Page 121 - The Veterinary Care of the Horse

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Figure 3.15b The same pony when the abscess had almost healed

Treatment

The best way to treat an abscess is to apply warmth with a poultice or hot compress. This

increases the blood supply and speeds up the maturing process. When the abscess ‘points’, an
area of the overlying skin becomes very thin and may feel softer than the rest of the abscess.

It can often be depressed quite easily. At this stage it may burst naturally or be lanced with a
scalpel by the vet. The cavity can then be flushed out with an antiseptic solution, e.g. diluted
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hydrogen peroxide or chlorhexidine (Hibiscrub ).
Once an abscess has formed, antibiotics are not usually of benefit unless the animal is

very unwell with a high temperature. The antibiotics do not penetrate the fibrous tissue
capsule of the abscess sufficiently to deal with the infection, but they may delay the ripening

of the abscess and slow down healing.

Complications

Occasionally, abscesses do not respond to medical management alone and surgery is needed

to remove any diseased tissue before the wound will heal. In cases where the abscess is close
to major nerves and blood vessels, the dead tissue is dissected out as far as possible. Sterile

maggots (larvae of the common greenbottle, Lucilia sericata) have been successfully used to
continue treatment of the wound. These maggots selectively feed on the necrotic tissue. They