My pet has an open leg wound. Can I use antiseptic to prevent infection?

I am sorry this happened to your cat. This appears to be a very serious injury. Those are tendons showing. He should get antibiotics and this injury should be stitched up. If there is any way you can get him to a vet that is really the best option. I am not sure what products you have available for use in Brazil so I am not sure how to help you. I will try my best. If you can get Betadine solution I would make it into a dilution that looks like weak iced tea (light to medium brown). Do not use it straight. If the cat will let you I would soak that injury in that solution for 3-5 minutes a couple times per day. Discard the solution after each use and make a new solution. Do not re-use the same solution. If the cat won't let you soak the leg then you can just flush/wash the injury with that dilute solution. After that, dry the injury thoroughly, apply a thin layer of antibiotic ointment and then bandage it (not too tightly). Keep doing that until it is healed. It may take weeks. If you can keep him indoors during this time that would be best. Again, a vet visit is the best option in this case.

The toe does look very inflamed and swollen and it might be getting infected which would warrant oral antibiotics. You could also try to soak the foot in a dilute betadine solution (use warm water and dilute to the color of weak tea). Dry it thoroughly, then place triple antibiotic ointment on the wound and then bandage it. You should do this twice daily. If the wound isn't improving, you will most likely need to take Jimmy to the vet for further care and medications.

These type of injuries are often due to a puncture between the toes. Sometimes the thing that punctures the toes stays under the skin. This commonly happens with thorns and grass awns. In both cases, an infection develops under the skin and will not heal until the source of infection is removed. Lioh's injury does appear to be infected from what I can see in the photos and it will be best to take him to the vet for treatment. For now, you can try doing a twice daily foot bath with Epsom salts to help decrease the swelling and help treat the infection. Just make sure that he doesn't drink the Epsom salt water, or it will make him sick. I hope that helps and Lioh gets better soon.

Hi there and thank you for using pet coach to address your concern. A topical antibiotic ointment would help this, bit if you are limited with what you can find I would start by keeping the wounds clean with a diluted Betadine solution (Betadine diluted in water or saline to a light brown color) and keep wounds clean 3 times per day to help prevent infection. If the infection is too deep in the tissues, it is likely that Macana will need oral antibiotics. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns. I am also available via consultation if needed.

Poor bird! If the foot is at all infected, trying to find a vet that can help in person is best. However, until you can find one, it is a good idea to separate the bird from any cage mates to keep from being picked on, and move him to a warm hospital cage with larger, flat perches that will make perching easier on his feet. Keeping the foot clean and dry and using an ointment such as Blu-kote (most feed and pet stores carry this for use in poultry and other birds) can help prevent infection. You can also Google how to make a bird-sized Elizabethan (cone) collar to put on the bird so that he can't get to his foot and bite it while it heals.

Unfortunately, there isn't much other advice I can give over the internet. If the infection hasn't been clearing with current treatment, it may be time to try and seek out a specialist in your area, or perform additional tests such as blood work or X-rays to try and rule out other issues such as tumors, growths or underlying illness that is preventing it from healing. Keeping your bird separated from other birds, and applying an Elizabethan (cone) collar (they have these for birds or you can look up online how to make one) can also help the area to heal without allowing your bird or other birds to continue picking at it and making the infection worse. Keeping the area clean and treated can also help until you can find the ultimate cause of it.

I did receive the photos you sent in this morning that were forwarded to me via our website moderator. The abrasions themselves can likely be managed at home with a sterile cleaning using Betadine diluted 50:50 with warm water and then flushing the area daily thereafter with sterile saline from your local pharmacy. However, if you are also seeing swelling, this could pose a problem. Swelling underneath the skin following trauma is typically either of 2 things: an Abscess (infection underneath the skin) or a Seroma (blood filled sac) . An abscess will need to be treated by your vet, by having the area drained and then he will need to be placed on a short course of antibiotics. If this is a Seroma however, it will likely heal on its own as the body slowly reabsorbs the blood. As long as the Seroma does not get any bigger, which would indicate that there is continued bleeding underneath the skin that needs to be ligated via surgery. There really isn't a good way of knowing if this is Seroma or abscess by looking on the outside; however, with abscesses they are typically painful and will eventually lead to fever and illness (lack of appetite, vomiting) in most cases. Seroma's can be mildly painful, but won't cause a fever. So since you are limited on funds you can roll the dice and see if this thing causes systemic illness or not, or you can try to apply for financial assistance to get Wilber looked at immediately to make sure there isn't an abscess present. Here are some links for financial assistance. I https://carecredit.com/vetmed Here a couple of still up and running grant options: carecredit.com redrover.org/relief/urgent-care-grants/ (typical grant amount is $200) all-creatures.org/gcm/help-cf.html - $50 maximum aid WHEN they have funds. a couple of 'special situation' ones: fveap.org - Vaccine Associated Sarcoma only thepetfund.com/ - Non-basic, non-urgent care (cancer treatment, heart disease, etc.) ONLY. ! hope that this was helpful and hope that your pet Wilber is able to make a full and speedy recovery from his traumatic injury. Take care!