My dog's infected stitches: Should I use peroxide to clean them?

Hi there! Yes, you can certainly use a warm washcloth or cotton ball to gently clean the incisions as often as needed if there is any oozing or drainage. They should heal up within the next 10-14 days :)

Hello, & thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. While the antibiotics should prevent a real nasty infection from progressing, I would also recommend gently cleaning the area with dilute betadine and warm water. Add a couple of tablespoons of the betadine into 1/2 cup of warm water, & clean off any serum that has accumulated around the incision. Do not scrub the incision. Dry the area, & you can wrap her abdomen using an absorbant pad & either vetwrap or coban. Most general pharmacies will have all this. You can also place an infant t-shirt on her, tying up the bottom to cinch her just in front of the hindlegs. Keep the cone on, & clean the wound several times a day. If it is not healing or the discharge increases or changes in any way, see your vet immediately. Good luck with her, she should be fine in 7-10 days.

You're right about that! I never tell any clients to clean any surgical site with hydrogen peroxide for that reason. If the surgery was performed under sterile circumstances, you should not have to clean the area with anything post-operatively other than maybe to remove some dried blood that may be adhering to the skin. Additionally, most practices nowadays do not place external sutures during surgeries like neuters. I would find out from your veterinarian why he is making this suggestion for Jax. Until then, I personally would not recommend placing peroxide on the area.

This does look very moist and like an infection is starting. If your veterinarian sent home any pain medication, make sure to continue using it as directed. If you didn’t get any, make sure to get some tomorrow morning along with some antibiotics. You can use hydrogen peroxide or warm soapy water to gently dab on the area and then gently pat it dry. Apply some topical antibiotic ointment or cream such as Neodporin or Neosporin Plus which has topical lidocaine. Make sure the cone stays on as he will want to lick or bite at this. Try to get in to your vet first thing in the morning for a recheck.

I would not recommend hydrogen peroxide, you can use an antibiotic ointment and you will need an e-collar as well. bear in mind there might be a foreign body (usually a grass seed) buried in there which will need to be removed under sedation by your vet.

Poor pup! If the wound isn't healing, it's likely that it is infected and will need prescription antibiotics to treat it effective. Because of this, I would recommend taking your dog to the vet tomorrow morning for an exam - he/she can take a look at the wound and determine what is needed to treat it. In the meantime, if you're able to gently clip the hair and matted discharge from over the wound, this should be fine to do. You can also gently clean the area with some warm water and antibacterial soap. I would not recommend using peroxide, as this may sting and often causes additional tissue damage and irritation which can make healing more difficult.

I don’t appreciate any parasites from these photos but the only thing I could think of that would be in a wound like that would be maggots and typically they’re crawling on top and inside the tissue. This looks like a pretty extensive wound with a deep infection and I really think she should be on oral antibiotics as well as something a little bit stronger to use topically on the wound. Hydrogen peroxide is not indicated for this. Hydrogen peroxide will destroy not only the bad tissue but also the good tissue that’s trying to come in so, in essence it delays healing. so, whatever you do stop using hydrogen peroxide. I can understand trying to want to deal with this at home but I think she really needs to see your veterinarian at this point.