Flux in a dog: causes, symptoms and treatments

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

Diseases of the oral cavity in dogs are not uncommon. They are even more common than all other ailments. In many ways, this situation is due to an oversight of the owner or the wrong behavior of the pet itself. Any owner of a four-legged animal should understand what periostitis is in an animal, what are its symptoms and treatment methods, and how to prevent the appearance of an unpleasant ailment.

What is dog tooth flux?

Flux in veterinary medicine is called periostitis. This is an infectious disease, manifested by inflammation near the periosteum. The word "periostitis" itself comes from the Greek language and is translated as peri - "near", osteon - "bone". That is, it is an inflammatory process "around the bone."

Formation of flux in a dog can be seen with the naked eye, if you examine the jaw of the animal. When it appears, you should not postpone a visit to the veterinarian, since delay threatens with dangerous consequences - deformation of the jawbone, tooth loss and even sepsis.

Causes of disease

The number one cause of gum disease in dogs is thought to be poor oral hygiene. The animal needs to brush its teeth, as well as monitor their he alth, if a stone appears, contact the veterinary clinic for its timely removal.

Flux can also be a complication of other pathologies: gingivitis, pulpitis, periodontitis.

One of the causes of flux in dogs is a secondary infection after the extraction of a diseased tooth. After surgery, proper care of the dog's oral cavity is required so that infection does not occur and the periosteum does not become inflamed.

In addition, the cause of gum disease in dogs is any injury in the muzzle - bones, pebbles and other hard and sharp objects.

Varieties of pathology

Flux in a dog can be:

• Serous - occurs due to mechanical trauma. The pet may fight with another dog or hit the jaw during the game. This is a relatively mild condition and usually resolves without sequelae with appropriate treatment.
• Purulent - this type of flux is diagnosed if its initial stage was missed. Pus begins to accumulate in the periosteum. In this case, immediate treatment of the pet is required, which begins with the opening of the abscess.
• Diffuse is a severe stage of the disease. It is considered the most dangerous of all considered. Its course is extremely severe, and sepsis may develop.
• Chronic. This development of the diseaseoccurs infrequently and is diagnosed in dogs with significantly reduced body defenses, especially after serious illnesses.

If adequate treatment is not received in time, the flux can develop into an abscess (the second stage of inflammation, when the infection captures deeper tissues) or phlegmon (the most severe degree of the disease, when other organs are involved).

Symptoms and signs

The owner of a pet may suspect the development of the disease when the dog wants to eat, but cannot do so. A hungry animal restlessly walks around the bowl, tries to chew food, but is in great pain and spits out food. It also happens with water. At the same time, the dog's entire jaw hurts.

The pet sleeps restlessly, whines, constantly jumps up. When examining the jaw, loose teeth can be found. There may be blood in the bowl. The mouth smells bad, the animal is drooling, there may be a nosebleed.

With a serous type of pathology, the jaw swells, the periosteum swells. In a dog, one part of the muzzle becomes larger than the other, but this is not an obligatory sign. In this case, the pet can behave as usual, without suffering.

With purulent inflammation of the periosteum, wounds on the gums are visible. The body temperature of the animal rises, the oral cavity swells and becomes red, there is profuse salivation.

With diffuse flux, the dog feels hard. The dog can lie down and whine plaintively, constantly rubbing its muzzle. Body temperature is very highincreased salivation, often bleeding from the mouth.

First aid at home

If the dog's condition is not severe, first aid can be given to the animal at home before going to the doctor. First of all, you need to give painkillers so that the dog calms down and can eat.

Food for a sick dog is given warm and soft, so as not to further injure the already affected oral cavity.

Then you need to examine the dog's jaw. If periostitis is in the initial stage, you can give an anti-inflammatory and rinse the dog's mouth with a decoction of sage and other anti-inflammatory herbs.

How to prepare a decoction for washing the jaw?

To prepare the medicine, take 60 grams of sage, St. John's wort and oak bark, brew with a liter of boiling water, leave for at least two hours, cool and treat the affected jaw every hour with moistened gauze bandages.

You can take equal amounts of sage herb and green tea and pour boiling water (2 tablespoons of the mixture per liter of water) and let it brew for a day. A little s alt is added to the finished broth and the jaw is also treated. Of course, the dog will not be able to rinse his mouth with a solution, so they simply wipe their mouth with medical wipes dipped in the finished medicine.

When should I go to the vet?

If the pet has a rather large periostitis, and the condition is severe, the temperature is high, you should immediately take the dog to the doctor. It is the veterinarian who knows what the flux looks like in an animal, and does not confuse it with other pathologies. Only a doctor will be able to assess the condition of the pet, make a diagnosis and prescribe treatment.

If a dog has flux on the upper jaw, it is fraught with complications up to meningitis, so a visit to the veterinarian is essential.

Diagnosis and treatment

When contacting a doctor, they first perform an x-ray of the jaw and conduct laboratory tests.

In uncomplicated forms of pathology, conservative treatment with antibiotics and antiseptic solutions and ointments is carried out.

In severe cases, surgical intervention is used. The abscess is opened under anesthesia, the oral cavity is treated with antiseptic solutions. If necessary, install drainage.

If the cause of the flux is in the diseased tooth, it is subjected to removal. If the dog has tartar, it is also removed using ultrasound.

Antibiotics for flux

Antibacterial drugs are medicines that help fight bacterial infections. The cause of inflammation on the gums of an animal is most often bacteria, so the appointment of antibiotics for a flux in a dog is quite justified in this case.

With periostitis, the doctor prescribes broad-spectrum drugs. Among them: "Tsiprovet", "Amoxicillin", "Ceftriaxone". They may be in the form of tablets or injections.

Antibacterial drugs can prevent the infection from spreading throughout the body. However, their reception is not a panacea. And as soon as the state of the petimprove, you need to treat the teeth and gums of the animal.

Treatment of flux in a dog with antibiotics is carried out in the case of the initial stage of the pathology in order to overcome the disease. If the condition is neglected, the abscess is surgically removed first, and only then antibacterial drugs are prescribed.

A course of antibiotics should be prescribed by a doctor. Self-treatment of a dog in this case is dangerous, the necessary doses are not so easy to calculate, so you should not risk your pet's he alth.

Features of care

If a pet is diagnosed with periostitis, the owner should reconsider the features of animal care:

1. First of all, provide peace to a sick animal. Any kind of activity and training is kept to a minimum. Of course, this does not mean that the dog should only lie down, however, it is worth limiting its movement.
2. Give the animal a complete medical nutrition. The amount of vitamins and minerals should be sufficient. Calcium, phosphorus, vitamin D should be present in food. This will help to overcome the disease faster and avoid complications.

The owner needs to be attentive to the condition of the pet, because sometimes a kind word can alleviate the suffering of the animal.

Prevention

Most often, the appearance of flux can be avoided if you carefully monitor the he alth of the four-legged. Since periostitis occurs where there is plaque and calculus, you need to engage in regular brushing of the animal's teeth.

When a stone is formed, you should immediately contactveterinarian to remove it. It is not difficult to notice it: at the same time, the teeth darken at the base or turn yellow.

To avoid stone formation, you should pay attention to the following points in pet care:

• The dog should be fed solid foods that can be chewed daily. In this way, dental formations are brushed off.
• Dog's teeth should be brushed with a special toothbrush available from a veterinary pharmacy.
• There are also special pastes and gels for dissolving plaque, which can also be used for prevention.
• Removal of tartar in a veterinary clinic is the most guaranteed way to prevent periostitis in an animal.

In addition, at home, you can periodically wipe the gums of a quadruped with a solution of tea soda (a teaspoon per glass of water), and also give the dog to gnaw "sugar" bones to grind down teeth and clean them.

If the animal's diet is too soft, this can lead to caries, the untimely treatment of which causes various complications, including inflammation of the periosteum. Sometimes dog owners ask what tooth flux is in a pet. This is inflammation at its root leading to gum swelling.

So, periostitis (flux) in a dog is a dangerous pathology, but with careful attention to the condition of the pet, it is completely removable. Timely detection of the disease and contacting the veterinarian can help the animal. The main thing for the owner is to followthe he alth of the dog's oral cavity, and then problems in the form of flux can be avoided.