He's ALIIIIIIIVE!!!

Foofie is a guinea pig and has been a friend of mine for almost five years now. Unfortunately, he has been under the weather as far back as Christmas time. He just didn't seem like himself. About a week ago, "not seeming like himself" turned into a huge puss-filled lump on the side of his nose, raspy breathing, decreased appetite, lethargy, and the absence of any peeing and pooping. I'm no expert, but it seemed to be a case of an upper respiratory infection (URI) coupled with an abscess.

Taking into account the maturity of his age, severity of his symptoms, and our lack of funds, I thought he was a goner for sure. These factors also contributed to the fact that I really didn't want to take him to the vet and have them run up a bill with all kinds of tests. Besides, that would stress him out, which wouldn't promote healing anyway. Fair enough... so I set out to take care of him myself.

I figured the first thing I could deal with was the lump on the side of his nose. I thought it might be an abscess, so I took a sterile needle and attempted to create a small puncture so I could drain it. I poked it and nothing but blood came out. I tried drawing out the infection by massaging it with a eucalyptus hot-pack. After a few minutes, puss and blood began to drain from the lump, not through the puncture, but through his right nostril!

Next step was to attack the infection with medicine. I gave him some vitamin C drops, but also wanted to get my hands on something stronger. I didn't want to get a prescription or order online from a sketchy website so I searched for information. I found out that some pet stores actually sell antibiotics over-the-counter for fish. Its the same stuff used for people and other mammals, but just labeled for fish. No prescription necessary.

I went further and made a list of guinea pig-safe antibiotics and headed down the street to Petco. I wandered up and down all the aisles and nothing was matching up to what I needed. I even asked a worker for some help and, well what can I say? He worked at Petco. The interaction was short-lived to say the least and the trip turned out to be fruitless.

The drive home was filled with curse words and frustration about how I can't just buy what I need from the local pharmacy. I found myself lashing out at the U.S. health care system and the government. I was just plain feeling bad about the world at large. Good GRIEF! Talk about a waste of energy! Once I got home and vented to an actual person, the doom and gloom was all out of my system and I was able to shift my focus back to taking care of good ol' Foof.

Instead of venturing out again, I got smart and called a few more pet stores to see if the existence of this fish antibiotic was just a big fish story. I didn't find any traditional antibiotics. I found something MUCH better for around $30.00! Its a product called Vibactra Plus. Its a tincture full of amazingly powerful natural extracts like cloves, grapefruit seed, Jatoba, olive leaf, mustard seed, and black seed. I put just a drop on my tongue to see what it was like and oh MAN! It felt like the tree of life planted itself on my tongue, instantly spreading its healing roots throughout my body!

The treatment for Foof consisted of 5 Vibactra drops and 8 Vita drops orally, nasal massage with a wet eucalyptus hot pack, wiping his eyes clean and grooming as needed 4 times a day. Water, food and bedding was kept fresh and changed daily. Once a day, antibiotic ointment (a generic Neosporin) was applied to the skin on and around the lump area. It was also essential for him to get plenty of sunshine and fresh air, so he went outside everyday as usual, but with this crazy desert weather, I was extra careful to make sure he didn't get overheated or chilled.

I've been doing his treatments faithfully for about a week now and he is so much better! The raspy sound in his lungs is gone. The lump is pretty much non-existent. He is eating, drinking, peeing, and pooping again. His eyes are bright, his hair is fluffy and shiny. He is full of spunk and pretty much back to his old self again! I plan to continue his treatment twice a day for a few more days just to give the infection a final kick in the pants.

I am thrilled to have Foofie pull through and live with us for just a bit longer. This experience has taught me a little more about my own healing capabilities through the properties of natural medicine. I've also come to realize that I love my little Foof as a part of the family. He has his place in my heart and will be deeply missed when his time does come. For now, the Grim Reaper will have to stop knocking on his door and come again some other day.