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We Are Flying Solo

September 19, 2019

Tricks of the Equine First Aid Trade

Since I am currently using nearly all of the equine nursing tricks I've developed over the years, I wanted to share a few products I've adapted from the human world.  In many cases, this is much cheaper than buying "horse" labeled products, as we all know that's an automatic 300% markup. 

Horses & humans may both be mammals, but are NOT interchangeable, so product transference should always be done with caution.  I check with my vet before I try anything new.  And Dr. Bob himself has suggested several of them!

In my wound care kit right now:
  • Generic wound wash from CVS -- a mix of antiseptic & lidocaine, this stuff has become the first thing I grab for cuts & scrapes.  Dr. Bob first mentioned something like this when Solo got staples in his head last year, as the lidocaine reduces itching so they don't rub on everything.  I squirt on a clean cloth to apply & a bottle lasts me a long time (uh, usually).
  • Non-stick wound pads (biggest size available) -- fabulous for things on legs that get wrapped.  In the last post, you can see one sticking out of the wrap around Solo's cannon scrape.  I've found that if you leave a little sticking out above the vetwrap, it helps prevent the pad from sliding out the bottom.  They absorb without peeling off healing tissue when you change bandages.
  • Nitrile gloves (altho medium is of course too small for my giant man-hands) -- not sterile, but cleaner than my fingers & saves me from having to wipe 5 different kinds of goop off my hands.  I also like that the blue is easier for me to see when I drop it or it blows out of a trash bucket.
  • Polysporin -- a long time ago, a dr. told me that 10% of people develop allergic responses to Neosporin, so polysporin was a safer choice.  I don't know if this is applicable to horses or not, but I've used the poly ever since on full-thickness cuts & it works well.
  • Colored duct tape -- I always tape wraps/standing bandages that are worn unattended.  I try to get tape that is a different color than my standing wraps so I can easily see from a distance if it's still there, but I had blue left over from something else, so oops.  
  • Gorilla tape -- I usually only use this for hoof wrapping, for which it is a godsend, but I was about to run out of duct tape, so have also used it on standings.  It has not left a residue or caused any damage to my standing wraps.
The discolored gladware with 3 little syringes is my wound lavage kit.  NCSU vet school taught me this method when I had to clean out Solo's healing head-holes.  Add a little Betadine to water, so it's a diluted mixture, about the colour of weak tea or lighter.  Use the syringes to flush out the wound.  Syringes allow you to control direction & pressure of stream pretty well.  Because Betadine is cytotoxic, you never want to use it full strength on an open wound & even dilute, use only when needed to prevent infection/flush out debris.  It will stain whatever container you put it in, so pick something you don't plan to eat out of later.

Finally, the big fat syringe is just a dosing syringe with the tip cut off, making it easier to give dissolved stuff like SMZs without losing 1/3 of your dose stuck in the plastic tip.

What about you?  Do you have favorite products you've adapted to equine use?

6 comments:

  1. Gorilla duct tape booties are almost too good lol. Excellent tips on the polysporin and wound wash - thanks!

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    1. I have an inappropriate amount of love for the wound wash, LOL.

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  2. My mare had a bug bite (or splinter, not sure since she really over-reacts to bug bites) that got infected under her jaw (had the dentist check for tooth first) ; used all the standard tricks, epsom salts, dmso, and they would drain it but it would fill again. Before calling out the big guns (aka vet) I saw this on Amazon...and TaDa...it worked like they said! "The Hairy Gnome Drawing Salve, This Stuff Sucks! Poison Out. Handmade with Organic Ingredients, 1 oz. Old Timey Plantain and Pine Tar Recipe for Infections, Splinters, and Boils." I don't know if a link will work here, but will try:

    https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07GFTBNVX/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

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  3. I definitely just bought iodine at the pharmacy versus the tack store, the great thing is I don't have to dilute it since it is meant for humans and it was cheaper because its pre diluted. Someone said you can buy nitrile/latex gloves at the dollar store and I'm totally down for that lol

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    1. Ooo, I have not checked at Dollar Tree, that's a good idea! The boxes of 50 are pretty cheap at CVS, but there's nothing wrong with cheaper since I'm only wearing them for about 2 minutes or less at a time.

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