Opinions please??

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bluekerry123

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:(:(So my mare had a seriously snotty nose, smelly, thick, honking stuff, about 4 months ago, vet gave her antibiotics, saying if it came back, it could be a tooth problem, the horse is 18yrs old. Well it did come back, about 6 weeks later, so, took her in, they put a camera up her nose, down her windpipe & into her lungs. Also had a good feel and look at her teeth. Teeth all good, no loose, cracked teeth, sinuses clear, no gunk that one might expect if it was tooth related. Bit of gunk in upper tract, and cloudy fluid pulled off lungs. Had the fluid tested, and came back with a bacterial infection that vet reckons may have been brought on by viral infection. So, respiratory problem, 10 days anti bs, 6 weeks rest, all cleared up.

BUT, started riding again, and 1 week in, the snot from same nostril is back,albeit lessened, soooo, phoned vet, she says it could be that she is having a clear out of whats left. Advised to keep on riding her for 2 weeks, tonight she was so low, looked poorly in her eyes, got out of yard and turned round to untack, she was NOT herself ( welsh D usually on a mission!)

What do peeps think? Sorry its so long, seems to have been going on forever.
 
This is quite a good article;http://www.equestmagazine.com/article03-05-c3.php
Have a look at the bit about sinus infections being secondary to tooth root problems. I had a horse with this, vet said these types of infection are very difficult to clear up with antibiotics. She had 5 continuous courses which didn't work. She had the tooth removed after xrays diagnosed the problem and she's been fine since.
 
did they x-ray her head? this might be the next step in determining an abscess in her teeth or sinus. Poor girl sounds poorly, i'd get your vet out again or another for a second opinion even from the same practice. Did they swab for strangles? There is alot of it about at present. I guess if they scoped and the gutteral pouch was clear then strangles is less likely but not impossible.
 
thanks guys, have booked her in for an x ray for nxt week, shes bloody feeling ok today tho, nearly took my arm off when i turned her out on a bit of grass to perk her up! Vet did rule out strangles....was so hoping it wouldn't be a tooth, but looking more and more likely. A friend mentioned fungal infection in the sinus? Anyone had experience of this?
Will check out that article too!
 
As I'm suffering from recurring sinusitis I have every sympathy with your mare not feeling well. Its horrible.

Have to smile about her feeling better tho, did you tell her you booked her in ?Shhhhhh...
 
I think I can help here as I have had first hand experience with this. My big 17hh horse was unwell and, after Xays, was diagnosed with a rotten tooth root which needed extracting. He went into our local vets to have it removed under local anaesthetic. Everything went well except that he was left with this persistent snotty nose which smelt absolutely disgusting and was caused by a sinus infection. He was treated with antibiotics but the infection came back. They then took a swab of the snot which they analysed in a laboratory so that they could treat with a specific antibiotic. However, despite the treatment he was still left with the infection. The vet was talking about cutting a piece of bone out of his face under his eye to get into the sinus and clean the whole thing out. However, I was reluctant to have this done as one of the drawbacks was that his face could be permanently disfigured as the bone might not have gone back and stayed in the right place. In the end I turned him out 24/7 for a month and the infection went away because having his head down to eat most of the time meant that it drained the sinus. For me, it had a happy ending but you should speak to your vet because I heard that a friend's horse had a similar infection and unfortunately it spread to the brain which was a pts job.
Good luck - hope you get it sorted.
 
if it's a sinus infection then your vet can drill away part of the bone and place in a tube to flush out the infection (pours out the nostrils in lumps normally!) horse will have this in for a few days at least until liquid running out is clear of any pus. They will also be on antibiotics specific to the bacteria that has caused the infection. It's a messy job with lots of pros and cons but worth looking into. We've done 3 in the last year, more of a last hope job but is done under standing sedation in stocks normally.
 
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