Ridecamp: Re: [RC] DMSO and abcess - NO!

> Heidi, you are a vet.  My point is that *I* would never
> suggest that any horse owner use DMSO in the presence of
> an abcess.  I think that while *you* can come up with a
> situation here and there that may be a good use of DMSO
> in the presence of an abcess, a horse owner could more
> often get their horse into trouble.  That was *my* point
> and I think it's an important one to most owners.

Isn't this true with any drug, though?  You should only use ANY drug if
advised to do so by your vet, or if well-versed by your vet as to the
reasons and circumstances in which to use it.  I shudder to see the way
antibiotics such as penicillin are abused, just to name a common drug that
may well be inappropriately used by well-intentioned laymen at least as
often as it is appropriately used...
As for DMSO, it would be far scarier to use it topically in the face of
surface contamiination with other chemicals (fly sprays, etc.) than to use
it in the face of an infection, IMO.  It will not spread infection to
other parts of the body--bacteria are whole cells that cannot be
transported across cell membranes the way smaller molecules can be--so the
only risk with an infection is possible spread of entotoxins produced by
the dying bacteria in an abcess, which seems unlikely given the fact that
the DMSO is not much more likely to penetrate an abcess than any other
chemical.  Seems far more likely that topical use on otherwise
contaminated surfaces would cause harm than that one would get detrimental
results from topical use around an infected area.
Heidi



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