[Gpdd] [CARE] (UTI treatment/prevention)
Ann Evans
ann.evans at hintlink.com
Wed Feb 2 13:37:56 EST 2011
Dear Ellen and the GPDD Family,
Most cavy owners are better at diagnosing aliments than vets. But there
comes a time when you need the help of a vet for treatment. I do not
know of any over the counter remedies to treat cystitis also known as
urinary tract infections, UTIs. If your cavy is showing signs of
distress while peeing, is always wet around her genitals, has chalky
deposits around the urethra or has foul smelling urine there is a good
chance she has cystitis which is an infection that requires antibiotics
and a non steroidal anti inflammatory drug, NSAID. In females with
stones, the stones almost always present themselves as a swelling in the
urethra. This is the hairless area just above the opening to the
urethra. But sludge in the urethra can also cause pain. Cystitis is an
infection that left untreated can lead to stones.
To diagnose an infection you will need one of these items.
AZO Urinary Tract Infection Test Strips. These can be bought at a
pharmacy or Amazon.com. But I prefer to use Urinalysis Reagent Test Strips.
Rapid Response 10 Parameter (10SG) Urinalysis Reagent Test Strips, 100
Strips/Bottle
Can be bought at Amazon.com for $16.66
This is to test your sows urine for blood, Leukocytes, Nitrite, pH and
other tests. If the urine is positive for blood or leukocytes or nitrite
your cavy either has a stone or an UTI or both. If the urine is positive
for any of these then you can first treat for UTI. This will require you
to get Pediatric Bactrim from your vet. If you or your vet does not want
to use Rimadyl, an NSAID, then you can buy over the counter children’s
ibuprofen. The Dose is 0.2ml twice a day for a minimum of 14 days.
If you have hard water make sure to give all your cavies water that has
been treated by reverse osmosis. You can buy this water at the grocery
store by the gallon for less than a dollar. The water should contain 4.0
mg/l of calcium or less. You can go to this link for a water hardness
map of the USA and England. Vedra recommends Deeside water be used in
areas of the UK that have hard water. http://piggyville.com/index.php?id=8
Below is the treatment protocol for UTIs.
It contains the use of Cymalon, which can only be bought in the UK
online. I have not found a product that is equivalent to it in the USA.
I will not recommend a product or protocol that I have not used on my
own cavies. I buy the Cymalon sachets and add 2 cups of reverse osmosis
water to one sachet. Then I syringe a quarter to a half of a cup per
day in 3 to 4 sittings. If you do not have Cymalon just make sure your
cavy is getting 40ml, 1.4 fluid ounces of water/day.
Protocol
Cystitis also known as urinary tract infections (UTI) is very common in
cavies and the causes are many and varied. The key to preventing future
infections is to treat the existing infection correctly.
The normal treatment for cavies of either sex with cystitis is to treat
with Pediatric Septrin 0.5 ml twice daily for 10 to 14 days. Most
Importantly treatment must also include the anti inflammatory Rimadyl.
For the first 3 days give 10 mg twice a day then reduce the dose to 5 mg
twice a day. It is essential to continue the anti inflammatory treatment
for at least 7 to 10 days after the last dose of antibiotic. While the
cavy is on treatment give frequent drinks of the over the counter human
cystitis treatment Cymalon mixed according to the human instructions
using water that is low in calcium. Penny Charlesworth mentions using
Cymalon and I have used it in the past with cavies that are prone to UTIs.
Any time a cavy is ill I give extra vitamin C, 50 mg twice a day. All of
my cavies get 50 mg vitamin c chewable tablets per day. The vitamin c
also helps to acidify the urine, which help prevent UTIs and bladder stones.
For the USA audience Pediatric Septrin is Pediatric Bactrim use as
above. Rimadyl is called the same in both the UK and the USA. Cymalon is
a British product that comes in sachets and is primarily sodium citrate.
It also comes as a cranberry flavoured liquid made with potassium
citrate. It is for the relief from the burning pain of Cystitis.
Bepathan is diaper rash cream similar to Destin. Water that has been
treated by reverse osmosis is low in calcium. I buy one gallon jugs at
the grocery store for 68 cents. This is the only water I give to my
cavies. I buy 100 mg chewable vitamin c tablets from Puritans Pride
product number 3005 http://www.puritan.com/ .I just break the tablets in
half. Puritans Pride also has liquid vitamin C product number 002740. If
using the liquid syringe 0.3 ml into your sows mouth.
Where did I learn how to treat UTIs and bladder stones?? The British
Association of Rodentologists (BAR) Care Sheet number 11 titled Bladder
Problems. You can order it from BAR regardless if you are a member
http://www.britishassociationofrodentologists.co.uk/
They accept credit cards and PayPal. The PayPal address is
stanislinski at aol.com.
Ellen you asked about calcium ascorbate. Calcium ascorbate is just a
buffered form of ascorbic acid, vitamin C, and has about the same
bioavailability as ascorbic acid. It is also a more stable form of
vitamin C. There is no reason to be alarmed over the calcium content of
the Oxbow vitamin C supplement.
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