Swollen Face/Eye Has White Line

[sharonashley78@gmail.com]

Please Help -

I have a baby boy, approximately 8 wks old. When the litter of 5 was brought to me (about 3 wks ago), 2 had significant injuries and died wit hin 30 minutes, 2 seemed fine, and the other seemed ok but one side of his face/jawline looked slightly different than the other.. He could drink fine(didn’t suckle but rather he ”drank like a fish” (gapping his mouth open) and has continued to drink, grow and play with his siblings all this time.

2 days ago, his little face started swelling on one side, nothing major, just enough to see a difference. This morning, it’s a little more swollen, his eye on that side has a whitish look to it, and he’s moving a little slower. I called the vet, but since it’s a holiday, no one is there. Is there anything I can give him/do for him until Monday??

He weighs approx 194g

[CritterMom]

Can you get a good pic of the area so we can see what it looks like?

He can have INFANT IBUPROPHEN. It is available at your local drug store. Make sure you get the infant strength (they also make childrens - don't get that) and make sure it is ibuprophen (like Motrin or Advil) not acetaminophen (like Tylenol). It certainly sounds like inflammation of some kind - an abscess or a tooth issue, and the ibuprophen is an anti-inflammatory. It won't heal anything but it won't hurt him as much and may tide him over until you can get him to a vet. I will send you the dosing by PM.

Do you know what caused the "significant injuries" to his sibs? Animal caused? I am wondering if he had a puncture wound that went under the radar - they often don't bleed much. Could it have been a cat? If so, dig into yours and any friends and family's medicine chest and find out what human antibiotics they may have that are leftovers and list them here. It has been some time; usually cat caught issues show up quickly, but still...