Yet another prolapse

[Jo8981]

A challenger arrives, hmmm ? Mine took 36 hrs to go back in, not two weeks. My Bridget did fine without antibiotics (so her system was not messed up and we didn't throw away her eggs and we didn't contribute to creating antibiotic resistance).
Seriously though, searching for a way to cure my hen, I read dozens and dozens of threads, most of them didn't make it, maybe because prep H contains pain reliever, toxic to chickens. You know how everyone cautions everyone else to use antibiotic ointment without pain reliever. Look what you made me do now:
https://www.preparationh.com/products/rapid-relief-with-lidocaine-cream
See, it has lidocaine in it. Those who recover with prep H are lucky and a minority. There is also the school of thought that says that a prolapse is not a hemorrhoid. Whatever, the main thing is Pickle shouldn't cross the rainbow bridge.

I agree it's not a hemorrhoid but the cream does sooth and shrink the swelling regardless. Yes it took 2 weeks with my Princess but it stayed in and she carried on as normal after. Xx

 

[Wyorp Rock]

It’s now 4 am and she has pooped a little and hasn’t strained or had another prolapse. She finally ate something and continues to drink lots. Fingers crossed.

@MoosePijamas I'm sorry to hear about your hen.
In your post, you mention that she's been able to poop, isn't straining and hasn't had another prolapse. So I would take it that the prolapse is staying in? Is that right?

I would continue to monitor her closely. Keep her eating/drinking.
If she were mine I would also give her some extra calcium to help with contractions and retention. You can give her a crushed up TUMS sprinkled over some scrambled eggs or 1/2 tablet of Caltrate. If you have poultry vitamins like Poultry Cell or Poultry Nutri-Drench, direct dose her at a rate of 1cc per 3 pounds of weight.

Swelling can take several days to decrease regardless of the products used - honey, prep h, anti-inflammatory cream, coconut oil, vaseline, sugar pack, etc., have all been successfully used to treat prolapse. The key in each of those was patience, time and supportive care by the keeper. That said, not every prolapse is fixable and sadly some hens do end up needing to be put down - each prolapse can be different and not all can be treated the same.

Hopefully it will stay in and she won't have any more problems. Keep us updated on her progress.

 

[cottagecheese]

@Jo8981, you are an excellent person and so nice to meet people with a sense of humor, here is the bow you are due but I'm still scared to death of prep H, I've been traumatized by all the tragic endings .
@MoosePijamas I 'm sending you a PM.

 

[Jo8981]

@Jo8981, you are an excellent person and so nice to meet people with a sense of humor, here is the bow you are due but I'm still scared to death of prep H, I've been traumatized by all the tragic endings .
@MoosePijamas I 'm sending you a PM.

I've never heard of prep H hahaha. What even is it?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I dealt with a prolapse like this, she went on precaution antibiotics and it took 2 weeks to keep it in. But she never had it again so persevere! I recommend when pushing it in you gently hold it in for a good 10 mins each time and I used plenty of hemorrhoid cream to shrink it. It can take a while so keep at it. Xx

I agree it's not a hemorrhoid but the cream does sooth and shrink the swelling regardless. Yes it took 2 weeks with my Princess but it stayed in and she carried on as normal after. Xx

I've never heard of prep H hahaha. What even is it?

@Jo8981 Prep H is short for "Preparation H" which is a Brand Name of hemorrhoid cream or ointment - probably the same or similar cream that you mentioned you used to treat your hen.

 

[Jo8981]

@Jo8981 Prep H is short for "Preparation H" which is a Brand Name of hemorrhoid cream or ointment - probably the same or similar cream that you mentioned you used to treat your hen.

Oh right thank you. Never heard of that brand but I'm in Essex UK not sure if you guys are in the UK.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Oh right thank you. Never heard of that brand but I'm in Essex UK not sure if you guys are in the UK.

BYC has members from all over the world
Nope, I'm from North Carolina in the US.

 

[cottagecheese]

Trying to debride such sensitive tissue without anesthesia would do more harm than good...She's already in some pain, the pain after debridement would make her expel her intestines, I am aware of a case like this, where just a well meaning but unnecessary cleaning with chlorhexidine of a mild prolapse resulted in the hen being in such pain that she strained so much, she expelled her intestines soon after. Also, there are reports of the necrotic tissue falling off by itself.

There is a narrow window of opportunity with every prolapse and exactly what is applied then makes a world of difference and can result in three possible outcomes:
a. Complete cure
b. Partial cure, resulting in a 'leaky bottom'. This means that later on she could get salpingitis or flystrike. Even if treated, they will keep coming back because their cause will remain.
c. Crossing the rainbow bridge, as the OP poetically puts it

Just in the last few months, just on this site, confirmed deaths from Prep H (with or without lidocaine) https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/stubborn-hen-with-prolapse-what-to-do.1300522/ https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/prolapsed-vent.1292915/ https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/vent-prolapse.1289170/ There are a couple more where it looked like the hen would die, but they were not updated. One report of cure with Prep H. An elegant explanation from @NancyNurseCxMama why it shouldn't be used:

"After much research, I soaked her in an Epsom salts bath for about twenty minutes. BTW---Preparation H is no longer recommended. As a nurse I questioned the Prep H approach---this would restrict blood flow to the area. A prolapsed vent is inflamed displaced tissue and restricting blood flow would reduce the size of the prolapse but also deprive it of blood flow. Not good for healing. To restrict blood flow to the area would reduce its size but not address the issue which is the displacement of the vent."

Two deaths from vaseline cream: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/sos-vent-prolapse.1298007/ https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/prolapse-vent.1295903/
Vaseline could be described as neutral, won't actively harm, but won't actively help either. No report of cure in the same time period .

Hydrocortisone cream, the one that suppresses the immune system has one death https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/prolapsed-vent.1275640/
and one cure reported by @NancyNurseCxMama

While searching for a cure, I've seen one recommendation to use sugar (and rinse it off 30 minutes later ?!!) and one report of someone who had used it, called it 'messy' and I must not have been impressed with the result because I kept searching. I would much prefer to use sugar than grind tree bark, of course, but sugar is no great astringent, actually it's not an astringent at all.

Supermarket honey has no medicinal properties. Raw, unpasteurized honey does have medicinal properties, just not an astringent..

Almost home now: cold pressed, unrefined coconut oil is antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, oily. Will do the job if it's a first or second prolapse, discovered soon after it happened. It's best to combine it with white oak bark powder, which is antiseptic and quite the astringent. In fact, calling white oak bark powder an astringent is like saying that the sea is wet.

The 'recipe' is dedicated to poor Ida (remember her?)
This little analysis is dedicated to the anonymous hen who died one week before I registered here at BYC.

 

[MoosePijamas]

@MoosePijamas I'm sorry to hear about your hen.
In your post, you mention that she's been able to poop, isn't straining and hasn't had another prolapse. So I would take it that the prolapse is staying in? Is that right?

I would continue to monitor her closely. Keep her eating/drinking.
If she were mine I would also give her some extra calcium to help with contractions and retention. You can give her a crushed up TUMS sprinkled over some scrambled eggs or 1/2 tablet of Caltrate. If you have poultry vitamins like Poultry Cell or Poultry Nutri-Drench, direct dose her at a rate of 1cc per 3 pounds of weight.

Swelling can take several days to decrease regardless of the products used - honey, prep h, anti-inflammatory cream, coconut oil, vaseline, sugar pack, etc., have all been successfully used to treat prolapse. The key in each of those was patience, time and supportive care by the keeper. That said, not every prolapse is fixable and sadly some hens do end up needing to be put down - each prolapse can be different and not all can be treated the same.

Hopefully it will stay in and she won't have any more problems. Keep us updated on her progress.

Thank you for your post. She was doing okay and then I ended up getting my IUD embedded in my uterus so I was at the doctor’s for the day. I came home to her prolapsed again and I have been unable to keep the prolapse inside of her. The black “hemorrhoid” thing seems to have drained/absorbed by her body. Now that skin is leathery and a bulge next to her anus(?). She has been straining to poop and i noticed that some poop came out of a small hole in that leathery tissue rather than her anus. I have tried to put everything back inside her but have had little luck. She is eating a little and drinking but today she didn’t drink as much. I have been offering her nutridrench and I’ll sprinkle some tums on her food. I’m worried that the hole means she will be pooping inside herself

 

[MoosePijamas]

I found this which I’m going to try once I get a second set of hands to help me.