Abscess - Again!

[TCRanch]

I have a 10 year old cow that developed an abscess just above her right lower jaw almost a year ago. Burst a few days after I noticed it and seemed good to go with no treatment. Came back about a month later and this time with another, smaller abscess near her throat, same side. Took her to the vet and he lanced & flushed both, added 3 more slits for drainage and hit her up with Excede. I continued to periodically flush and followed up with penicillin about a month later. All good with just a slight hard lump from scar tissue.

But I'll be darned if she doesn't have yet another lump, presumably abscess, in the exact same spot above her lower jaw. Didn't notice it yesterday and already looks like it's about to burst. So . . . benign neglect and let it do it's thing, occasionally squeeze out the pus? Or take her in again? And what would cause an abscess to keep developing in the same spot?

 

[MurraysMutts]

Poor gal. I bet shes really tired of that already.
This time of year with the heat and flies is the worst. They havnt got in there and laid eggs have they?

 

[TCRanch]

Poor gal. I bet shes really tired of that already.
This time of year with the heat and flies is the worst. They havnt got in there and laid eggs have they?

Should have clarified. That pic was last Oct when I gave her a final flush & the penicillin. As of this morning the new abscess hasn't burst so no open wound. She's pretty chill and lets me squeeze them after they erupt and this time of year I do spray with Blue Kote to keep the flies down.

 

[Nesikep]

I've got my eye on a cow that has a small lump under her jaw, probably not even golf ball size..
Then I have a calf that seems to have nearly degloved it's hind hoof

Yeah, I'd say keep an eye on it, give her some treats so she doesn't hate you and she's easier to work!

 

[bird dog]

She may have something deep in there. I had one years ago that would never clear up. I would drain it and it would bubble back up. Vet dug around in there and found a thorn with the blunt end about 3/8" below the surface of the skin. It was about 3/4" long. That fixed the problem but she had a bulge there the rest of her life.

 

[TCRanch]

She may have something deep in there. I had one years ago that would never clear up. I would drain it and it would bubble back up. Vet dug around in there and found a thorn with the blunt end about 3/8" below the surface of the skin. It was about 3/4" long. That fixed the problem but she had a bulge there the rest of her life.

That's what I'm worried about. My vet really dug around and didn't feel anything and the inside of her mouth looked good but it makes me wonder if there isn't something embedded.

 

[TCRanch]

I've got my eye on a cow that has a small lump under her jaw, probably not even golf ball size..
Then I have a calf that seems to have nearly degloved it's hind hoof

Yeah, I'd say keep an eye on it, give her some treats so she doesn't hate you and she's easier to work!

Ouch! That's gonna be a tough one to treat. Good luck!

She's one of my special girls. Fortunately she loves me no matter what I do to her - and treats are mandatory in her world :roll: ;-)

 

[wbvs58]

What Bird dog said TC but that was a while ago so doesn't appear to be too chronic. I would say it basically healed with a small nidus of something that has been walled off with fibrous tissue but a good bump has caused a bit to escape and start another abscess. You might get it all this time. Open it up well for good drainage and a bit of a good scratch around inside. Once it is opened well I am not a big fan of flushing, more just keep the scab from sealing over and fly repellant on the surface. The ideal thing is if the body turns it inside out itself and it then heals on the surface.

Ken

 

[Nesikep]

I've got my eye on a cow that has a small lump under her jaw, probably not even golf ball size..
Then I have a calf that seems to have nearly degloved it's hind hoof

Yeah, I'd say keep an eye on it, give her some treats so she doesn't hate you and she's easier to work!

Ouch! That's gonna be a tough one to treat. Good luck!

She's one of my special girls. Fortunately she loves me no matter what I do to her - and treats are mandatory in her world :roll: ;-)

Here's mine.. thankfully this calf is pretty chill, and she seems to know I'm trying to help


And here's another oddity.. a 3 month old calf with mastitis??? seems to have cleared up now with antibiotics but she lost a teat in the process.. was thinking she could be a replacement but it's kinda unlikely now

 

[callmefence]

We get alot of lump jaw with all the thorns. I've treated many with good results and a some that seemed to make it spread. Usually down the neck as you described. I've decided benign neglect is as good as any as long as it's in soft tissue it eventually comes to a head and drains on its own.
The exception is if the lump is attached to the bone. You can tell very easily by just feeling it.
If it is cull asap.

 

[gcreekrch]

We normally lance them with a scalpel or sharp knife, squeeze out as much gunk as possible and flush once with straight tincture of iodine

 

[Aaron]

We normally lance them with a scalpel or sharp knife, squeeze out as much gunk as possible and flush once with straight tincture of iodine

Same here.

 

[TCRanch]

I've got my eye on a cow that has a small lump under her jaw, probably not even golf ball size..
Then I have a calf that seems to have nearly degloved it's hind hoof

Yeah, I'd say keep an eye on it, give her some treats so she doesn't hate you and she's easier to work!

Ouch! That's gonna be a tough one to treat. Good luck!

She's one of my special girls. Fortunately she loves me no matter what I do to her - and treats are mandatory in her world :roll: ;-)

Here's mine.. thankfully this calf is pretty chill, and she seems to know I'm trying to help


And here's another oddity.. a 3 month old calf with mastitis??? seems to have cleared up now with antibiotics but she lost a teat in the process.. was thinking she could be a replacement but it's kinda unlikely now

:shock: :shock: Good luck with that!

 

[MurraysMutts]

This lil boy has 2.
I've seen the vet open them up. The last one I had, he cut the entire base and left and open spot on the face. I'm scared to death to try that....
Gonna have to do something soon tho

 

[1982vett]

Once, twice, three times a charm... course I probably wouldn't have given the second chance.

Heal her up and send her on. :2cents:

 

[TCRanch]

This lil boy has 2.
I've seen the vet open them up. The last one I had, he cut the entire base and left and open spot on the face. I'm scared to death to try that....
Gonna have to do something soon tho

On the rare occasion I have a calf with an abscess, I generally just let it burst on its own, don't cut. Last one was about 4 years ago and after it burst I squeezed/flushed it and packed it with Neosporin. Healed perfectly.

 

[MurraysMutts]

I have thought about that as well. Waiting and seeing what happens. Feel bad for the lil guy. Looks like 2 big golf balls in his neck

 

[TCRanch]

I have thought about that as well. Waiting and seeing what happens. Feel bad for the lil guy. Looks like 2 big golf balls in his neck

Okay, I couldn't tell the first time I looked at your pic but went back after you said in his neck (still can't really tell much). Are those possibly injection site reactions/swelling? If so, leave them alone. Sometimes they burst but generally go down on their own.

 

[MurraysMutts]

I have thought about that as well. Waiting and seeing what happens. Feel bad for the lil guy. Looks like 2 big golf balls in his neck

Okay, I couldn't tell the first time I looked at your pic but went back after you said in his neck (still can't really tell much). Are those possibly injection site reactions/swelling? If so, leave them alone. Sometimes they burst but generally go down on their own.

No. Hes all natural.
One is slightly larger than a golf ball.
The other about golf ball sized.
Theres a ton of brush and trees on that place.
I'll dig for a better pic too...
Well. I thought I had better pic. Guess not. They are on his right side. So left side looking at that picture

 

[bird dog]

They maybe from where he got into a thorn bush or a honey locust. Put him in a head catch. Lance them towards the bottom with a clean scalpel. Where gloves because the stinky stuff that comes squirting out won't wash off. See if you can feel a thorn or anything in the abscess area. Get a 10 ml syringe (no needle) and fill it with 10% iodine. Stick the tip in the lances and flush them out. Give him a shot of penicillin if you have any. That mess will drain out for a few days.

Sometimes you have to repeat the treatment.