SWOLLEN CHEEK-BEE STING? BENADRYL?

[Trooper]

When I got home, my Trooper had his right cheek swollen and apparently there seems to be a small cut on the lower part of his right lip. He weighs 810 gm and was wondering if I should give him Benadryl for children but I don't know the dosage, just in case he was stung by a wasp or a spider (we have them every day flying around his cage). He is in good spirits, wants to eat, drinks water and calcium water, has no pain or damage inside his mouth and lets me touch him without any signs of pain. The swelling is soft tissue and has no hardness or feels like an abcess.

If it is an infection, what AB should be advisable and dosage.


Any advise will be appreciated.

Trooper's dad and Trooper

[Trooper]

UPDATE: After close inspection, it appears his swelling may be due to a the small 1/4" long cut/slash on his lower right lip. You can see the reddish cut on the bottom pictures. I looked at the cut and I can see the yellowish crust that forms when you get a skin surface cut and gets infected (I can recognize it after many cuts I got working on my lab). The swelling is all around the cut and the flesh of his lower lip around the cut is pinkish, just like when you have a skin infection.

So I put some hydrogen peroxide 3% and after foaming a few times I stopped dabbing it. Funny that Trooper does not mind the tickling of the foaming or he does not feels it.

Should I put some triple antibiotic cream? The cream I have looks like petroleoum jelly and it has: Bacitracin Zinc, Neomycin Sulfate, Polymyxin B Sulfate and Pramoxine HCL.

Advice welcome!

P.S. Trooper sleeping "road kill" style after medication.

[Mel1959]

Yes, you can apply a small dab of antibiotic ointment. Apply it with a q tip so you can get just a thin layer on it.

[Trooper]

Yes, you can apply a small dab of antibiotic ointment. Apply it with a q tip so you can get just a thin layer on it.

Hi Mel: thank you I will and hopefully, it will do some good. He is sleeping peacefully now.

Trooper's dad

[Nancy in New York]

Should I put some triple antibiotic cream? The cream I have looks like petroleoum jelly and it has: Bacitracin Zinc, Neomycin Sulfate, Polymyxin B Sulfate and Pramoxine HCL.



I found this about hydrogen peroxide:

Trooper is just precious by the way!!!!!!!!

1) Use hydrogen peroxide to disinfect the wound.

You might think all that bubbling of hydrogen peroxide on your wound is its germ-killing action hard at work. And you'd be right. But that bubbling isn't just killing the bacteria in your cut, it's also killing your body's “fibroblasts,” the cells responsible for repairing the wound.1

It gets worse: [M]ultiple randomized, controlled trials — the best kind of research — show that hydrogen peroxide does not prevent or treat infections in wounds.

So not only will hydrogen peroxide damage your cells, but it's completely useless to begin with!

http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/mind-body/553

[Chickenlegs]

What a big beautiful boy! Poor sweetie. I hate mouth owies! The topical AB ointment should help him a lot.

[stepnstone]

I found this about hydrogen peroxide:

Trooper is just precious by the way!!!!!!!!

1) Use hydrogen peroxide to disinfect the wound.

You might think all that bubbling of hydrogen peroxide on your wound is its germ-killing action hard at work. And you'd be right. But that bubbling isn't just killing the bacteria in your cut, it's also killing your body's “fibroblasts,” the cells responsible for repairing the wound.1

It gets worse: [M]ultiple randomized, controlled trials — the best kind of research — show that hydrogen peroxide does not prevent or treat infections in wounds.

So not only will hydrogen peroxide damage your cells, but it's completely useless to begin with!

http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/mind-body/553

:great And this is why the use of hydrogen peroxide is not recommended,
a better alternative is a diluted Betadine solution.

[Trooper]

Can any rehabbers comment to what antibiotic would be recommended for skin infections and what dosage would be suitable for an 800 gm squirrel? I am concerned at the inflammation on Trooper's cheek, which has subsided a bit this morning, but still there. I worry that the infection could spread to his right eye optical nerve or brain.

Thank you,

Trooper's dad
P.S. Below is Trooper a few days before he got the infection on his cheek

[Nancy in New York]

Can any rehabbers comment to what antibiotic would be recommended for skin infections and what dosage would be suitable for an 800 gm squirrel? I am concerned at the inflammation on Trooper's cheek, which has subsided a bit this morning, but still there. I worry that the infection could spread to his right eye optical nerve or brain.

Thank you,

Trooper's dad
P.S. Below is Trooper a few days before he got the infection on his cheek

Do you have Clavamox or Augmentin?
Clindamycin may be another option, or it could
be stacked down the line.
IF you have any of these let us know the strength of it
and we can dose.
Going off line for about an hour, but others can dose
if they come on sooner.

[Trooper]

Hi Nancy: thank you for the reply. You can give me the dose in mg/kg or body weight. I know how to interpolate medications, so when I get any of them I can give to Trooper.

Thanks again,

Trooper's dad

[Milo's Mom]

Hi Nancy: thank you for the reply. You can give me the dose in mg/kg or body weight. I know how to interpolate medications, so when I get any of them I can give to Trooper.

Thanks again,

Trooper's dad

What meds do you have and what strength are they?

[Trooper]

Hi Milo's mom and Nancy; I am at work right now and don't know what I have on Trooper's triage kit, but I work on the medical industry and can get anything I need. I wanted to know which AB was best for skin infections and dosage per mg/kg or body weight. I can do the conversion myself (do it on a daily basis for work). I just need to know what AB of the ones Nancy suggested (Clavamox, Augmentin or Clindamycin ).

Thanks,

Trooper's dad

[Nancy in New York]

Hi Milo's mom and Nancy; I am at work right now and don't know what I have on Trooper's triage kit, but I work on the medical industry and can get anything I need. I wanted to know which AB was best for skin infections and dosage per mg/kg or body weight. I can do the conversion myself (do it on a daily basis for work). I just need to know what AB of the ones Nancy suggested (Clavamox, Augmentin or Clindamycin ).

Thanks,

Trooper's dad

Clavamox (animal ab) and Augmentin (human ab) are the same.
Get one of them and also get the Clindamycin
just in case you need it down the line.
I will send you dosing for all through a pm.

[Trooper]

Thank you, thank you Nancy:w00t

[Trooper]

Trooper is doing better if not just about fine again. Swelling has subsided and he feels and looks good again.

Thank you all for the help!

Trooper's dad. Appended new pics of Troops without inflammation .