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  Discussion on Betadine treatment for thrush/how long?
Author Message
Member:
Brnrat

Posted on Tuesday, Oct 26, 2004 - 11:59 am:

Never had this problem before (knock on wood)but my new gelding came in from Canada with a bad case of thrush. Had heard many of the commercial thrush treatments were too harsh so read article recommending povidone iodine twice per day. My question is, how long do I need to apply it to eradicate a case of thrush. Would a week's course be adequate? Am picking out his feet twice a day and keeping his stall dry and clean.
Thanks!
Member:
Christos

Posted on Tuesday, Oct 26, 2004 - 3:50 pm:

How bad is it, Kristie ?
Does the hoofpick provoke a pain reaction?
If not, as you've already read in the article, 10% formaldehyde has almost instant results.
I make it by pouring 1 liter of formalin (some 40%) in a 4 liter bottle, then topping up with water (my pharmacist is lazy).
If you remove all looose parts, ie there are no pockets for thrush to hide, this preparation should kill it in three daily applications or so. After that, one application a week should keep it under control even in very bad conditions.

Christos
Member:
Brnrat

Posted on Wednesday, Oct 27, 2004 - 1:32 pm:

Yes, use of the hoof pick elicited a pain response. However, since then farrier came out to shoe him and pared away diseased portion of the frog and treated sulci with iodine solution. His frog looks clean and dry but the sulci are deep and I have been treating his feet with twice per day application of Betadine solution. There's no more black gooey ooze but want to make sure it is completely eradicated before discontinuing treatment. It probably wouldn't hurt to treat prophylactically but wondered how long a standard treatment regimen is and how does one know if it is cured. Thanks, Kristie
Member:
Christos

Posted on Wednesday, Oct 27, 2004 - 2:07 pm:

I do not know how fast it goes when sensitive tissue is exposed, as I've never seen the case and I haven't used iodine.
But if I may guess, packing the sulci with iodine soaked cotton, changed daily, should cure it in two weeks time. You know it is cured when there is no foul smell and no pain response.
I wouldn't use the hoofpick in the sulci for a couple of weeks, so that newly formed tissue is not damaged. Careful cleaning with a q-tip should be enough, especially if the sulci is packed to keep dirt out of the deepest part.

Christos
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Thursday, Oct 28, 2004 - 7:03 am:

With good care and reasonably healty feet you can get the beginnings of a horny layer in about 14 days and treatment with fomalin can begin shortly thereafter.

It is a mistake to think of this condition as "curable" though. The organism is always present in the dirt so the foot is constantly susceptible to reinfection if allowed to remain wet and muddy. I bring this up because the deep sulcus of this horse makes him more susceptible than those with normal frogs.
DrO
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