From:
nzweezul
Date: 2002-06-12 17:28:00 UTC
Subject: Re: Bleeding Thighs and Butt from sores. Help Please
He is so sore and red and bleeding. You can see where his skin is
peeling off.
> I have had him to 3 vets for this and really have come up with
nothing.
I used to be ( now retired!) HUMAN medic and had a lot to do with
care of the confused elderly - incontinent, fragile skin, ulceration,
the lot.
What are you washing him with? Use cotton balls or VERY soft, old
cotton rags. Throw away after use. Dab with tepid water, dont' rub.
Pat dry very gently with very soft old cotton rags. Then, as other
posters have said, use a baby diaper rash creme or ointment. What
you need to do, is form a barrier between the now-clean skin and the
urine. It is the urine - or rather its breakdown products - that
cause the damage to the skin. Faeces are unpleasant but in and of
themsleves will not produce damage to otherwise unbroken skin. The
other problem is that of pressure, and if he's lying on his front all
the time, there will be constant pressure adding to the damage done
by the urine.
Applying a barrier ointment can be difficult on very fragile skin as
by their nature, they are usually fairly "heavy" and thick, and if
you pull the skin, it will break. Put the dab of ointment that you
are going to use into something small waterproof and clean, and
literally warm (by putting the container in warm water)the ointment
up to *just* above YOUR body temperature ( ie round about Ferret body
temp) then you will be able to smear or dab it on the tender areas
that need protection with less damage to the fragile tissues. BE VERY
CAREFUL that you don't let the ointment get hot - I'm sure you won't
but a reminder never hurts any!
I have always found that the fairly basic stuff for babies works best
on animals. I am British so our brand names may not be the same; I
have found Sudocrem to be very good and soothing, and also a very
smelly ointment containing fish oils, once a little healing has
begun. Can't remember its name.
With the type of heavy, sticky ointment you need to use as a barrier,
you will have to rethink his litterbox contents( if he drags himself
to it) and use sheets of newspaper,topped by nappy/diaper liners, or
as someone already suggested, disposables. Some of the specially -
constructed fabric pads which are used for the care of the elderly
are really superb at wicking away urine and would make an excellent
hammock or sleeping bag, psychologically more suitable perhaps than
netting or mesh ...Again, I can't think of brand names - perhaps you
could contact an elderly care facility and ask discretely? I have
known incontinent people who have not had a full night's sleep ( due
to wetness) for ages, transform into good sleepers when these pads
are used - it is actually difficult to tell when they are wet, other
than by the weight - and because the damaged skin is not being
further damaged, it will begin to heal, even in the very
elderly.These are NOT the plastic-backed paper incontinence pads
which are truly HORRIBLE - these are a soft slightly fluffy washable
fabric.
The idea of a mesh or net hammock is a very good one to lessen
pressure on the fragile area and allow air circulation, alternatively
if he wants to lie on something cosy you could try sheepskin or pure
wool pile; you could cut lots of small pieces suitable for a ferret
from a seat-sized piece; they are very popular in the UK and NZ for
the prevention of pressure sores and urine damage on both humans(very
old and very young!) and dogs, and I am sure would be just as
effective for ferrets.
I hope that some of this human stuff helps!