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New Pet Health Concern
#1
It seems that there is a new pet health concern. Right now it is mainly on the west coast of Canada and the USA. There is a serious problem with fungal infections. They can be fatal.

https://www.google.com/url?rct=j&sa=t&ur...Lrow4XM8qA

If you live in the danger area, it is good to know the symptoms.


It is also good to be aware of the medical problems that can occur with the onset of warmer weather. It is pet parasite season. A little prevention is worth it when it can save your pet's life.
http://abc27.com/2015/04/06/new-season-n...your-pets/

It is up to us to protect them since our pets are counting on us.
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Catherine

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#2
I hadn't even heard of this fungus before. It sounds like it will be a serious challenge to the health of all animals (humans included) in the future.
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#3
Poor little cat.
I hadn't heard of this fungal infection either. I never knew fungal infections could be so drastic!

Good natural herbal anti-fungals....
Marigold.
Echinacea Angustifolia.
Garlic.

No contra-indications particularly except don't take Echinacea/Garlic if on antibiotics or anti-fungal medication.

I don't think this mixture would necessarily be advised for dogs cats or other pets, or at least a holistic vet's advice might be helpful,; someone who knows about herbal treatments and animals.
But this would be good for humans.

Sometimes herbs work against strains which are resistant to conventional treatments.
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#4
There was a problem with a fungal infection on the west coast, years ago. It was linked to certain types of wood(mulch?) and a number of people were sick. It sounds like this is a continuation of that problem.

I guess the animals and people inhale the fungal spores and that is why it causes such a severe illness.

It is good to know which herbs are antifungal. I think the herbs can keep us from being over whelmed by an infection. I didn't know that marigold works as an antifungal. I know it repels insects.

I wonder if I could rinse the guinea pigs with an antifungal herb tea. They are prone to fungus and if the summer is hot and humid it is good to take precautions. Of course they can get a little fungal patch on their skin. That is nothing like an internal fungal infection.
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Catherine

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#5
(04-08-2015, 10:25 AM)Tobi Wrote: Good natural herbal anti-fungals....
Marigold.
Echinacea Angustifolia.
Garlic.

No contra-indications particularly except don't take Echinacea/Garlic if on antibiotics or anti-fungal medication.

I don't think this mixture would necessarily be advised for dogs cats or other pets, or at least a holistic vet's advice might be helpful,; someone who knows about herbal treatments and animals.
But this would be good for humans.

Sometimes herbs work against strains which are resistant to conventional treatments.

Very interesting article. I had not heard of this either.
Some other good anti-fungal herbs are: Pau d'arco and tea tree oil.
A saw something very interesting on the news crawler the other day [of course to my knowledge there wasn't an actual story done on the subject], a 1,000 year old onion/garlic remedy has been found effective against the superbug MRSA virus.

Catherine: I don't see why you couldn't apply any of the mentioned herbs topically on your guinea pigs.
There seems to be a lot of contradiction on the world wide web regarding the safety of internal use of garlic with cats and dogs. All I can say is that I have used it in the past on my pets with no ill affects. However, I don't know how another animal would react.
The best anti-fungal I know of, is garlic. It is nothing short of miraculous. I have suggested it to 2 friends in the past year for ringworm. They were amazed at how quickly it worked.
One friend in particular had been being treated by her doctor for over a year for a fungal infection [not ringworm but in the same family] on her arm. She put a crushed garlic clove on the spot and by the next day the infection was killed. It does hurt like the devil when first applied, and will blister for a period of time. Amazingly though when completely healed, there is no scarring!!
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#6
Yes I forgot Tea Tree oil. I have heard it's not wise to use it for cats though. But it is a wonderful antiseptic/antifungal. And I love the smell of it.

Garlic is underestimated as a remedy. It is very good. I once had a serious infection from a rose thorn scratch on my head. There was a very bad reaction to the antibiotic I was prescribed. It made me feel like I was having a heart attack, or something. So I decided to take matters into my own hands. (I had no choice.) I took 2 garlic cloves mashed up 3 times a day in a bowlful of grated apple. I didn't eat anything else and only drank water. The first dose tasted okay but it wasn't so easy after that. It was a horrible diet. But in 2 days I was starting to feel better. In 4 days I was more or less cured. And no terrifying side effects. Except I found it hard to eat either garlic or an apple for ages afterwards! LOL

(I am not suggesting this would suit anyone else, and infections of that nature can be very dangerous and lead to septicemia. Not everyone has violent reactions to most antibiotics like I do. It is by far wiser to take the doctor's advice most of the time.)
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#7
Tea Tree Oil sounds good. It is easy to get too. It is popular right now.

Garlic probably is a good remedy for many things. I will take your word for it. I don't think I can handle the idea of my piggies smelling of garlic. I am not fond of it and it doesn't agree with me in large doses.

Sometimes an herbal solution is the best health remedy. Each case is different, but I prefer the gentle approach if possible. We do tend to over use antibiotics and now there are antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria.

We will need our herbal, natural remedies, because the modern ones will stop working.
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Catherine

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#8
I think Garlic might be a bad idea for the Piggies.
We have to be careful. What is suitable for humans is not always for other species.
Garlic and all members of the onion family are pretty bad news for dogs. Cats (and maybe dogs -I'm not certain) are susceptible to Tea tree oil. Garlic is probably bad for cats too but in dogs all members of the onion family can cause "Heinz anaemia".

However Echinacea Angustifolia for wounds is usually okay. But each species has their own sensitivities, so I am not sure about all animals and what is best. Bathing the wound with warm salt water can be the safest thing to help an infection, but in the last resort an antiseptic from the vet!
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#9
I use basic peroxide to clean a wound. I get a good antibiotic ointment and it seems to be enough to prevent or even clear up a wound infection.

Deeper infections need actual antibiotics.

A sign of the times, the ointment now has three antibiotics. It used to have just one.
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Catherine

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#10
What are most dangerous are puncture wounds. Cats and dogs often get them if they have had a bit of a disagreement with another cat or dog or if a thorn gets in, but the worst are bite wounds. On the surface they can look like nothing to worry about and with a little antiseptic can start to heal and look okay.
But infection can still be going on under the surface, and they can get very bad indeed.

Another danger is abscesses. An abscess can be drained and look as if it is starting to heal up. But some abscesses have connections to another one deeper down, where the infection is still going on, and these need to be drained properly.
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