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  Discussion on Abcess from skin tear?
Author Message
Member:
Kelly81

Posted on Tuesday, Aug 10, 2004 - 9:52 pm:

I have a 6 year old QH mare who recently had a bout with hives (which is being treated with cold water soaks and Bute). They have been there about a week but are going down nicely. My latest concern is a skin tear on her hip. She got it from coming out of the stall 90 miles an hour to get to her feed. (This is the second one she's had). The tear is not deep. It basically just tore the hair off and left a small superficial cut. This was about 5 days ago. I've been cleaning it regularly with topical antimicrobial skin spray (Krud Buster) and applying aloe vera cream for horses. It has been healing nicely (no drainage, no warmth, slight tenderness upon touch).

Today I noticed two whelps running parallel to each other about 10 inches in length and one inch in width. They start about 2 inches from the skin tear and run down her flank area to the underside of her belly. They meet at a bigger whelp like area about the diameter of an egg on the underside of her belly. They don't stand up high off the skin but are noticeable. They don't seem to be tender and currently aren't warm to the touch. Tonight I washed the places good with baby shampoo and let cold water run over them for a while (they didn't go down much).

My concern that this could be some kind of infection from the skin tear, or could this be something from flies/parasites that could have gotten in the wound and migrated? The whelps look like long worms under the skin but I know that is unlikely. I've had horses about my whole life and have never had one have anything like this. This mare is usually an easy keeper and hasn't had any problems until these past 2 weeks. She's UTD on all shots/wormings. I just don't want to blow this off as something harmless when there's a need to be concerned. Any thoughts are appreciated. I"ve read the articles Dr.O has about different skin problems and it doesn't really sound like an abcess at this point.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Wednesday, Aug 11, 2004 - 10:00 am:

Without warmth or pain infection is unlikely though this can change. What is in your Krud Buster? Discontinue it until we review the contents and I would treat the wound like is in our article Equine Diseases » Skin Diseases » Wounds: First Aid Care.
DrO
Member:
Kelly81

Posted on Wednesday, Aug 11, 2004 - 10:55 am:

Thanks for your response. I read your articles about wound care/first aid care. I have been washing/flusing the area daily and letting it dry. The spray that I am using is called "Cowboy Magic Equine Krud Buster". I originally got it to treat some rain rot that she had when I bought her. It did wonders for that and she had no adverse reaction to it then. It's indicated for wounds, rain rot, scratches, show crud, crusty skin, girth itch, and soft tissue. I've used it on her before for some cuts. The areas healed nicely with combination of washing the areas daily. The ingredients are: water, propylene glycol, Polysorbate 20, Centromonium Chloride, Germaben II, Panthanol, DMDM Hydantoin, Citric Acid, Triclosan, Sodium PCA, Aloe Vera, Lavender Extract, Chamomile Extract, Tetrasodium EDTA, and Allantoin.

When I noticed these whelp like areas, the first thing I thought was that she'd had a reaction to the spray that I was using so I washed her with baby shampoo and ran cold water over the areas. This morning they seem to have gone down some. Her wound is looking good with no S/S of infection.

Could the Bute I've been giving her for her hives made her hypersensitive to the spray since I've used it on her lots of time with no previous reaction? I've quit using the spray since these places have come up. There's a website on the spray bottle www.cowboymagic.com

People I know swear by this stuff but the more I think about it I think her problem might stem from it but I don't know why all of a sudden she would react this way to it. I know it can take repeated exposures to something prior to developing an allergy. If it is a reaction to the spray then the Bute should help it. I started out giving her 1 gram twice daily but now I only give her 1 gram once a day since the hives are going away. I'm gonna go out today and get some of the stuff you recommended in your article. After reading about the ingredients in this spray and you think I should stop using it all together, let me know and I'll toss it.
I was reading the biography section and saw you live in NC. What part of the Piedmont are you from? I live in between Lexington and Winston-Salem.
Thanks for your time.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Thursday, Aug 12, 2004 - 9:48 am:

No the bute is not responsible, some animals just become sensitized to some things, particularly when foreign organic materials are used. It is uncertain if this is just irritating or developing an allergy, the particular characteristics of this wound might cause it to behave differently than wounds in the past. I would toss it and just stick with Neosporin on the wound.

We are in Stokesdale, the NW corner of Guilford County.
DrO
Member:
Kelly81

Posted on Thursday, Aug 12, 2004 - 8:32 pm:

I have come to the conclusion that the spray probably caused a reaction because today the places are not noticeable. Hope you guys didn't get any damage from those storms today. Thanks again for your time.
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