Emergency!!!

[formica]

Originally Posted by MDT

Not speculation. Povidone Iodine has been shown to harm fibroblasts in healing skin. The Emergency Medicine literature is replete with recommendation to not use Betadine in wound care. The saying "don't use anything on a wound you wouldn't use in your own eye" is one we follow. Use Betadine if you want. The realistic answer is that it probably won't jack up the healing process. However, the current reccomendations are such, it is not recommended.

are you saying that Wounds International, have it wrong? for sure I also have read that iodine should not be used for the same reasons you have stated, however, when a group formed of the leading wound care specialists in the world, say that this information is incorrect, I am inclined to believe them...

[MDT]

Formica...do what you want brother. I can tell you how ED clinicians approach human wound care in the US. When the literature for my specialty recommends against or for something, we try to employ those methods. I could give a rats a$$ about Wound Care International. Like I said, will it really really matter? Probably not, but that's not how it is done.

OP...your snake will be good...sorry to have jacked your thread

[formica]

Originally Posted by MDT

Formica...do what you want brother. I can tell you how ED clinicians approach human wound care in the US. When the literature for my specialty recommends against or for something, we try to employ those methods. I could give a rats a$$ about Wound Care International. Like I said, will it really really matter? Probably not, but that's not how it is done.

OP...your snake will be good...sorry to have jacked your thread

not asking to try and argue, i'm genuinely trying to find out why there is a difference, if there is a good reason for me to not using Iodine, then i want to know about it! I find it odd that there is a discrepancy, although I have my suspicions about the discrepancy (ie marketing!)

I cannot find anything in the literature I have access to, including my old work pubmed account, which shows that any alternative product is better than current iodine solutions, or any proof that iodine slows wound healing, and there are quite a few companies introducing products with that claim, at a significant mark up over iodine preperations...I'm going to ask my mum about it, she has been at the forefront of wound management research for the last 30 years....and i know for a fact she's got Iodine in her cupboard.



(btw Wounds International is not the same as Wound Care International, the former is a group of specialists including doctors, consultants, nurses and other researchers who provide information only when it has been peer reviewed and the data sets are available in full, unlike many private companies who provide only the parts of their datasets which support their marketing claims...)

[shaunyboy]

Originally Posted by formica

Actually it is only speculation that Iodine slows wound healing - evidence suggests the opposite, that low concentrations, as typically used to clean wounds, infact aides healing of wounds

refer to Wounds International if you need further information: Iodine Made Easy (page 1 of 4) › Made Easys › May Vol 2 Issue 2 › Wounds International (world leading wound management specialists)

i use a diluted iodine soulution on any snake wounds ive dealt with,done the job just fine imo

to the op
without pictures its hard to say if a vet is required or not mate ?

cheers shaun

[Hoskins]

Originally Posted by shaunyboy

i use a diluted iodine soulution on any snake wounds ive dealt with,done the job just fine imo

to the op
without pictures its hard to say if a vet is required or not mate ?

cheers shaun

Thanks for the advice, it's appreciated, and I was gonna post some pics in a bit, just now got to it.

Not entirely sure if embedding images works in this forum so lemme give it a try.

This is (hopefully) Athena's neck-wound :/


And I could use one more piece of advice. Since tape is now not an option, are there any adhesives that you all use in your habitats? She's been loving to throw the paper towels in her water dish and crumple them all in a corner, so I was wondering if there was a way to make the towels stick down or anything.

Thanks guys!
(Sorry, tried to post earlier, but it wouldn't let me :/)

[LadyWraith]

I use newspaper with my BP and have the same issue with him crumpling it up. I don't really worry about it... it still does the job of absorbing waste, which is the reason it's there at all. No adhesives at all... I am unaware of any that will not cause damage as above.

TBH, if that were my animal, I'd be making an appointment with my herp vet. Just mainly to make sure that I was caring for the wound properly. It's a pretty big open wound area... may just look worse than it is, but I would want a veterinary professional's opinion in case. Poor snakey.

[MDT]

Wow....that is definitely a neck wound....you really should have that wound debrided.

I just use newspaper. My retics will absolutely trash their enclosure about 15 min after I "fix it up"...I just have learned to live w it. I guess you could get pre-cut cage liners. Other than that, idk.

[KORBIN5895]

There is a huge difference between missing scales and the skin ripped from the flesh. That is skin ripped from the flesh and needs vet attention.

[Hoskins]

Originally Posted by LadyWraith

I use newspaper with my BP and have the same issue with him crumpling it up. I don't really worry about it... it still does the job of absorbing waste, which is the reason it's there at all. No adhesives at all... I am unaware of any that will not cause damage as above.

TBH, if that were my animal, I'd be making an appointment with my herp vet. Just mainly to make sure that I was caring for the wound properly. It's a pretty big open wound area... may just look worse than it is, but I would want a veterinary professional's opinion in case. Poor snakey.

Yes, I agree completely. Unfortunately that won't be possible until Wednesday, as emergencies have been eating up the money I put back for these sorts of things. I've been extra careful and watching her day and night, do I'm praying that four more days won't be too late.

MDT, that thought keeps crossing my mind and I have a strong temptation to do it myself with some surgical tools my dad kept from his days as a first responder, but I'm not experienced or knowledgeable enough to confidently debride the wound, so I've kept myself from it. And I might try newspaper, that might be a bit harder to crumple up than paper towels.

Thus far I've been using a light, generic antibiotic cream every other day or so to avoid contact with her wound as much as possible, I don't want to stress her out more than she already is. She still isn't very jumpy or defensive, to my surprise on the rare times I handle her.

I have more questions for you all:

Obviously I haven't been feeding her for fear of harming her further, but I was wondering if offering her maybe a pinkie rat might be a good idea, if only to retain the resilience she's kept so far and to speed up the healing process.

Another issue, the other day when changing her substrate, I noticed a tiny pink spot on the opposite side of her neck in relation to the wound. I thought it might be a small patch of scale rot and watched or closely, but it seems to have disappeared. I've tried to keep her habitat (I keep seeing the word "viv") drier than normal to slow or prevent scale rot after the accident.

So what are your thoughts? And thank you all again for your help, it really does mean a lot.

[KORBIN5895]

If you feed it make sure it is small enough the neck won't stretch.

[Hannibalcanibal]

Yikes. I'd not even feed until the vet looks at it..

[Starbuck]

if you're going to the vet on wed (And i agree with others above, GO TO THE VET), i would wait to feed as well. A few missed days won't hurt her, and this way you won't be risking hurting her skin further, or a regurge in the car or during the exam.

I would also advise against debriding it yourself.

You may wish to look into butcher paper (it comes in 30ish pound rolls like wrapping paper), it is very sturdy, and one large piece will probably fit the whole bottom of the viv so it won't be several bits for her to toss around. It may not be quite as absorbent as paper towels, but it is definitely more sturdy.

[formica]

allot Vets offer payments plans, there is really no need to wait until wed, that is a very serious wound that needs professional attention asap.

and why is she still on substrate? whats the point of asking for help if you are going to ignore it?!?

I feel really sorry for this snake i know you are not intentionally trying to do harm, but you havent listened to anything anyone has told you, I cannot believe you have left her in this state for 5 days without medical help.

[Donnie]

Originally Posted by formica

allot Vets offer payments plans, there is really no need to wait until wed, that is a very serious wound that needs professional attention asap.

and why is she still on substrate? whats the point of asking for help if you are going to ignore it?!?

I feel really sorry for this snake i know you are not intentionally trying to do harm, but you havent listened to anything anyone has told you, I cannot believe you have left her in this state for 5 days without medical help.

The OP said it is on paper towels now.

OP I would get her to the vet ASAP as formica said you can put the care on a payment plan if you have no money now.

[formica]

fair enough, i read 'substrate' in previous post and assumed it was not paper towels


please get her to vet before wed, cant imagine the pain she's in right now. and OP i apologise for my rather abrupt previous post, i know thats not what you need right now, just feeling your snakes pain.