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Discussion on Using a poltice without wrapping.
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Member:
Banthony
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Posted on Wednesday, Jul 26, 2006 - 4:25 pm:
Dr. O,
An experienced horsewoman at the barn will cold soak a leg that has been injured and is swollen, then put DMSO on the wet leg, then put a heavy layer of poultice over that. She doesn't wrap the poultice, but turns the horse out in the pasture where the poultice dries and flakes off.
Am I missing something? The DMSO isn't effective on a wet leg is it? Doesn't a poultice need to be wrapped to keep it moist for a cooling affect? Will it do any good this way?
I have seen her do this over and over.
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Wednesday, Jul 26, 2006 - 6:03 pm:
I believe the main benefit of a clay poultice is that it fills the flexor tendon crevasses evenly that are to get to with cotton wraps alone. So I would vote for no-confidence in this procedure and think improvement is from the turn out alone. It often works.
Whether the DMSO would be effective under these conditions is also uncertain but as a leg pain there is little study on its efficacy under any circumstance though I use it in combination with a corticosteroid for inflammatory conditions.
DrO
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Member:
Paul303
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Posted on Friday, Jul 28, 2006 - 1:01 am:
Now, I always thought that water + DMSO can create a lot of heat and can burn. Actually, one of my horses a few yrs. back bowed a tendon, and wrapping the front legs was part of the treatment. The leg was shaved, and each time we changed the wraps it was packed with animalintex poultice or antipholgistine, covered in saran wrap, cotton batting, vet wrap and a standing wrap. One day, a barn person helping out when I couldn't get there added DMSO to the leg after a soaking. Then it was poulticed and wrapped. The wraps were changed about 36 hrs. later - and the leg had blistered. On top of the tendon, she now had burns on her skin.
But Linda, the way you describe it, it almost sounds as though the woman is looking for the heat - and holding it in with the poultice - yet not wrapping it... so that the poultice falls off in short order before any injury to the skin occurs.
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Member:
Frances
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Posted on Friday, Jul 28, 2006 - 7:18 am:
About a year ago, when my horse's suspensory desmitis wasn't healing as hoped, my vet had me use a clay poultice daily - one day hot, wrapped with saran wrap and bandaged, the next day cold and uncovered.
I'm not sure what the thinking was behind this alternating treatment, but at the next check-up there was a great deal of improvement (of course I'm not saying there weren't other factors that could have been responsible, but at least poulticing in this way didn't hurt!).
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Member:
Banthony
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Posted on Friday, Jul 28, 2006 - 9:27 am:
Thanks for the input everyone.
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