[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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