Injecting antibiotics :(

[Amazonia]

Ugh, injecting antibiotics into a tiny little leg is NOT easy. Nioka is to be given Fortum for an abscess in his jaw and I was so nervous getting up this morning knowing I had to do that. The vet told me to put them in the freezer (not the fridge) so first I had to defrost the thing. Held it under the hot tap (she also said after an hour they're unusable, so time was of the essence) and half of it was still at the top of the syringe so I spent a few minutes tapping it to get it down to the bottom. Then I got him out his viv and injected him.

I'm a little worried I've hurt him. I tried to put it in at the same area the vet did but maybe I got it wrong? There was some blood (it's an intramuscular injection so I was worried when I saw blood) and he kind of kicked back a bit when it went in and I don't even know if he got any of the dose because some of the medication came out in a big blob I'm not medically trained and have only given insulin injections to a previous dog before.

If anyone else has had to do this could they give some tips please? He's sitting on his basking stone now but I'm a little worried I've caused damage, especially with the blood. Maybe I should phone the vet tomorrow and speak to her.

I've to do this every three days, I hope I get better with practice...

 

[Amazonia]

I spoke to a vet on another site and she's set my mind at ease and said it's ok for that antibiotic to go into a vein, but perhaps it was just some blood from the muscle or something. Anyway, he's ok, I've calmed down and I'll call the vet tomorrow and ask if they can maybe supervise me doing it next time.

 

[AHBD]

Poor little Nokia....can you add pics of him ? I saw the one you posted on Stumpy's thread. How deep is the abscess under her chin ? It looked very good in that pic. Are oral antibitix an option ?

 

[Amazonia]

Hi, I've been giving oral antibiotics (Clindaseptin) for over a month but the lump had gotten bigger so the vet suggested we try the injections as they're more powerful. I'm not sure how deep it is but the vet put this pin bead thing in place to allow it to drain while stopping food getting in. I'm still giving him metacam for pain relief.

He seems fine, he's sleeping up on his cork bark. He had a Morio yesterday but is off his food a bit. I'll give him some water soon and some soy yogurt. The vet suggested I blend up some bugs for him if he's not eating, haven't tried that yet...

Trying to work out how to add more photos on my phone hmm.

 

[kyleena29]

I've done a few injections before and the last one had the same thing, blood and a blob of medicine came out. I decided to let the vet do it, they charged me $10 each visit but it was worth it to me. It should be an option. Are you supposed to do it in the muscle? When I did it, it was to be just under the skin and you go between the scales. I think I could of done it but it upset me to know that I hurt her. Every time I brought her in I wanted them to show me so I might get more comfortable again but each time a different person showed me a different way and of course it looked easier when they did it. You can try squash and turkey/chicken baby food if he's not eating.