Cooling Neosporin?

[Arelle]

Okay, the title is completely off because my brain is fried.

Essentially, I have a mare that has survived what should have been a life ending injury. In the last three weeks of surviving this (a laceration to her flank that tore her abdominal muscles away from her peritoneum) the discharge from the void left in her abdomen has completely scalded her skin down most of her leg.

I feel AWFUL for her. At the hospital we were keeping Vaseline on it to try to minimize further scalding, but I don’t know how much it is or isn’t helping.

Additionally, the leg is very swollen due to drainage.

Are there any topical products any of you know of that might be appropriate to use on a situation like this? I’m cold hosing the wound per the vet’s instructions and keeping everything as safe as can be - but it clearly hurts, it’s been inflamed for three weeks now, and I’m just wondering if there’s a solution better than Vaseline that wouldn’t hurt to try topically.

[Maythehorsebewithme]

If you are talking about scalding from a discharge of fluid from the injury, we had a mare that had had surgery for broken withers–the surgery site drained for weeks and her shoulder was like raw meat. Desitin turned the corner for her (and us). Kept the fluid off the skin Worked great!

Of course, run it by your vet.

[No1]

Vaseline or Desitin are the way to go.

I think I understand your thought process about wanting some benzocaine or something to numb the area a bit, but you would have to use a LOT of it and it probably wouldn’t stay in place very well with the drainage sloughing it off.

Which ever way you go, more is definitely better in this situation.

[Maythehorsebewithme]

And fhe Desitin worked where the Vaseline failed. It coated the skin better, protected it from moisture better.

[Arelle]

Thank you guys for the suggestions. People on FB said “ask your vet”… which, obviously.

We’re lucky that the discharge has significantly lessened now that we’re three weeks post injury. However, the damage has been done and the limb is both scalded AND very swollen and tight due to both swelling/fluid retention as well as stall rest. She’s on daily hand walking, but there’s only so much that does.

The photo below is today; you can see the area I’m concerned about from her hock down. It’s red, it’s angry… and I’m happy to brainstorm any solution that might help above and beyond Vaseline.

[luvmyhackney]

That looks angry. I’d probably use some silver sulfadiazine cream for the red parts and the lower cut. Then zinc oxide every where else to protect it. I think the brand is Ascend and requires a prescription, Once it looks less red and inflamed, I would switch to straight zinc oxide every where until the wound stops draining.

[LilRanger]

Zinc oxide is in diaper ointment, right?

[luvmyhackney]

Yes! Cheaper to buy the generic big tubs of zinc oxide vs diaper creams. But same thing.

[JB]

Oh MAN, that poor girl! Poor you I know you were just beside yourself

You can buy zinc powder and make the paste yourself which may be cheaper, but the generic ZnOx tubs may be cheap enough to not worry about extra savings.

That stuff sticks like nobody’s business and sheds water, way better than vaseline.

[Maythehorsebewithme]

Desitin’s active ingredient is zinc oxide, so there seems to be quite a bit of consensus here.

I would definitely try the zinc oxide. The mare I spoke about who was recovering from the broken withers and whose shoulder was so inflamed was in such awful pain/distress when we were using the vaseline that her owner actually considered euthanasia. When we used the Desitin (zinc oxide) she turned the corner within 24 hours.

[IPEsq]

SSD cream mentioned already is really good on burns. And Desitin / Zinc will help protect it. I think Equiderma’s zinc has good staying power and isn’t quite as nasty to handle as Desitin.

If that area on the lower limb could be wrapped at all, maybe you could layer some burn pads under a cotton wrap. I used them on myself for a nasty case of road rash from a bike race crash. They are a hydrophilic dressing so will give a moist cooling to the area but can also soak up some of the oozing. I will find a link. It would not be cheap to cover that area but maybe you could put it in your rotation or use it once the cold hosing is done.

[IPEsq]

https://www.amazon.com/Spenco-Skin-Moist-Burn-Pads/dp/B0889JTMK9

[Marla_100]

walmart’s generic brand of Desitin/diaper cream has a much higher amount of zinc oxide and it’s more effective due to that. Cheap too and available in large containers.

[NaturallyHappy]

Gosh, I’m so thankful your mare survived! Would Aquaphor help? My oncology dermatologist recommends this and we’ve used it when metformin blistered horse’s lips. Good luck!

[Arelle]

Me too! It’s a long road ahead, and I’m already tired of flying… I mean hand walking… the five year old who at the end of this will have been on stall rest for nine weeks.

These suggestions are awesome! Thank you all so, so much. I definitely appreciate it, as does my mare - Riley.

Will talk to the vet and report back on outcomes.

[ThreeWishes]

@Arelle how did she do that ? How frightening! Jingles for a speedy full recovery.

[NaturallyHappy]

Just re-read this…I wonder if a spin off of JB’s idea would work…baby powder or Gold Bond powder w zinc to keep it dry.

[Laurierace]

Can you put a big pillow wrap on it? Would keep a big part of it protected so you would only have to slather the upper part with Desitin.

[Arelle]

@ThreeWishes long story short, she broke before her blanket did.

My best guess is she somehow got part of the blanket caught on the fence; when I fed at 10 she was fine and blanketed, when I went out an hour later, she was down, and the blanket (chest ripped open, belly and leg straps still fastened) was about 60 yards away with blood and tissue inside of it.

@Laurierace we’ve been keeping the bottom half wrapped as best as we can; the good news is that the discharge has mostly stopped so now it’s more about healing the existing damage versus preventing additional damage.

Thank you all for your suggestions! These are wonderful!

We’ve gone from an abdominal wound that was elbow deep three weeks ago to wrist deep today. Thank god for granulation tissue!

[Ergots]

I call that serum rash. I already know when it’s going to happen based on my long history with weeping eyes and chronic wounds( desert VS Appaloosa ) corona ointment applied very thick and a neck cradle. Pure zinc oxide paste is 10X better then desitin