Vaccine swelling

[dmey]

Hello, My puppy has alittle" bump" swelling from his last vaccination. He kept moving around and I think thats why. The vet said to massage it but it didnt go away, in fact I think it made it worst. Its been almost three weeks and its still there? Any ideas on what I should do? Will it go away on its own?

[mauigirl]

Have you tried Benadryl?

[dmey]

I wasnt sure i could give him something like beadryl. Do you mean like an ointment or pill?

[dmey]

I used to live in Atlanta, went to GaTech..

[nobarkus]

Maybe try some hydrocortisone cream.

[tanza]

@dmey:

I wasnt sure i could give him something like beadryl. Do you mean like an ointment or pill?

Does it bother him? If not, it will resolve itself. Was it the rabies shot or regular shots.

If you do give Benadryl, it would be the pill. But seeing it has been there a while, don't think it would do much good

[sinbaje]

This "tender knot" is a localized reaction to the vaccine. It should go away on its own but can take a while; upwards of 8 weeks or more. Those of us in the vet field consider this "normal" but one has to wonder. I would certainly let your vet know for future references that he had a reaction to the vaccine as the next reaction (if he were to have one) could be more serious (ie hives, swelling, etc).

Benadryl would no longer be effective. That said - you could ask your vet about pretreating with benadryl prior to injection to help minimize any possible future reactions. You could give orally an hour or two prior to exam. Talk to your doctor re: proper dosaging and exact timing.

Best to just leave it alone and let his body deal with it.

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[Kipawa]

If a subcutaneous injection, meant to be injected JUST under the skin, is instead injected into muscle, there can be some bleeding. Further massaging may just add to the bleeding. Best to leave it alone.

[dmey]

Thanks a lot, I think its either a reaction to the vaccine or that it went into the muscle. It wasnt the rabies vaccine. He had two, One was the canine distemper, adenovirus type-2, parainfluenza, parvovirus. and another one which was LCAN-LGRIP-LICT-LPOM. But I think it went into the muscle instead of subcutaneous becuase he wouldnt stay still and he jerked and i think it went in wrong. Anyway, Thanks a lot for all the info. Its great being able to get so much good advice so quickly. Thanks

[dmey]

It doesnt bother him at all, so I am just going to leave it alone. thanks

[dmey]

Hello Sinbaje,
Maybe you could give me som advice with my other dog. I have a 10 year old great dane who was doing great for his age until a couple of weeks ago. He has been throwing up, not able to digest most of his food. He also has a cough. THe vet says it may be pancreatitis and suggested a switch to science diet ID instead of the Regular Royal Canin he was alwasys eating, but that did not help. IN fact nothing seems to help. I realize that you cant acutally check him and I dont want a diagnosis, but I was wondering if while we figure out what it is that he has , there was something that can be given to him that will help him with digestion, som enzyme or something that would help with the vomiting.
thanks

[tanza]

Not Sinbaje, but have you done a full blood panel on him? Is that showing anything? That is the usual place to start… to make sure all the vital organs are working the way they should.

[sinbaje]

Re: vomiting Great Dane

First as Pat suggested, you need bloodwork to rule out underlying cause. Any vet just "guessing" at pancreatitis without actually checking lab work (which could tell the vet more definitively that is or is not the issue) is not a vet I would feel confident in.

What I would be concerned about at his age and breed is: GVD or bloat/torsion. It is possible he has a mild case or even an intermitent obstruction (intermittent to mean that something is in the stomach, at times it moves and allows food to pass normally but then moves again to block the foods passage, causing them to vomit. Which in turn makes the obstruction move again and allow passage). Cancer would be another thing I would be worried about, as is kdney or liver disease - all of which can cause vomiting issues.

That does not mean this is what he has, only that these are possibilities that need to be investigated and slowly checked off as not being the issue.

So at the very least - bloodwork, including urinalysis. At the most I would do labs and contrast xrays (with a contrast dye to show the contents of the stomach in case of intermittent obstruction) An ultrasound might be a better, though more pricey option.

If after all of this has been done and he is deemed "normal or healthy", I would look at motility issues. Which is easily treated with Reglan or Metoclopramide.

Again - after everything is deemed normal - I might also gradually switch to a bland and easily digestable diet in addition to the Reglan.

As always - it is best to work alongside your vet to determine his issues. Good luck.

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[dmey]

Thanks a lot.
I will take him to a different veterinarian to get those tests done. I dont understand why she hasnt been more proactive with this.
thank you

[Whoalookitsme]

@sinbaje:

This "tender knot" is a localized reaction to the vaccine. It should go away on its own but can take a while; upwards of 8 weeks or more. Those of us in the vet field consider this "normal" but one has to wonder. I would certainly let your vet know for future references that he had a reaction to the vaccine as the next reaction (if he were to have one) could be more serious (ie hives, swelling, etc).

Benadryl would no longer be effective. That said - you could ask your vet about pretreating with benadryl prior to injection to help minimize any possible future reactions. You could give orally an hour or two prior to exam. Talk to your doctor re: proper dosaging and exact timing.

Best to just leave it alone and let his body deal with it.

To add:
Vaccines are given in different areas of the body. The most commonly known is that Rabies is given in the Right Rear. So that if a reaction such as a lump is formed due to the vaccine, the doctor will know which vaccine caused the reaction. It would be safe to give benadryl before each vaccine as to not take a chance but it should be known which vaccine will give a reaction to that animal.