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HorseAdvice.com » Diseases of Horses » Skin Diseases, Wounds, and Swellings » Swellings / Localized Infection / Abscesses » Topics on Swellings Not Covered Above » |
Discussion on Possible Cellulitis from kicking belly for flies? | |
Author | Message |
Member: judyhens |
Posted on Monday, Oct 17, 2011 - 4:03 pm: One of our mares developed extreme swelling, some discharge, and what appears to be cellulitis (?) a few days ago while we were gone. The people watching her started Tucoprim, hyDrOtherapy, & topical antibiotic. They also gave her Bute I think & of course copious amounts of fly spray on her belly. She is doing much better according to the people here, but, since we have no reference and just got back last night, she still looks bad to us. Her affect is normal, appetite normal, but still has significant swelling and some drainage. She is nursing a foal. I will attach pictures. We have had a serious infestation of flies, and despite constant fly spraying, an over-head fly spray system in the barn, and use of fly predators in the outside paddocks, they are still driving the horses crazy. They are kicking at their bellies to get the flies away. We believe this is what caused this mare's trauma, since others have lesser swelling from belly kicks also.Question: If this is a staph or strep infection and we are seeing improvement, can we assume it is not a resistent strain? Should we take her to the vet on an emergency basis or can we wait a day or two? Any better treatment? Never seen anything this bad re: skin issues with flies.... Thanks for input! Judy |
Member: judyhens |
Posted on Tuesday, Oct 18, 2011 - 4:51 pm: Follow-up: Vet out today. Swelling about 50% less. Is changing to penicillin, but thinks she will be fine. Since our staff started oral antibiotics over the weekend, he didn't feel a culture would necessarily provide useful information. Especially since she has improved so dramatically (re: swelling) in the 72 hours we have been treating her. Will continue with bute, hyDrOtherapy, penicillin, and lots of fly spray. Any suggestions on getting rid of these flies? Started after the rain before last - a few weeks ago - and seem to be resistant to everything we do. This was also around the time of the last fire in our county. Wonder if there is any correlation?Blessings, Judy |
Member: vickiann |
Posted on Wednesday, Oct 19, 2011 - 11:59 am: Glad that you are seeing improvement.Found this degree of problem from biting flies to be rather amazing. My horses wanted to be in the barn most of the daytime hours this summer due to the flies. Application of a strong spray under the bellies does help. In FL, the fly situation used to improve in the wintertime. Not the past two years though. I feel that this is due to the climate change, complete with changes in the growing zones for plants. |
Member: judyhens |
Posted on Wednesday, Oct 19, 2011 - 1:40 pm: Thanks Vicki!We were so hot and dry we were seeing very few flies until a few weeks ago. After the Texas fires, which were within a few miles of us, and a heavy rain (errrr....probably the main one this year) the flies came in swarms. They are mean, fierce critters that can be drenched in Tri-tech as well as other sprays and seem to enjoy it! I swear, if they had little mouths we could visualize I think that they would be laughing at us! Making the horses miserable. We had the vet check a few others that have hoof scrapes on their bellies. He didn't think anyone else was infected, so we are just going with lots and lots of fly spray and aluminum spray on irritated places. Hoping for colder weather to kill these flies! Blessings, Judy |
Member: vickiann |
Posted on Wednesday, Oct 19, 2011 - 10:30 pm: Hope that there will be some relief from these flies soon, Judy! |
Moderator: DrO |
Posted on Thursday, Oct 20, 2011 - 7:30 am: Hello Judy,I don't believe that the swelling is being caused by the kicking but the kicking and swelling are being caused by the same thing: irritation from biting flies and secondary infection. This infection is secondary to the damage on the skin caused by the fly bites and contributes to the swelling. I see no reason to think the infection a resistant super strain. Stop the flies from biting the bellies and the problems will resolve. I would consider including in the local treatment a corticosteroid if the foal can be prevented from accessing this. Possible a modified fly sheet with a belly band would be helpful. We have several articles on controlling biting flies HorseAdvice.com » Diseases of Horses » Skin Diseases, Wounds, and Swellings » Hair and Coat Problems / Itching / Irritated Skin. Which article is best will, in some cases, depend on the type biting fly you have. In any case I would start with the overview article Controlling Houseflies and Biting Flies available on that page. DrO |
New Member: alioz |
Posted on Sunday, Feb 17, 2019 - 7:59 pm: Hello thereI hear you! We have buffalo flies here in Queensland Australia and they raise sores so they can feed. They used to prefer the animals backs but learned that the insecticide rubs killed/repelled them so now they cluster under the belly and neck. I've tried natural repellents to no avail. I've now tied cattle fly control ear tags so they are in contact over the jugular vein. 3 days later no flies at all. The horses are sleeping a lot now. They're about $4.00 AUD. per tag and last 3 months. Cheers Ali |