Injection site scab

[Kada]

My rabbit had his molar spurs trimmed a little over a week ago. The vet gave him a pain medicine injection on his back. Now there is a scab there, it’s about 1,5-2cm big. It’s hard and dry, the skin around doesn’t seem irritated. I noticed that the site was swollen after the injection but the swelling went away quickly. Now there’s only the scab. He doesn’t seem to be bothered by it, it’s also in a spot where he can’t scratch himself so it can’t get irritated.



Are these normal or have your bunnies had these scabs after injections? I’ve heard that scabs are quite normal after vaccinations but I haven’t read anything about other injection scabs..



Should I put some type of cream on the scab to help it heal quicker?

 

[JBun]

Sounds like a sterile abscess. Most often they seem to happen with baytril injections, but they can happen with other injections. If you have a rabbit safe cream/ointment to apply, it's up to you. It may help in it's healing faster, but even without applying cream it should heal normally on it's own. Though this would be good to discuss with your vet if you have any concerns or questions.

Sterile abscesses in rabbits:
"Some drugs or components of the injection solution are strong irritants of the skin and induce necrosis at the site of the injection or of the tissue surrounding the injected liquid. This is particularly the case of subcutaneous administration of fluoroquinolone (e.g. enrofloxacin, marbofloxacin) or penicillin antibiotics, of drugs diluted in oily solutions, or when the injected solution remains too long in contact with the surrounding skin, due to slow or poor absorption in the blood. As a result, sterile abscesses develop.

As it's name indicates, a sterile abscess is a result of a local inflammation and fluid accumulation due to chemical irritation of the skin. It is not the result of a bacterial infection, and no pus is found. With time, there is scarring of the affected tissue, and development of a hard solid lump that takes a long time to disappear. Rarely a sterile abscess is a source of discomfort or pain to the rabbit.

If the solution to be injected is water based, as is the case of e.g. enrofloxacin, it can be diluted 50:50 with a sterile saline solution before injection. This will avoid the formation of sterile abscesses. Oily based solution, like often the case for penicillin, cannot be diluted with a saline solution." http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Injection/Extracting_medication.pdf

http://www.medirabbit.com/Safe_medication/Antibiotics/Safe_antibiotics.htm (more info on sterile abscesses)

 

[Kada]

Sounds like a sterile abscess. Most often they seem to happen with baytril injections, but they can happen with other injections. If you have a rabbit safe cream/ointment to apply, it's up to you. It may help in it's healing faster, but even without applying cream it should heal normally on it's own. Though this would be good to discuss with your vet if you have any concerns or questions.

Sterile abscesses in rabbits:
"Some drugs or components of the injection solution are strong irritants of the skin and induce necrosis at the site of the injection or of the tissue surrounding the injected liquid. This is particularly the case of subcutaneous administration of fluoroquinolone (e.g. enrofloxacin, marbofloxacin) or penicillin antibiotics, of drugs diluted in oily solutions, or when the injected solution remains too long in contact with the surrounding skin, due to slow or poor absorption in the blood. As a result, sterile abscesses develop.

As it's name indicates, a sterile abscess is a result of a local inflammation and fluid accumulation due to chemical irritation of the skin. It is not the result of a bacterial infection, and no pus is found. With time, there is scarring of the affected tissue, and development of a hard solid lump that takes a long time to disappear. Rarely a sterile abscess is a source of discomfort or pain to the rabbit.

If the solution to be injected is water based, as is the case of e.g. enrofloxacin, it can be diluted 50:50 with a sterile saline solution before injection. This will avoid the formation of sterile abscesses. Oily based solution, like often the case for penicillin, cannot be diluted with a saline solution." http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Injection/Extracting_medication.pdf

http://www.medirabbit.com/Safe_medication/Antibiotics/Safe_antibiotics.htm (more info on sterile abscesses)

Thank you! I'll see if it heals on its own and take him to the vet if not. And yeah it doesn't seem like it's bothering him at all, he's happy and eating normally.

I'll also tell the vet that this happened the next time he gets his molars trimmed so maybe he can dilute the medicine.