equus cover article by joy silha

8/9/2019 Equus Cover Article by Joy Silha

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SHOULD OUVACCINATE GAINSTMOONBLINDNESS? AGE1

SEPTEMBEROISSUE3

UDFORNGTUOUNDFIRS


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What to doI Rule out shock As you wait foryourveteri-

narian o arrive, ake stockofyourhorse'sphysicalconditionas well as his behaviortogauge heseverityand effectofhis wound. Seriouspunc-tures can producebodywide effects n a relativelyshort ime as normal organ unction slows n anattempt to deal with the trauma. Without immediate and aggressive reatment, a horse with a punc-ture wound ofthe chest,bellyoreye can go ntoshock.Signs nclude rembling,anxiety,clammyearsand a weak, fastpulse.Do not attempt to movea horsewho is in shock.Make him ascomfortableas possibleand nformyourveterinarian oftheurgencyof your situation.

) ,4ssessbehavior: If shock s not an immi-nent threat,assess our horse'sdemeanoror cluesto the extent ofhis injury. Is he frantic, relativelyunconcerned runusuallylethargic? s he unableor reluctant to move or is he lame for ust a fewsteps hen willing to go on?Whatever he case,keep him calm and, f practicable,ead him toan area where he'll be safe and unlikely to havereason o becomeagitated.Unlesshe's lailingviolently and risking further injury, don't givehim sedatives r painkillers.They'll mask signsthat provide important information foryourveteri-narian.Theyalso maycause ourhorse o overusehis woundedpart.

) Examine the site: Now take agood ook athis injury. It's bestnot to touch it, particularly ifthe item responsible s still lodged n the wound.At the very least,you're likely to causeyour horsegreaterpainand risklosing his cooperation.Han-dling the object might cause t to break off withinthe wound. Manipulation-i ncluding cleaningorflushing the injury in somecases-could dr ive thepenetrantdeeper, nflicting greaterdamage oneryes, loodvessels, rgansorbone. Removalmayalsoworsenbleeding.

) Prevent further injury: To avoid driving theitem deeper, enerously ad the areaaround hewound, then cover t with a cleanpieceof gauzeorcloth to protect it from further contaminationandcontrol anypersistentbleeding. If you're dealingwith a nail protruding from the sole,hold the footup or duct tape a blockofwood to the bottomof thehoofso the nail cannotbepushed n deeper.

In most nstances,t's bestnot to remove heobject from a puncture wound, even f it is pro-truding from a horse'seye.Manyveterinarianspreferto see he item in placeso heycan trackitspath to determine the degree of damageand thepotential for infection. Regardlessof location,SEPTEMBER 2OO5

A puncture ound s heperfectncubatorfo r etanus por es, o a veterinarianikelywilladminister etanus oostero an njuredhorse.f the horse asn't een mmunizedagainstetanusn he ast18months,heveterinarian ayadministeretanus ntitoxin.

A rigidparalytic isease,etanuss causedbv Clostridiumetani, n anaerobic acteriumpresentn soiland eces.Whenmultiplyingwithin wound,he bacteriaelease potenttoxin hat ravelshroughhe bloodstreamothe central ervous ystem.

The ncubationeriodangesro mseveraldays o more hana month. he nit ial igns r emuscle t iffnessollowed y ighteningf hejaw.As hedisease rogresses,horse xpe-riences pasms,igid imbs ndprotrusionfthe hirdeyelid. isnostri lslarean dhis ailan dears t iffen. emay ook ikea sawhorseand allwithhis egsextended.

Tetanuss very erious, itha lowsurvivalrate.Horseshat ecoverequire uge osesof antitoxin swellas constant ursingreat-ment ora prolongederiod.

L=2

2

WOUl,lDIXYADERTetanusscaused yClostridiumtetanibactewhich ive and eces.

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We Know Horse People(we're horse people too)Ve knowyou wantyou wantmost ofknow how to makeit work for You.

Seeyour local dealerW'rite or FAX forInformaticn

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the bootand howit. Butall we

puncture wounds almost alwaysdevel-op somedegreeof infection.Certainmaterials ncrease he possibility.Wood s especially angerous ecauseit leaves plinters n tissue.Wire canbreakand shed ust or zinc fragmentsthat becomeembedded. sharp objectthatwas ying in manurecarriesmorebacteria,ncreasing he threat.) Remove if you must: Thereare rare nstanceswhen it is advisableto remove apenetrantbeforeyourveterinarianarrives:. It's causing he horse o panic.. Movementmight drive it deeperinto the wound.. It's an item, such as rebar or ametal fencepost, hat s obviouslyunbreakable.. Thewound s superficial-thetrackofthe item is parallel to the skin.

To emove he object,pull in thedirection oppositeof entry.Once t'sout,examine t for missingpiecesandsave t foryourveterinarian to exam-ine. Make a mark on the item to indi-catehow deeply twas embedded. t isalsohelpful to mark the wound site soyourveterinarianwill be able o locatethe puncturing tem's rack.

) Clean the site: Ifyour horse iscalm, clean he areaaround he woundby flushing it with physiologic alinesolutionor plainwater.Clip the hair ifpossible o provideyourveterinarianwith an unobstructed iew of thewound and to facilitatedrainase.Veterinaryreatment

Whenyourveterinarian rrives,he'll administeran antibioti c andtetanusbooster see GuardAgainstTetanus," age69). He'll clean hewound f you haven'talreadyand ookfor additionalpunctures.Then he'llpalpate he area. f a metal tem is be-lieved o be n the puncture,he'll likelyx-ray he site to determine its path.

Because nX raywon't detectawoodenor nonmetallicobject, ourvet-erinarianmayanesthetize he areaandinject contrastmaterial nto the trackto outline the wound cavity and anyremnantsof foreien material.

Sources fpunctures. nai ls. splintersro m enceposts

an d rees. thorns. small tones. barbed nd oosewire. fa l len ranches. cornstalks. frozen irtclods. T-postences. barn ools: akes. itchforks. latches ndhooksn he barnand rai ler. cafi lewithhorns

At{ EYGTOWARDFItEYEXTlO}ltPeriodicallyheckou r orse'ssurroundingso eliminateuncturerisks, uch snails rscrewsprotrudingrom encestop), lsoavoid sing arbed ire.

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InnovativexygenherapyAt heAlamo intadoquineMedical enternLos livos,California,orses ithpuncturewoundser iousnougho equire

surgery ayeceiveollow-uptreatmentn he acility'syperbaricoxygenhamber.cylinderargeenougho holdwohorses,hechambers illed ithoxygentapproximatelywo imes ormalatmosphericressure.hi ss hesamereatmentsedodepressurizescuba ivers. sessionakesapproximately0minutes.AccordingoCarterudy, VM,Dip. CVS,veterinariantAlamoPintado,yperharicxygenherapy(HB0T)as een sednhuman

medicineormore han decade.Inhorsest s especia l lysefu lntreating losednfectionsn both henavicular jo intndbursa. B0T asbeen vai labletAlamo intadoinceApril2000.

HB0T oes ot eplace nt ibiot icsor anti-inflammatoryedication.Rather,t enhancesealing,ay sJudy. naerobicacteria annorsurviven he oxygen-richnviron-ment, hichalsobolstershewhiteblood ells' bil i tyo defendhe bodyfrom oreign rganisms.

Because xygen romotesloodfloWHB0Tma yhelpantibioticseachth esiteof an nfection-anadvantagewhen reating bscesses.

The treatment regimen for a punture wound dependson the injury'sseverity.n all cases, asiccare n-cludescleaning the wound, removindamaged nd dead issue(debride-ment),and extracting any foreignmaterial that remains.Yourveterinaian alsowill establishdrainage;.inessence, e'll convert he puncturelessdangerousacerationbywidenithe wound opening.With a foot punture this meansparing awaypart ofthe hoof.Forbodypunctures, t meaopening he wound until the outerstion is aswide as the inside.The njalsowill be wrapped o protect t frofurther infection,but carewill be taknot to inhibit drainage.

A s up e fic ial puncture mayrequireno more han basiccare.Recoverynormally occurswithin da

A serious puncture-one wherethe item haspenetrateddeeply ntoa sensitiveareaof the body-willrequire surgery.Dependingon the n

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ture and extent of the injury as well asthe availablesurgical equipment, theproceduremaybeconducted hroughan endoscope,minimizing additionaltrauma to the site. In caseswhere aleg, oint or foot is involved,a surgeonmay aggressively lush fluids and anti-biotics directlyinto the area; he proce-dure is called perfusion.This providesmore protection than systemicadmin-istration of antibiotics. Aftercaremayinvolvesteadying he wound edgesbyimmobilizing the site in a cast,braceor supportive bandage.Recoverymaytake as many as severalweeks.In the aftermath

Al l puncturewounds-even thosethat are relatively minor-need to bemonitored in the days and weeks afterinjury. Be on the lookout for swellingand tenderness n the area as well aspus.All are indicative of uncontrolledinfection. Callyourveterinarian imme-diatelyifyou seeanyof thesesigns.

To facilitate healing,yourveterinar-ian may ecommendstall confinement,then,onceyourhorse s on the mend,a few minutes of hand walking eachday.Keepinghis surroundings ascleanas possiblewill minimize therisk of his wound becomins infectedfrom the outside n.

Given he nature ofhorses,youcannever eliminate all puncture wounds,butyou can reduce heirincidence.Regularly nspect the ground in areasyour horse frequents for nails, glassshards,wood and metal splinters, oosewire and other potentially trouble-causing debris. Keep wood and wirefences n good epair; secureT poststo avoidaccidents.Consider sweepinga magnet over he ground asyou walkyour paddockor corral to pick up straybits of metal as well as nails after afarrier's visit.

Whenyou arepicking outyourhorse'shooves. ake a few moments toinspect hem foranytelltale signs ofa

puncture.And, fyou spotone,maevery effort to find the object thatcaused he injury.

I lthough a puncture wound m-CLlook benign, t rarely s. Withprompt and proper treatment, a seingly innocent puncture can c.auspermanentdamageand even endager ife. That's the problem with ptures. But knowing the risks thatpuncture wounds poseas well asto do when your horse suffers onehelp you and yourveterinarian brithe situation quickly under controEQUUS hanks Dean Hendrickson,DVM, Dip. ACVS, of the CoIIegeofVeteri.nary edicine& BiomedicalSciencesat ColoradoState Universin Fort CoIIins, and CarterJudy, DVDip.ACVS, of theAlamo PintadoEquineMedical Center n Los OlivoCalifornia, or their technicalasslstance n thepreparationof this arti

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equus cover article by joy silha

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