Attention to the spikelets
At the end of spring and all summer, particular attention must be paid to your mates when you walk with them to the campaign or they return home after small "solitary ramblings" in the surrounding lands.
Indeed, It was during this period that dried herbs called spikelets, herbs that can cause significant inconvenience among our companions, are present everywhere on the edge of the paths and among the tall grass.
What is it ?
The spikelets (yet travelers called or spigaous… According to regions) are secondary ears of wild grasses themselves grouped in spike at the top of a rod. At the end of spring, these herbs are dry, Harden and then detach very easily from the stem.
Each spikelet consists of several elements arranged in unique way each other :
– One end is terminated by a very pungent point
– While the other end ends with small very thin and elongated structures
This conformation has two consequences :
– The spikelets cling very easily any filamentous surface (clothing, hair of animals…)
– Their pointed end followed by a wider part and flared makes always move in the same direction.
Thus, they will very easily cling to the hair of a dog or cat (this as much as the hair is long, Friesland or interspersed) and if they manage to seep under the skin of the animal or to enter a cavity (ear canal, nostril), they stand out more, sinking still more in depth.
Should what parts of the body monitor carefully ?
– The spikelets slide easily into all holes :
¤ The nose : Dog coming frantically exploring an area of tall grass suddenly starts to sneeze, to sniff. Nasal discharge and bleeding can then be tracked.
¤ The eyes : The spikelet on the eye contact is very painful. A spikelet should be suspected if the animal starts to blink suddenly eyelids, crying and scratching or rubbing the face on whatever it finds. The eyelids swell then quickly and and the animal keeps the closed eye.
¤ The ears : The spikelet just clinging to the hairs under the ear that it progresses slowly. When the grass eventually entering the ear canal, the dog, embarrassed, shakes her head, scratching the ear and refuses that we touch. It tends to tilt the head on the side where the spikelet has managed to enter.
¤ The genital tract : The conformation of the spikelets allows them to slip into extremely narrow passages such as the vulva in females or males scabbard.
– They are also able to pierce the skin and slip under the skin :
The entry point of the "voyageur" is usually between fingers or under the tab, areas where the skin is particularly fine.
The owner may then noted that his animal box or it licking a paw with insistence. At the beginning of evolution, a careful review will make it possible to identify a small opening between the fingers. After a few days, the skin is already closed but a small area purplish and swollen can be noticed.
Why not delay before consulting ?
A spikelet is often easy to highlight and remove when it comes to enter a cavity or penetrate beneath the skin.
On the other hand, the progression These dried herbs is very fast and after a few days only on presence, they have already come a long journey.
They become so much more difficult to extract (General anesthesia is often become indispensable) and even simply to detect by the veterinarian.
For example, When a spikelet has penetrated between the fingers of an animal for several days, the opening he created by entering has already disappeared and only an abscess is identifiable. The spikelet has often walked already much higher in the leg and it is very difficult to know if the abscess between the fingers is related to the presence of a grass, a simple skin infection or injury surinfectée…
In addition, the persistence of a spikelet in the body can have very annoying consequences in the region where it has slipped :
¤ the nose : the grass can remain blocked at the bottom of the nasal cavities and create an infection or move up the respiratory tract more deep, reaching the lungs through the trachea and bronchi and causing a serious lung infection.
¤ the eyes : The spikelet slips under the eyelids where he remained prisoner. At each beat of eyelids, He rubs the cornea (surface of the eye) that may cause the appearance of an ulcer. Corneal ulcers are very painful and require the implementation of fast processing to avoid irreversible damage to the eye.
No improvement can be expected as long as the foreign body is present.
¤ the ears : A spikelet remained in the ear canal will cause inflammation and an ear infection. It may even continue its progress and come perforate the eardrum.
spikelet removed from the ear of a dog with pliers to spikelets
¤ the genital tract : A dry grass located in the genital tract will cause infections to repetition (vaginal yeast infection among females) that will not heal, This despite the administration of antibiotics, as long as the spikelet is present
¤ under the skin : If a spikelet is present under the skin, It will create an important
inflammation then the appearance of abscess repeatedly, abscess that will grow all along the route taken by "the traveller"
How to prevent these problems ?
Several precautions can be taken to limit the risk that your pet is injured by a spikelet :
¤ Do mow your pet before the summer, especially if it has a long and curly hair.
Make sure farea disappear the wads of hair which tend to be formed between the pads or back ears
¤ Walking the dog on a leash when you are near land filled with tall grass and ensure, After each walk, to inspect thoroughly the coat of your companion with emphasis on the areas of skin folds (well spread fingers, look under the legs, check the absence of herbs near the ear, vulva…)
This comprehensive review will allow you to, In addition, to verify the absence of other "small guests" (chips, ticks, chiggers…) themselves very present in this season
¤ Well removing dried herbs from your garden and get rid of mowing remains to avoid penetration under the legs of spikelets remained on the ground.
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If despite all your vigilance with regard to the spikelets, you see, returning from a walk, your dog sneezes insistently, that his eye cry, only it box or that it shakes her head, quickly see your veterinarian :
¤ Especially do not attempt to put a cleaner or a product in the ear to soothe pain : These liquids hinder examination of the ear canal by the veterinarian
¤ If you noticed a bleeding of the nose associated with sneezing, specify the practitioner which side was concerned, This will help him regain the grass more easily
¤ Finally, When penetration of a spikelet in the eye, even if you have managed to remove the grass, an ophthalmic examination must absolutely be carried out to verify the absence of corneal lesions.