Bumblefoot, no scab, swelling isn't reducing, trying everything, what now?

[Miss Lydia]

I really think it’s a good idea for the vet to take another look. Maybe after Christmas? The swelling does look better. @onaharley has a Pekin that has had infection in her foot maybe she can tell you all she has been through with hers

 

[onaharley]

Hi there! Yes a vet check up would be good. I think where the stitches were on the outside of foot, the white that is showing is more bumblefoot. That will need to come out. Epsom salt soaks would still be good to do. Then put DMSO on it, it helps with inflammation

 

[Miss Lydia]

How’s the food today?

 

[SexyTurtle]

More white-pink skin today. No pictures. I have a feeling I won't hear back from the vet until after the holiday, but I'm a little worried because he only sees animals on Mon/Tues and the next two are Christmas and New Years.

I soaked her in Epsom salts and I cut the tip of 2 small spots open, and it's just clear liquid coming out. She isn't limping so it can't hurt that bad.

The white spots are surrounding the remaining pieces of stitches. I didn't do Iodine because I wasn't sure if that's okay when the skin is open? So I put Neosporine on and sent her on her way.

I think I'll start doing Iodine tomorrow to see if anything really comes to the surface.

 

[SexyTurtle]

A small scab came off really easily today (I wasn't trying to get it off, I was just examining her foot). I checked it 6 hours later and a tiny amount of the rim of the area is a black, almost like there was dirt under her skin. I don't think it was dirt though so I'll assume necrotic tissue. I took the new scab off and only a tiny bit of white was attached. It looks nasty in there and she's limping a bit. I do not have the stomach to slice it out. So I put Neosporine on it and sent her on her way.

LUCKILY the vet has special hours this week, and Mally has an appointment at 6pm tonight! So I've got the dog crate loaded up in the back of my car, along with her special water bowl and a towel. It's going to be a long evening, and I'm sure she'll be back on antibiotics again. Poor little girl, and my poor little pocketbook, but damned if I don't love my little duckos.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Sure hope this visit takes care of it. Bless you for caring so much. Please update when you can.

 

[SexyTurtle]

@onaharley was dead on, boy am I glad we went back to the vet today. At first he was just going to send us home with another 2 weeks of antibiotics, but I asked if her foot was really going to be okay like that and he decided to debride it.

There was a very big plug, and she also had a dead tendon. I'm not sure if the second pic of stuff that came out was bone or just more bacteria. He looked at it under a microscope to identify the bacteria and put her on a new antibiotic. Gave her one stitch, and said I should take it out a few days later. The nurse said I need to keep her foot clean.

So when I got home I filled the dog crate with straw, put some water and food in, and now she's stuck sleeping by herself in the crate in the duck enclosure. I think I'm going to keep her confined for now both to keep her foot clean and to force her to rest. The vet pointed out she had a fever too.

So yea. If everything goes well, she should be in the clear. If not, she may have that toe amputated. Meanwhile my husband admits he should have let me take her to the vet 2 or 3 weeks sooner, and I now have majority rule over future vet judgments for the duckos. He's the type to wait until something really goes wrong to take himself to the doctor, and so sometimes he can be hard headed with our animals.

 

[onaharley]

I'm so glad you were able to get back to the vets. I'm sorry for the possible out come for her toe. I am sure that if you are diligent with soaks and meds she will recover. You're doing good by keeping her confined, she might hate it but it will do her good.

I have been doing soaks for bumblefoot for some time now and have tried a lot of different things to help speed up healing time. My go to products are DMSO and manuka honey. Honey has great healing power and I have seen great results with it.

Let me know if you have any questions, I'm more then happy to help!

 

[SexyTurtle]

It looks like she's been put on Clindamycin, which means I have to keep a look out for sour crop. Complications in life, lovely! I'm getting some apple cider vinegar to be proactive. Gonna fix them up a gallon of water with electrolytes/probiotics today.

I'm going to stick to washing her foot with water or soap and water and spraying it with Vetericyn and applying Neosporin once or twice a day.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Wow I am so glad you got her back to the vets and he finally got that plug out. I sure hope she is on the mend now. You have done great getting her taking care of and having dh on board now sure makes a difference. Thanks for update and please keep us updated as often as you can.