables every day.

 

[Tnavas]

Peroxide can be damaging to the healthy tissue too so it does not help with healing,

Peroxide produces Oxygen so does help with healing. It generates heat when activating so it is possible to burn sensitive tissue.

Any 'Fungal' treatment should work well. We used to make up a paste with Captan - which is a rose fungal treatment powder. Soak feet and scrub clean and pack with a stiff paste of Captan mixed with a little water.

 

[vineyridge]

I'm in the US, and an excellent farrier here who is a master farrier and was president of the US Farriers Association told me to save my money on dedicated and expensive horse remedies for thrush and use a 50% solution of household chlorine bleach on the frogs of a horse I'd bought with terrible recurring thrush. I got a syringe with a curved tip and could squirt the bleach into all the cracks and crevices. His thrush cleared up after years.

I'm aware that chlorine bleach is very strong, even diluted, but it worked for us. After we gpt the thrush cleaned up, I used Hawthorne Hoof Dressing, which may not be available in the UK, and we never had a problem again.

I also took on a rescue mare whose feet were so bad that she had no frog left at all. Two weeks of the bleach treatment daily followed by the Hawthorne and she's actually beginning to grow frog at age 28.

Iodine also can kill healthy cells, just like chlorine bleach and hydrogen peroxide. So, IIRC, do the copper sulfate thrust remedies. To me, you just pays your money and takes your choice on which of these old time remedies you will use.

 

[ester]

bizarrely I was thinking about this thread last night, I am not sure that the delivery of oxygen is quite how the peroxide is likely to work, my microbiology nonce isn't happy with that as a reason (sorry CP!) I suppose it depends exactly how sensitive the organisms are to oxygen, some can be very fastidious but most do not die as a result of short term oxygen exposure so I am not quite sure whether the temporary application of such oxygen is going to significantly reduce multiplication of the organism and hence the thrush. It might work for other reasons though .

 

[vineyridge]

Now that I think about the use of chlorine bleach, I'm not actually sure of the percentage that the farrier recommended. Will have to check.
Checked, and the ratio varies from 10% Chlorine bleach to 90% water all the way up to 50-50. If a 10% solution would work to kill infection, that would probably be the best.

 

[Jnhuk]

Hydrogen peroxide is useful against anaerobic bacteria (which dislike oxygen) which is why it is good for clearing up such infections. Peroxyl is the trade name of the dental mouthwash that contains it.

I have never tried this but chlorhexidine is effective against thrush so other options to that you could use would be chlorhexidine mouthwash or gel (most common trade name know is corsodyl but cheaper to buy if you buy unbranded). The gel is quite viscous and clear so could easily be applied to round the frog etc....