Has anyone had a sinus problem with their horse?

JackDaniels1

JackDaniels1

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As title.

Just had vet out and thinks the discharge from nose and heavy breathing may be a sinus problem. Given antibiotics and bute. If no better, X rays and scope.

How ''serious'' is it?
 
Yep,3 surgeries & £11,000 worth of sinus problems! But we were very unlucky & there's many different things that can cause problems.
 
Mine had sinusitus about 15 years ago. She was actually very ill at the time & vet thought she'd need a lot of bone & teeth removing initially given the rancid discharge & half her face looking inflated. But antibiotics & tlc got her through. First few days she was really ill & lived on bran mash as that's all she'd have. I spent it cleaning her nostril out. After a week was a weak but recovering pony & 4 wks after first signs was back in work. Never had any problems since, no coughs etc either
 
My TB developed a strange lump on the bridge of his nose about 2 weeks ago ... unsure if its a bang, possible sinus problems or tooth root, being xrayed next week ... no discharge but appeared from nowhere!? :confused:
 
Yes, not a happy outcome I'm afraid - my big horse developed sinus infection. Antibiotics didn't touch it. Turned out the infection was caused by two teeth whose roots had fractured. Flushing with iodine wouldn't get rid of the infection without the teeth being removed. These would have to be removed under GA due to where they were. He absolutely hated having his teeth even looked at. He was an old heavy horse (the bay in my sig) and arthritic so GA was not an option. Vet carried on with strong antibiotics and painkillers. Unfortunately infection spread and he was PTS. If it had been my other oldie, who is smaller and doesn't mind having his teeth done, I would have had the teeth extracted, but the big chap just wouldn't have survived. Sorry - not a happy ending, but just shows how serious a sinus infection can become.
 
Pinto had a sinus infection last year.

Foul smelling green discharge from one nostril. Vet said either sinus infection, or broken tooth root. Treated with 3 weeks of Pulmodex antibiotic, and it cleared up. Not had any problems since.

Vet did say that if it hadn't cleared up, or if the discharge returned within two weeks of stopping the antibiotics, we would have to xray - fortunately Pinto was lucky.

Having said that there was little appreciable difference in the discharge until week three of abs.

Pinto didn't seem overly bothered by the discharge, and was still bright and happy. He didn't have any painkillers. I did supplement him with echinacea during the abs and for three weeks after too.

Fingers crossed your horse reciveres with abs only :)
 
Same as happytohack, horse had X-ray and needed a tooth removed. Seems to be on the mend although he is still clearing the infection out through his nose and he still smells.
 
One horse I ride had two teeth out under GA and a drain in his sinus for three weeks, last month. His laid-back nature saved his life as vet wouldn't have put him through it if he weren't such a tolerant type. Three more weeks on and his sinus is still slightly grotty but he's in light work and doing ok.

I think how serious it is can entirely depend on exactly what is going on in there.
 
Yes, my horse had sinus cysts removed twice in one year! First 1 was done under standing sedation and cost about £1k. Unfortunately it grew back and had to be removed a 2nd time about 6 months later. Due to the size of the cyst, he had to have a GA and had problems with heavy bleeding afterwards and total cost was about 2k. He was aged 20 at the time and luckily never suffered any recurrence until the end of his days at 29 years old. He was left however with an indentation on his face where the bone flap was lifted to access the cyst but it never bothered him at all.

Hopefully yours will just be a simple infection. Good luck!
 
I knew a horse who was PTS because of a sinus infection. It turns out she'd never seen the dentist, and had sharp teeth that broke/punctured the sinus or something like that. Vet said would probably need repeated flushing of the sinuses under GA and no guarantee of success. Vet recommended PTS.
 
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