# He bit himself(lower lip) small infection



## shootingstar (Apr 26, 2010)

Hello, my bunny bit himself in the lower lip 2 days ago and I was there because there was fresh blood and I cleaned it with some water and it stopped bleeding instantly. But the wound is still there, it's a bit infected, I put some Hydrogen Peroxide today.

Is it a good idea to apply a little bit of Neosporin?? What happens if he ingests a small portion? 

He is in a good mood and eating well but I don't want to get it worse. I only have neosporin at hand. HELP!!!!


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## Maureen Las (Apr 26, 2010)

Can you get some betadine ? Povidine iodineis betadine which is a red surgical wash that you probably can get where you live. I would get some of this and dilute it , soak a cotton ball and clean the area. 
The hydrogen peroxide can be used but only if diluted otherwise don't use it ..it actually destroys tissue. 

You can place a little neosporin (plain) on it.. problem is is that he will just probably clean his face and lick it off. 

How did he bite his lip?


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## jcottonl02 (Apr 26, 2010)

How did he bite his lip? That has me a little concerned....did he act strangely? Perhaps he had a fit or a seizure of some kind, which requires a trip to the vets, to find the underlying cause.

Did you witness it?

Keep it clean- even rinsing it in salt-water should help, if you don't have anything else.

Jen


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## shootingstar (Apr 26, 2010)

Thank You for the answers. I didn't witness it but I was with him before and after so no seizures. I'm guessing it was either by biting his lip while eating carrots(accidentally) or maybe because previous to that he was inside some bushes and I pulled him from them and maybe he got a piece of branch, palm tree or something stuck in his mouth and it wounded him while I pulled him. 

When I pull his lower lip, he has plenty of white tissue exposed and it's a bit swollen. It' smells a bit, I'm guessing that's part of the infection.

Anyways I found a few Betadine swaps, my brother is a doctor, so he always have some medical supplies around!!

I applied it tonight to Benji my bunny, and It hurt him, because he made a very distinctive sound. But I hope it will heal soon. :cry2


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## jcottonl02 (Apr 26, 2010)

I'm not sure you can positively say it wasn't a seizure- I am not sure how common these are with rabbits, or why- because it may have happened between the before and after you being there. I doubt it was that, though, but I guess something to keep in mind.

Can you check his teeth? Do they look overgrown, or feel quite sharp to you, the edges?

The 'smell' could be indicative of an abcess. The pus that forms in abcesses absolutely stinks. Have you tried squeezing it gently- make sure NONE of the pus goes down his throat- it's full of bacteria etc. and he should not swallow ANY of it. Put a piece of kitchen towell right next to it, covering his tongue/mouth etc. and try getting the pus out. Then bathe it in salt water.
If it is an abcess then this is important to do- you don't want it growing and growing, and then bursting, and him swallowing a load of it. :shame



Jen


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## Maureen Las (Apr 26, 2010)

*jcottonl02 wrote: *


> I'm not sure you can positively say it wasn't a seizure- I am not sure how common these are with rabbits, or why- because it may have happened between the before and after you being there. I doubt it was that, though, but I guess something to keep in mind.
> 
> Can you check his teeth? Do they look overgrown, or feel quite sharp to you, the edges?
> 
> ...




Usually betadine diluted does not sting.

I would just put some neosporin on it for now and not try to clean it with betadine unless it is very diluted.

If there is a foul odor to his mouth then it is time to go to the vet. 

Donot squueze the area nor apply salt water. An abscess has not yet been diagnosed. A vet should take a look at it and if there are medical procedures that need to be done the rabbit should have full pain medication prior to it. 

Maureen


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## tonyshuman (Apr 27, 2010)

:yeahthat:

It is strange that the betadine caused him pain.

It usually takes more than 2 days for an abscess to form, and I am not a fan of treating abscesses by opening them up anyway.

I wonder if maybe his front teeth are abnormal and that caused him to bit himself?


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## jcottonl02 (Apr 27, 2010)

*angieluv wrote: *


> *jcottonl02 wrote: *
> 
> 
> > I'm not sure you can positively say it wasn't a seizure- I am not sure how common these are with rabbits, or why- because it may have happened between the before and after you being there. I doubt it was that, though, but I guess something to keep in mind.
> ...



IF it is an abcess . When we took our cats in (they have had multiple abcesses from fights when they were younger) the vet simply squeezed the pus out (they were already very open wounds), and then administered an antibiotic. I assumed the same procedure would be done for a bunbun. Abcess is an abcess. Sooner the icky pus is out, the sooner it will heal.

If the abcess is smelling- then it is already open. You cannot smell a substance through layers of tissue. Therefore if it is already open, you don't want the bun swallowing it?

These guys seem to know an awful lot about this than me, though, so I would listen to their advice. Angieluv has had experience with bunny mouth abcesses, so knows the procedures etc. that needs to be done. 

:expressionless
Jen


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## tonyshuman (Apr 27, 2010)

Unfortunately, you can't really treat bunny and cat abscesses the same. Rabbit pus is thicker--more like toothpaste. I think cat pus is more like heavy cream. Gross topic here.


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## jcottonl02 (Apr 27, 2010)

*tonyshuman wrote: *


> Unfortunately, you can't really treat bunny and cat abscesses the same. Rabbit pus is thicker--more like toothpaste. I think cat pus is more like heavy cream. Gross topic here.



Ah really?? 

Okay- I have gone away and researched very briefly, and have successfully put myself off my dinner!

How very interesting. So you have to kind of....scoop bunny pus out (an experienced vet along with meds, I mean). I see! So i guess a bunny abcess couldn't 'burst' as such, and liquid go down the bun's throat, because it isn't liquid?

Thanks tonyshuman! 

With our cats, it was very simple, and although a bit uncomfortable for the cats, it was okay. The wound was already open, and hadn't healed, and they literally had perhaps an egg-cup full of pus, which was just squeezed gently out, disinfected the area, and then antibiotics given. Then it was up to us to saltwater the wound for a few days, and check to see if it became infected again. I think one of our cats had an abcess for about a week (I had no idea- I thought it was just a swelling/bruise) until it burst (sorry-ick!). Then it was squeezed, and healed in perhaps 2 days. Was unbelievable.

Jen


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## tonyshuman (Apr 27, 2010)

Well abscesses can burst, and the pus can leak out places, but it's a lot thicker so it's really just best if you can get the abscess to heal without opening it. Even when a bunny's abscess is open, it can re-heal incorrectly and trap pockets of pus in there, which just starts the process over again. The best way to treat abscesses in rabbits is aggressive antibiotic therapy.
http://www-unix.oit.umass.edu/~jwmoore/bicillin/bicillin.htm


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## jcottonl02 (Apr 27, 2010)

Thanks Claire - I'll definately give that a read 

Jen


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## shootingstar (Apr 27, 2010)

His teeth are fine, normal length. Today when I checked he had yellow pus(but only a little) over the white tissue and it smelled worse. He also had a lot of dirt/soil, I think he was digging this morning. I removed the puss and dirt, and tried removing the white tissue but it's not possible, I think that's his flesh. And he's in pain if I apply to much pressure. I applied more Betadine after cleaning the area. :\ I really don't know what caused it. I don't know how an abscess looks like, so I can't determine If it is a burst abscess.


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## tonyshuman (Apr 27, 2010)

Well, since there seems to be pus, it's probably infected. You'll want to start antibiotics. I would take a look at the study I posted in the post above, and if you can't find bicillin (penicillin G procaine/benzathine), we can suggest other antibiotics.


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## shootingstar (Apr 27, 2010)

Where can I find Penicillin G procaine? Can it be found in a local pharmacy? Is injected the only way to administer the med? Can it be taken orally?


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## tonyshuman (Apr 27, 2010)

It is sold here in farm supply stores as a drug for livestock. You may be able to find a compounding pharmacy that will make it for you. The thing is that this form of penicillin G is not typically used in humans. The one usually used in humans is penicillin G procaine. Bicillin is a combination of penicillin G procaine and penicillin G benzathine. It's important to have both of these forms in there to get long-lasting release of the drug. It may be possible to get just penicillin G procaine, and you might want to give that every day instead of every other day because the procaine form is not as long acting as the benzathine form. 

Penicillin must be given via injection to rabbits. It is toxic to the GI system if given orally.

Do you have stores that sell medicine for livestock? We do here, and bicillin is sold in a refrigerated case. You also need needles and sterile saline for injecion or lactated Ringer's solution to dilute the drug with. If it is given without dilution, it is a very painful injection, and the drug is quite thick so it might be hard to inject without a diluting agent. This is found at some farm stores but you may have to get it from the vet or human pharmacy.


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## shootingstar (Apr 29, 2010)

I haven't looked for Penicillin because I sense he's doing better and better everyday, no more yellow puss, the inflammation have reduced and he doesn't feel pain when I clean the area.  I'll keep you guys updated, thanks


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