Abcess (slightly icky picture)

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Maggie Cummings

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When my sister was first teaching me about chelonia she had two desert tortoises that had abscessed sinus's and she told me that she treated and cleaned the abscess thru a hole on top of nose, sorta. So I remembered that when I saw my own tortoise who has been being treated off and on for 4 years for abscessed sinus's, blowing a snot bubble thru a hole in his head. It is freakin bizarre . He's never had one. Every night I soak him and then use a toothpick to clean out his nares so he can breathe. He's used to it. I've tried Naxel and Baytril neither stopped it. Most times his mucus is clear but now he's pushing yellow snot out of a hole in his head...I made it bigger so I can use a syringe to suck out the goop (that's a medical word). Look at this, the toothpick is NOT in his nose. It's in that hole in is head...IMG_4017.JPG
 

bouaboua

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HOLY Torts! ! ! ! ! !:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:
 

Yvonne G

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His head looks so much better than my two. I wish there were something we could do to get rid of this infection. After about 5 years of treating my two, one finally died this past summer. She was pretty old, wild caught, and just the nicest tortoise ever. I hated to lose her. The other, my very first tortoise - Mi-Shell - is still alive, eating and acting normal, but has a grossly misshapen head from the abscess. Every so often, when I notice it has gotten bigger, I'll pick off the scab and it makes a hole about where your tooth pick is. Then I express all the 'cottage cheese', clean the cavity all out and flush it with antibiotic. But it keeps coming back. I think the only way to get rid of it is to cut off her head.

When she first developed the abscess I took her to the vet and he did surgery. He showed me a video he took of the surgery and it was absolutely amazing how much 'gunk' he got out of the abscess. He cultured it and said Baytril was the antibiotic that would kill this germ. So far, five years later, it hasn't killed it yet.
 

Delilah1623

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Has anyone ever tried that colloidal silver in the abscess? I have heard it works for all sorts of things and my boss told me she uses it for sinus issues and it's amazing. I am going to try it myself and see if it helps. I did Google it a little and it seems like people have used it on reptiles and appears to be safe?
 
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Maggie Cummings

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I'm not sure....thanks for being concerned tho, and for the info


COLLOIDAL SILVER
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colloidal silver Overview Information
Colloidal silver is a mineral. Despite promoters’ claims, silver has no known function in the body and is not an essential mineral supplement. Colloidal silver products were once available as over-the-counter drug products, but in 1999, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ruled that these colloidal silver products were not considered safe or effective. Colloidal silver products marketed for medical purposes or promoted for unproven uses are now considered “misbranded” under the law without appropriate FDA approval as a new drug. There are currently no FDA-approved over-the-counter or prescription drugs containing silver that are taken by mouth. However, there are still colloidal silver products being sold as homeopathic remedies and dietary supplements.

There are many Internet ads for the parts of a generator that produces colloidal silver at home. People who produce colloidal silver at home will likely not be able to evaluate their product for purity or strength. There are many products that are far safer and more effective than colloidal silver.

Despite these concerns about safety and effectiveness, people still buy colloidal silver as a dietary supplement and use it for a wide range of ailments. Colloidal silver is used to treat infections due to yeast; bacteria (tuberculosis, Lyme disease, bubonic plague, pneumonia, leprosy, gonorrhea, syphilis, scarlet fever, stomach ulcers, cholera); parasites (ringworm, malaria); and viruses (HIV/AIDS, pneumonia, herpes, shingles, warts).

Colloidal silver is also used for lung conditions including emphysema and bronchitis; skin conditions including rosacea, cradle cap (atopic dermatitis), eczema, impetigo, and psoriasis; and inflammation (sometimes due to infection) of the bladder (cystitis), prostate (prostatitis), colon (colitis), nose (rhinitis), stomach (gastritis), tonsils (tonsillitis), appendix (appendicitis), and sinuses (sinusitis).

How does it work?
Colloidal silver can kill certain germs by binding to and destroying proteins.
 

Yvonne G

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I've never used it, but when you suggested it I looked it up on Amazon and you can buy a small bottle for around $20. But it looks like all the uses are to be taken internally. I would want to squirt it into the abscess cavity. Since this is my first tortoise, and I've had her for over 30 years, I'm hesitant to use her as a guinea pig.
 

tortadise

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Colloidal silver is great stuff. I've used it for years personally. Never used it for open wounds or abscesses though. It's meant for internal use, then the body can utilize the minerals as needed.
 

Ciri

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I have used colloidal silver for my sinus issues and it has helped a lot. If you've been using antibiotics a lot, you might want to consider a couple of things to help the immune system. One would be the Chinese herb Astragalus, as it strengthens the immune system when used over time. I would suggest only organic astragalus. I just get the root and boil it. It's easy to just add it to the water dish, or drip it over some food. The other is a probiotic to help put back the good flora in the tortoise's gut. I consulted my reptile vet in the past about both of these, and he thought that Astragalus would likely be safe though he didn't have any information on effectiveness. And for a probiotic he said first not to use one, because they always have the flora in them needed by humans not reptiles. However I told him about one that has probiotics specifically from soil, and he thought that would be okay to use. The soil probiotics that I have used is made by Prescript-Assist. On the bottle it says Broad-spectrum probiotic and prebiotic, gastrointestinal support, 29 strains of beneficial microflora. Hope this is helpful, and that your tortoise is doing better soon.
 

Yvonne G

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Are you saying that if we gave this to our tortoises, internally, that it would help clear up the abscess in their heads?
 
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Delilah1623

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A lot of the stuff I saw talked about topical use. I was thinking of it more for cleaning out the cavity, in the same way you would use saline or peroxide.

And sorry Maggie, I didn't mean to hijack your thread. I just didn't know if anyone here had tried it in this way.
 
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Maggie Cummings

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And sorry Maggie, I didn't mean to hijack your thread. I just didn't know if anyone here had tried it in this way.

Not in the least! That's NOT a hijack, that's talking about treatment...fine with me and thanks for starting the conversation...
 

Ciri

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Are you saying that if we gave this to our tortoises, internally, that it would help clear up the abscess in their heads?
As Astragalus when taken internally helps to build the immune system, then yes, it would help the tortoise's immune system to fight the infection. It would also help strengthen the immune system after it's been depleted by taking antibiotics (assuming the antibiotics were given in shots). Of course, the probiotics would need to be taken internally to help support the immune system there. If it were me, I would tend to use the colloidal silver topically. I don't know as much about using it internally, though I know it can be used that way. A doctor for humans has told me I can be quite helpful, but I don't know specifically about using it for treating an abscess. It sounds like the antibiotics have helped, but not on the whole job. I'm fortunate not to have the go through this. I'm so sorry Yvonne that you lost a tortoise to this problem. It must've been heartbreaking.
 

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