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Case Study on
Horse with tooth abscess and Sinus infection by Anna Llambias
Manus is a 12
year old Connemara Gelding that had what the owner said started with a fungal
infection in the upper respiratory tract about 12 months previously and didn’t
clear up. She then consulted numerous Vets and had X-rays done which showed
that he had an abscess around two molars in the upper left jaw. As the
antibiotics did not clear up the infection or tooth abscess the owner was given
the option by the vets to pull the teeth out and do invasive surgery into the
nasal cavity to operate on the Sinus. She didn’t want to take this option as
pulling the teeth would cause other problems for the horse in the future and
the sinus operation would require a lengthy recovery period with no guarantee
of success.
On speaking with
the owner she informed me that Manus’s paddock mate had died shortly before the
onset of this infection and he had been in a paddock on his own since. As grief
is the emotion that causes abscesses in the body we put this down as the
initial cause of the infection.
I started the
Acupuncture treatment using the points BL17 and GB31 for the abscess and also
used moxabustion. LI1 and Lu11 were used to clear fire and L15 was used for the
face and to ease the chest. BL13 was used for the grief and SP21 to disperse
any blockage in the lungs.
The owner
reported that following the initial treatment Manus had a yellow mucous
discharge from the nose. This was still present at the time of the second
treatment. I suspected that this could have been the sinus infection trying to
clear.
The second
treatment was done within the same week and the same points were used.
The owner at
this time also borrowed a paddock mate for Manus from her sister in law so he
now has another horse with him and is no longer on his own. This will play a
large part in Manus being able to heal.
Two more
treatments were done the next week and the owner reported that the discharge
from his nose had stopped.
Two more
treatments were done on the third week and a yellow/green discharge from the
nose had started again. Acupuncture points BL12, CV22, LI20 and Yintang for the
nasal discharge and sinuses were added to the treatment.
On the fourth
week the horse still had a nasal discharge with the owner reporting that he had
a bad smell coming from his mouth that she had noticed when feeding him.
Upon the second
treatment of the fourth week the horse had a profuse and very smelly discharge
from his left nostril only, which the owner said had been present for the last
few days.
The smell was
extremely offensive and lingering, unlike any previous discharge.
I treated the
horse using the same points as the last treatment, using moxa on BL17 at each
treatment.
I believe this
was the tooth abscess erupting into the sinus cavity and starting to clear.
During the fifth
week there was still some discharge from the nose but the offensive smell was
no longer present. The owner at this time consulted with a Vet who put Manus on
a course of antibiotics for a week.
The course of
antibiotics was completed last week.
It is now the
seventh week since Acupuncture treatment started and the owner reports that
Manus is going well and was ridden for the first time this week after months of
not being able to be ridden.