Help with Honey

[Amy]

My rabbit has a jaw abscess that burst and I am rinsing out out with saline and applying manuka honey to the hole via cotton swab or squirting it inside with syringe, but it does not seem to want to say in there. Any tips on how to keep this over the wound without dripping or being cleaned away by grooming? Or,is this normal and I just need to keep reapplying a few times a day?

[jerseygirl]

Hi Amy
I did this with my rabbits abscess. I used Medihoney which is manuka based. Messy business! Is the honey you are using have high UMF number?

I also filled a small 1 ml syringe with the honey gel and filled the cavity that way. Then I sort of plugged it with strips of sterile gauze. By morning, the honey had usually made it’s way out, using the gauze like a wick. And the gauze had come out some too, but it had several hours of remaining in place and doing its thing.

Maybe less  honey is better? Instead of filling up cavity, put half amount and pack it open, and the honey should soak into the dry material but still remain in contact with the wound.  You could ask the vet if using some gel sponges would be of use also. 

Is it a lower jaw abscess?

[Amy]

Yes, lower jaw. It says 10+ on the jar I found at the health food store. I will give your suggestions a try. Thank you!

[jerseygirl]

I just took a look over a guide on medirabbit and it suggest using pieces of non-stick dressing soaked in the honey and packing the wound with that. Then finishing with some dry gauze. Here’s link to the illustrated guide (warning to those who haven’t seen before, it contains pics that can be pretty confronting).
http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Skin_diseases/Bacterial/Absc_treat/abscess_treat.htm

[jerseygirl]

The labelling system for manuka honey is varied, the number on the jar does not necessarily refer to the Unique Manuka Factor (UMF). From memory, the UMF number means that particular batch has been tested and certified that it has a certain level of the Manuka Factor. The higher UMF, the better, but it can be hard to get hold of. As time is limited in being able to keep the wound open, any manuka is better then none.

[Amy]

The abscess is still open (Day 4) Very little pus is coming out now…I maybe can get a little speck with each irrigation. Sometimes none. The skin flap dried and just fell off before typing this so he has what looks like a little volcano crater on his jawline that looks raised and thickened around the margin of the hole. I am rinsing it with just salt water. Is that good or is there something more effective? I was afraid to use anything else because he tries to groom there, but his antiiotics are over today and I am nervous so want to do the best possible. I was also reading about using Arnica tabs or Silicea 6X on the wound? Does anyone have experience with this? What should the normal healing process look like. Vet said goal is to keep it open as long as possible with rinsing and honey. Will the hole just eventually shrink close….with he still have the lump from the thick tissue?

[Amy]

Just an update on my bunny. He is well. The abscess healed up and is gone… just a small scab and missing fur ans scar tissue in the area where it was. Follow up at dr. did not feel it filling again and it has been closed over week without any change in size. Dr. said it will likely reoccur as it is a tooth root issue, but this may be the way to manage it if it does. I have him on an echinacea protocol to help maybe boost his immune system. For now he is a happy bunny again.

[LittlePuffyTail]

Wonderful to hear!!!!

[Author]

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