abscess on Munchies face

Question
Hi Sandra,

I'm hoping you can give some info/advice on one of my pet rat's abscess.  She is a brown hood, two years old in Sept. 08.  She has cronic myco. which we battle off and on.  I sometimes have to give her inj. of Dexamithazone.  Here's some info on me, I adopt pet rats from people who don't want them anymore, but mostly from schools who have problem ratties such as sick or bitting. I have been reading through your Q/A and you have a lot to offer. So here goes.  At the beginning of June 2008 I noticed a lump on my little Munchie's face, (right side just at/below the corner of her mouth).  So I took her to our vet and she lanced it,cleaned it out and gave her antibiotic inj. and 14 days of Baytril.  But within 10 days it was back again.  So back to the vet.  At that point she decided it would be better to do surgery to remove it and so we did.  Gave her another 14 days of baytril and about 10 days later it was back again.  So back to the vet, this time she poked it with a nettle and lime green pus came out.  We flushed w/ betadine and she sent me home with a betadine solution to flush it out with, she did not want to do any more antibotics feeling that they are getting to the site.  (I should note that we have been using warm compresses to keep it open and that the pus coming out has always been green.)  But it never stays open for more than a day.  So now it has been about another ten days or so since we last saw the vet and of course it is back.  So last night we poked it with a neddle that the vet gave us to poke it with and out comes the lime green pus again, so we flushed it with the IODINE I have at home and squeezed it till only blood came out (only 3 times). This is always hard on Munchie and it flares up her Myco everytime.  Which I know is somthing that happens when rats have myco. I would like to note that my vet is not an exotic vet, but she is great and loves my raties.  She is always kind and loving to them, she holds them kisses them and respects my wishes.  She charges less for their care and sometimes nothing, knowing I'm a rescuer them.
I have been to an exotic vet in my area and she did nothing for my rat but charged a lot.  I live in (Santa Rosa CA) by the way.
So, can you offer info on where we should go from here?  I would like to ask my vet for an oral antibiotic that might help and some topical antibiotic also.  I should also note Munchie is happy, eating well, runs in her wheel (LARGE WHEEL) and loves sleeping with me.  She seems to act normal, but is getting mad at me for all the poking and cleaning of the abscess.  Hope I got all the info you might need.  I'm going to try to send a picture.

Thank you the help.

Answer

Hi


Oh how I hate facial abscesses.  They can be very dangerous.  

For the record, since your rat has chronic myco, she should be on a daily dose of baytril for the duration of her life. This is a great way to keep it from flaring up.

Bactrim should be used orally for the abscess though just to see if it helps better than baytril.  I also suggest the vet culture the bacteria that is found in this abscess to see what it is sensitive to since it seems the baytril is not really getting it well.

However, I do want to warn you that there is (depends on where this abscess is located) an area on the face below the eye, next to the ear, across from the mouth that underneath is the zymbals gland which is a subaceous gland.
Unfortunately this area is famous for developing a tumor of the zymbals gland. It is often mistaken for a recurring abscess by vets that have not studied the rats anatomy thoroughly (nothing against your vet, alot of vets miss this)

http://ratguide.com/health/neoplasia/zymbals_gland_tumor.php

I am in no way saying this is what your rat has, especially since she has not been given oral antibiotics specifically for this abscess, but just so you can be aware of what it may be, perhaps share the above link with your vet as well.  Meanwhile, I would like to see a photo of it. Email me at Sandyscrittercity@yahoo.com with a photo, take as many clear shots of at all angles if possible. I know its hard to get them to cooperate for you so do your best is all. :)

Also, while waiting to see the vet, you can clean this out yourself using saline solution and also fill the hole up with antibiotic ointment. How deep would you say this is?