What is the best wound care product.......

[Pudding]

that you've used? I've used quite a few and Green Oils seems to cover a multitude of ailments, along with good old purple spray.......just wondered what other things people use for knicks, scrapes and general bust ups. Am talking non-serious......just general stuff.

X

[Mehitabel]

sudocrem on most things,. protocon if it needs to be something oil-based to keep dirt out better.

sudocrem or other nappy rash stuff does the job admirably for most small things though - fly bites, grazes etc.

[eventerbabe]

green oils, Lincoln Dermatect (a spray that forms a breathable barrier over a wound) or one of the wendals herbal creams. the dermatect stuff is great in the summer, flies can't get to the wound at all.

[sidesaddlelady1]

Vet ranted at me recently about purple spray and"wound powder" in particular and wound dressings in general. He said p.s., wound powder and green oils and other things that coat the wound cause problems if the vet is later involved because of the difficulty in cleaning them off so the s/he can get at the injury. The WH had a small cut which decided to go "funny" after a few days of appearing to be all right and needed anti-biotics etc. He recommended salt and water for bathing.

Having said that I still keep purple spray as it's useful for thrush if the horse is prone to it. Waterproof creams such as green oils and sudocrem, etc., stop the air getting to wounds so they don't dry up and heal as quickly.

When I was studying for my SSA exam the instructor said that if a wound needs more than salt water it needs the vet - ie a deep cut or jagged tear, a puncture wound, a wound on a joint or one that is bleeding profusely.

[Portia]

povidine iodine ('betadine') in aqueous solution. Its an excellent skin and wound cleanser, can be used on humans too (providing no allergy) and doesn't discolour the wound prio to vet inspection.

'betadine ointment' same agent in an ointment base so adheres well to the wound bed, action supports that of the initial cleanser

Hydrogen peroxide. When all else fails flush it out! 'The solution to pollution is dilution' lol.

All the above can be bought from Boots.

[intouch]

I use quantities of Aloe Vera - not the expensive stuff, Holland & Barret have it on sale on their website and I bought 4 tubes of it for £12 inc P&P. It is good for just about everything, stops bleeding, antibacterial, reduces swelling, reduces pain - and can be used on small burns, sunburn on equine noses, hair gel for plaiting..............Wouldn't be without it!

[alchemyequine]

As a nurse in a former life, I hope you find this useful.

Using salt water as a cleansing agent can actually be detrimental to wounds, as the concentration of salt in the water, unless in extreem concentration, can act a a perfect growing medium for lots of bacteria present on the skin.

Strong antiseptics such as Inadine, betadine and also chlorahexadine based antiseptics such as Hibiscrub can, if used too often, actually slow down the healing process. This is because, altough they are very good antiseptics, a side effect of them on the skin is a closing down of the peripheral blood supply. This causes reduced blood supply to the wound and this in turn slows the healing process down. This is particularly so if they are used for prolonged periods, so are effective for short term treatments only.

Finally, please be careful if you are using Inadine based products, as they are known for causing skin reactions.

For treating minor scrapes, I tend to use tea tree oil, and for knocks and bruises I use Arnica Gel.

[arabianbaby]

people think i'm crazy but honey is the very best for wounds. not only does it aid in healing and prevent scarring.. it will actually suck any infection out no matter how deep. you can do a search for manuka honey which is the has the most effective antibacterial agents.

[Peanut]

I find Sudocrem is really good; and Vaseline is excellent for preventing scarring.

[chev]

I use quantities of Aloe Vera - not the expensive stuff, Holland & Barret have it on sale on their website and I bought 4 tubes of it for £12 inc P&P. It is good for just about everything, stops bleeding, antibacterial, reduces swelling, reduces pain - and can be used on small burns, sunburn on equine noses, hair gel for plaiting..............Wouldn't be without it!

Echo the Aloe Vera. Amazing stuff - it cuts healing times by around 30% and is safe to use absolutely anywhere on any kind of wound.

Be careful what you buy though - if it doesn't contain mostly aloe it's not going to work as well. Not sure what percentage H&B have in theirs (although I know their drinks are not up to much) - we sell one that's 100% stabilised Aloe Vera gel - as close as you can get to the actual plant itself in a tube. Our gelly is priced at £10.59 (yes I know, shameless plug - but it is fantastic stuff). We also sell Aloe Propilis cream - that's Aloe gel with bee propilis added. Propilis is what bees line the hive with, is sterile, anti-bacterial, anti-funagl and anti-microbial. Used with the Aloe gel it helps prevent infection and reduces scarring too - it can stop hair growing back white where there's been an injury. It's amazed me how effective it is on wounds and skin problems! :D

[virtuallyhorses]

I notice no one else has mentioned wound powder -which here is the name for activated charcoal + camphor powder. For cuts and scrapes where you basically just want to keep it clean and keep the flies off it's great. You can also use an aloe or other cream underneath and it seals the surface and stops the flies - on it's own it simply seals the surface (like the skin crusting over) and lets the body get on with the healing process. As I understand it activated charcoal is also anti-bacterial and I seem to remember it has a little iodide in it too - but I think mainly it's the powder format (you squeeze the bottle and puff it on the wound) that's good - especially for those wounds that ooze. It was certainly a great revelation to me when Imp had has accident and scraped up all his legs - I keep a bottle handy all the time now.

[Pinkstergirl]

I use Barrier Anti-Bacterial Spray and it's fabulous. It's completely natural and lets the skin breathe. It's the only thing I've found that prevents the growth of white hairs. The main ingredient is Tea Tree Oil.

[intouch]

H&B Aloe Vera is 99.9% organic and is certified by the International Aloe Vera Council. I used to be a FL distributor, gave it up when I found other brands worked just as well! I love their make up though.... :D
And I've never had white hair grow back when using AV.

[chev]

Is the H&B stuff 99% Aloe Vera? Or is the Aloe Vera 99% organic? Sorry - just wanted to clarify! The Aloe Vera Council require a much lower percentage of Aloe in the product to certify it than we actually produce, so it's not really that great an indication of purity.

The FLP stuff is more expensive, but we have a few clients who've tried other Aloe products and insist that the FLP aloe is the only one that works... :dunno: . I do know that our gel drinks are 39 times more potent than the H&B drinks - you'd have to drink 39 litres of theirs to one of ours for the same benefit. They use the whole leaf and filter the aloin out - whereas FLP just use the inner gel and discard the outer leaf. No need to filter teh aloin which reasults in a purer gel and a higher concentration of nutrients.

The best thing is to grow it yourself though - I have a plant in the kitchen. Break a piece off when you need it and it doesn't cost anything! :D

[intouch]

It says :) 99.9%soothing hand filleted organic aloe vera gel :)
I have tried AV juice and didn't have good results with it, won't comment here.
Yep, I have a plant, but it's a bit awkward to carry in the old handbag!

[chev]

Just been checking out their website. Doesn't say much about it really. Still - if it works, it works!

I didn't have much luck with the drinking gels either but OH swears by it. It's done Lili a power of good after her laminitis too. Use what works, leave what doesn't on the shelf, I guess! :)

[notpoodle]

sudocreme and lots of it! with the sweet itch, we get quite a few raw bits and things, unfortunately :( i also have a woundspray (something with tea tree, its not purple spray) for stuff i can actually spray (most of it is ears/face so cant spray) which i also use on cotton to clean the bits i cant spray.

julia
x

[janette carter]

I normally hose where possible or wash off with a weak saline or Hibscrubb solution. My favourite cream is an Udder Cream (Equimimms I think) very economical as well. Mind you am now using Sudocream a lot now. For a powder I just use the white wound powder in the white and blue bottle been around for years you know the one I mean.

I wouldn't put any cream or powder on a wound that looked like it might need a vet as it would just make it more gunky for them to examine.

I constructed my first aid kit last year when I got Buffy and bought and tried out the wound gel in the little tubes they sell for horses. Thought it was useless very disappointed - anyone else used these and what was your opinion of them?

[laz]

I used vetalintex i think its called, on a pony's knees when she fell on top of me and completely skinned her knees. They healed up very quickly without any scars as it kept the wound moist.

[cazrider]

After cleaning/hosing I use Dermagel for minor wounds. Fantastic stuff.

http://www.natural-animal-health.co.uk/derma_gel.htm

[sidesaddlelady1]

people think i'm crazy but honey is the very best for wounds. not only does it aid in healing and prevent scarring.. it will actually suck any infection out no matter how deep. you can do a search for manuka honey which is the has the most effective antibacterial agents.

I don't think you're crazy. Honey clears up the infected mouth ulcers that I am occasionally prone to in a trice and stops the pain too. My father used it on a particularly recalcitrant skin irritation when all else had failed and it did the trick. A Centre of Excellence for burns in the NW (UK) used to use honey to treat serious burns with some success. Don't know if they still do.

[sidesaddlelady1]

I notice no one else has mentioned wound powder -which here is the name for activated charcoal + camphor powder.

I mentioned it and also the fact that my vet hates it for exactly the reason you like it - the crust. Difficult to get at the wound and causes pain to the horse if it has to be removed for vet treatment.

[smaggi]

The best thing I've found for minor scrapes and cuts is tea tree oil. I buy Muck Itch which has tea tree oil as the main ingredient. It's great for skin irritations too. When I bought my horse he had a BAD case of rain rot. I tried bathing him regularly with medicated and iodine shampoos for 2 months, but it kept getting worse. Someone suggested Muck Itch, which I sprayed on once a day. The rain rot was gone in a week.