Sarcoids - freezing them and other thoughts?

[canteron]

Is it my imagination or is there suddenly an explosion of sarcoids around? It may be that I am more aware having just had a donkey & horse treated, never having had any problems before but suddenly there seems a mass of sarcoid queries on the forum and also other people's horses around here.

Questions! .....

My vet used Liquid Nitrogen to freeze them off. No one else seems to have mentioned that, does anyone have any experience of this method ... both my equines have really messy sore looking lumps now (one week after treatment) and it would be great to know other people's experiences.

Also, regarding fly sprays. I have been putting dermagel on the wound and then fly gel around the wound, but I am not sure that the fly gel isn't irritating the horse. What can anyone recommend to try and keep the flys away (if flies really bad I keep the equines in). It seems a bit harsh to put the fly spray directly on the wound?

Finally, does anyone know what percentage of horses get sarcoids.

Thanks for any help with any of the questions!

 

[kerilli]

i'd smother them with a thick paste type of wound goo, something the flies can't get through.
i agree about the 'explosion', they used to be a rarity.

 

[Box_Of_Frogs]

I certainly wouldn't put fly gel on any open wound, especially one where a sarcoid has just been removed. Try a neutral goo like vaseline. Freezing is one approach to removing sarcoids. Other methods include surgery and Liverpool cream. Any invasive procedure to remove them can result in any remaining sarcoid cells becoming much more aggressive. Often, it is virtually impossible to decide whether the horse has warts or sarcoids. Warts can be successfully cleared pretty easily but sarcoids are a from of skin cancer, although they don't always spread.

I think that it may appear that there are more sarcoids around now because owners are far more aware and likely to consult a vet rather than treat it themselves. And horses are living longer and that can affect the statistics.