infection | Horse Racing Free Tips - Part 4

Study: Tap Water Fine For Flushing Wounds

Researchers have concluded that tap water, not sterile saline, should be used to wash most equine wounds. As long as water is clean, flushing an injury as soon as it's found can help remove bacteria and dirt, reducing the risk of infection. The water used to flush a wound should be potable, but if only undrinkable water is available, boiling and cooling it is still an option. Distilled water can also be used to safely lavage open injuries.

Drs. Sarah L. Freeman, Neal M. Ashton, Yvonne Elce, Anna Hammond, Anna Hollis and Greg Quinn created guidelines for equine wound management based on evidence they collected from a set of questions proposed to a panel of veterinarians. The scientists also looked at human medicine if equine studies weren't available. In total, they used 306 veterinary studies and 25 human-focused papers to produce their recommendations, which included:

Tap water is recommended for flushing wounds over saline
The best pressure for washing wounds is 13 pounds per square inch (medium pressure)
Contaminated wounds should be flushed with provide-iodine
silver sulfadiazine may slow healing of acute wounds

Read more at HorseTalk.

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The No. 1 Factor To Determine Wound Severity? Location

Horses seem to have a penchant for getting into trouble, sometimes injuring themselves in the process. When trying to decide if a vet should be called to look at an injury, the main assessment of the severity of an injury is its location.

Size doesn't matter much when it comes to wounds, said Dr. Suzanne Mund, a veterinarian in the Western College of Veterinary Medicine's Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences. A small wound on a joint can be much more serious than a large wound over a lot of muscle.

More-severe wounds often occur on areas of the horse's body that has a lot of blood vessels, which increases the risk of bleeding and infection. Areas of concern include along the jugular vein, between the hind legs, around the elbow and underneath the skin. Injuries to the backs of legs are of great concern as many tendons and ligaments are located here. Wounds in any of these areas should be seen by a veterinarian as soon as possible.

Wounds that occur on high-motion areas like joints are fraught with complications, including the trapping of gas beneath the horse's skin. Wounds in these locations open and close as the horse moves, forcing air up and potentially elsewhere into the horse's body, like between the lungs and heart. This can become an emergency situation if the air collapses a horse's lung.

Tears or cuts to the skin are generally treated by flushing, draining and stitching them. Puncture wounds are more dangerous and can carry bacteria and debris deep into tissues, potentially encouraging an abscess or tetanus.

If there is an object embedded in a horse, it's important that it not be removed until an X-ray of the area can be taken. This will help guide the veterinarian on the correct course of treatment. Any wound that exposes internal structures is an emergency situation and a vet should be called.

Mund encourages owners and caretakers to call a vet if there is any question on how serious the wound is.

Read more at Horse Journals.

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