General lumps and bumps
There are many types of bumps that pigs can get. Most are harmless. Some are because of infection, scar tissue from an old injury, allergies, cysts, tumors (most are benign, some are not), ingrown hairs, blocked scent glands.....all kinds of things. Pigs can get abscesses like any other species of animals. They tend to get them in the "armpit" areas or the softer skinned portions of their bodies. Abscesses form because there has been a breech in the outer layer of skin and some kind of bacteria was able to cross the barrier. The definition of an abscess is a pocket of pus that contain a large number of bacteria which usually enters the body through a damaged area of the skin. Some are deep pockets of infection that require a vet to go in and excise the lesion, draining the infection and washing out the pocket, while others can be managed at home and don't cause any real threat. To be sure theres an abscess, you will need to feel the bump, is it hard or is it soft? A hard area under the skin can indicate tumor or solid cores and should NOT be managed at home. This is something you need to call you vet to manage. If the bump feels like its filled with fluid, odds are its a hematoma or a cyst/abscess. There are a couple of different things that can be confused with an abscess. One is a hematoma. A hematoma is a result of hemorrhage. (bleed that forms within the body usually as a result of an underlying vascular issue or traumatic injury) and the blood pools under the surface of the skin causing a pocket of blood that swells and clots. This is easily confused for an abscess because it too, can be soft when pressed. If the bacteria entered the blood stream, abscess can form anywhere. A leg injury that happened 3 weeks ago can cause an abscess from the bacteria that entered the skin on the belly or side of the pig. You really don't know what will be inside one of those bumps until its drained. Bacterial Pyoderma is one of the common causes of abscesses. Management of pyoderma requires recognition of the type and depth of infection and, in many instances, identification of the pathogenic organism in order to make appropriate treatment recommendations. Treatment usually involves the use of systemic antibiotics, often accompanied by topical therapy. Treatment choices vary depending on whether the pyoderma is a first-time infection or whether it is recurrent in nature. Treatment choices also depend on whether the infection is focal or generalized, surface, superficial or deep. General principles of antibiotic usage apply in all cases of bacterial skin infection. Antibiotic dosage should be based on the body weight of the animal and the full dosage administered. Length of antibiotic administration should be 7 days past clinical remission in uncomplicated infections and 10-14 days past clinical remission in complicated infections such as recurrent or deep infections and those associated with immunosuppression. This usually results in 3 to 5 weeks of antibiotics for superficial infections and 6 or more weeks for deep infections. Concurrent steroid use is contraindicated when treating skin infections. Corticosteroids will mask the clinical response, making the lesions look resolved when they are not. This may result in discontinuation of the antibiotic too soon, encouraging the development of recurrent infections. It will also interfere with diagnostic procedures. Last, many cases of pyoderma have an underlying cause such as allergy or endocrinopathy. Remember to look for an underlying cause for all cases of recurrent pyoderma. Make a routine appointment with your vet to get it looked at. In the mean time, watch it for drainage, pain, increase in size. You can use a sharpie to draw a circle around it (1/4 inch away from the margin of the lump) so you can tell if it is growing. Avoid squeezing or pushing on it.
**This is not recommended for novice pig owners and should only be done by a licensed professional.**
A syringe can be used to insert and aspirate the contents, that is the most efficient way to check the contents as well as prevent any secondary infections or further lodging of the bacteria under the surface of the skin. Some people will pick at the area until they see drainage while others will use hot compresses and then wait for the area to form a "head" and "pop" it. Again, this is NOT the recommendation as it can further complicate things. Sometimes the scent glands (little glands located behind the two front legs) are confused with "sores" or abscesses and the glands are supposed to be there and have the appearance of clogged pores. You do not need to do anything to these glands. But, sometimes, it really is an abscess and at times its a fairly deep abscess and can be the result of a much deeper infection or of a secondary infection like pneumonia or swine pox. If your pig has a fever, the area is hot to the touch or its hurting your pig to touch it, you will need to call your vet and get their advice on how they'd like you to proceed. Often times an antibiotic is needed to treat the underlying infection over your pig will continue to get abscesses. There are times when its simply an ingrown hair and once removed, the area goes down and life is good. You know your pig better than anyone else. If you think its a problem, then it is and you should address the concern appropriately. There are times there is a localized infection just on the surface of the skin and cleaning the area and keeping it clean will suffice and it will resolve on its own. Pigs can get breaks in the skin all kinds of ways, scratching on something that cuts them, an open area on the hoof, even ingesting something from the ground and sometimes its not due to a break in the skin, but a result of an untreated underlying infection as mentioned above. Look for sharp objects in the area your pig is at and remove or repair if any are found. Be cautious where they go and be sure the areas they're in are free from any objects that can cause harm. Keep in mind some of these bacterial infection are transmissible to humans, so use proper contact precautions when choosing to do minor procedures in the home setting. Greasy pig disease (also called exudative epidermietis) can have localized areas of infection but is caused by a staph type of infection and is usually identifiable by the characteristics that go along with it. These usually commence with small, dark, localized areas of infection around the face or on the legs, where the skin has been damaged. The skin along the flanks the belly and between the legs changes to a brown color gradually involving the whole of the body. The skin becomes wrinkled with flaking of large areas and it has a greasy feel.
Because of the frequency of little bumps that occur to my pig, I usually watch the area for a couple of days before i intervene at all. I always check for a fever and/or behavioral changes but usually don't worry unless it swells or becomes hot or "angry" looking. There are also times when there is a mosquito bite or a fly strike, allergic reaction such as whelps, contact dermatitis or even fire ant bite that can resemble a swollen area or possibly even an abscess. This is why I wait to intervene, if this is the case, these will go away on their own, an abscess likely won't. A surface infection will be tender to the touch, that is the same with any species. Infected or inflamed tissue can't be numbed either, so trying to intervene when its small and doesn't seem to be bothering your pig is better than waiting for it to involve a much larger area or be extremely painful. If the area spreads or gets bigger suddenly, you will likely have to call a vet.
Below are some examples of lumps or bumps others have posted to ask what the possibilities were. Each bump in its own setting with its own circumstances will be different. Not one single treatment will fix all of these, each one is unique and has its' own treatment regimen that will be required to manage the illness or the symptoms. See below for the natural remedies found that can be useful with these common skin conditions. Be sure to check with your vet before attempting to treat anything on your own. Some of these can be mistaken for a common disorder that can easily be treated when in fact it is something much worse that needs to be treated by your vet. Don't hesitate to call your vet should you find any areas of concern on your pig.
**This is not recommended for novice pig owners and should only be done by a licensed professional.**
A syringe can be used to insert and aspirate the contents, that is the most efficient way to check the contents as well as prevent any secondary infections or further lodging of the bacteria under the surface of the skin. Some people will pick at the area until they see drainage while others will use hot compresses and then wait for the area to form a "head" and "pop" it. Again, this is NOT the recommendation as it can further complicate things. Sometimes the scent glands (little glands located behind the two front legs) are confused with "sores" or abscesses and the glands are supposed to be there and have the appearance of clogged pores. You do not need to do anything to these glands. But, sometimes, it really is an abscess and at times its a fairly deep abscess and can be the result of a much deeper infection or of a secondary infection like pneumonia or swine pox. If your pig has a fever, the area is hot to the touch or its hurting your pig to touch it, you will need to call your vet and get their advice on how they'd like you to proceed. Often times an antibiotic is needed to treat the underlying infection over your pig will continue to get abscesses. There are times when its simply an ingrown hair and once removed, the area goes down and life is good. You know your pig better than anyone else. If you think its a problem, then it is and you should address the concern appropriately. There are times there is a localized infection just on the surface of the skin and cleaning the area and keeping it clean will suffice and it will resolve on its own. Pigs can get breaks in the skin all kinds of ways, scratching on something that cuts them, an open area on the hoof, even ingesting something from the ground and sometimes its not due to a break in the skin, but a result of an untreated underlying infection as mentioned above. Look for sharp objects in the area your pig is at and remove or repair if any are found. Be cautious where they go and be sure the areas they're in are free from any objects that can cause harm. Keep in mind some of these bacterial infection are transmissible to humans, so use proper contact precautions when choosing to do minor procedures in the home setting. Greasy pig disease (also called exudative epidermietis) can have localized areas of infection but is caused by a staph type of infection and is usually identifiable by the characteristics that go along with it. These usually commence with small, dark, localized areas of infection around the face or on the legs, where the skin has been damaged. The skin along the flanks the belly and between the legs changes to a brown color gradually involving the whole of the body. The skin becomes wrinkled with flaking of large areas and it has a greasy feel.
Because of the frequency of little bumps that occur to my pig, I usually watch the area for a couple of days before i intervene at all. I always check for a fever and/or behavioral changes but usually don't worry unless it swells or becomes hot or "angry" looking. There are also times when there is a mosquito bite or a fly strike, allergic reaction such as whelps, contact dermatitis or even fire ant bite that can resemble a swollen area or possibly even an abscess. This is why I wait to intervene, if this is the case, these will go away on their own, an abscess likely won't. A surface infection will be tender to the touch, that is the same with any species. Infected or inflamed tissue can't be numbed either, so trying to intervene when its small and doesn't seem to be bothering your pig is better than waiting for it to involve a much larger area or be extremely painful. If the area spreads or gets bigger suddenly, you will likely have to call a vet.
Below are some examples of lumps or bumps others have posted to ask what the possibilities were. Each bump in its own setting with its own circumstances will be different. Not one single treatment will fix all of these, each one is unique and has its' own treatment regimen that will be required to manage the illness or the symptoms. See below for the natural remedies found that can be useful with these common skin conditions. Be sure to check with your vet before attempting to treat anything on your own. Some of these can be mistaken for a common disorder that can easily be treated when in fact it is something much worse that needs to be treated by your vet. Don't hesitate to call your vet should you find any areas of concern on your pig.
This IS an abscess. The owner lanced and drained with excellent results
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This unfortunate piglet was sent to the new family like this. His new mama and daddy were new to pigs and took him to the vet for treatment. He got an I&D (incision and drainage) and is doing much better. His new family was given the option to "trade him in" for a different piglet, thankfully, that was not an option.
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This was thought to be an allergic reaction or contact dermatitis
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Scent glands. Present on every pig on the backside of the front legs. It may be harder to see on darker pigmented pigs, but you should be able to feel them, typically they're in a row up to the first joint/bend of the leg. Some pigs have bigger scent glands than others, but they all have them. See the scent gland section for more info
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This was thought to be a result of bug bites
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Photo courtesy of Tinette Percy. This area is thought to be a result of Pyoderma and is currently being treated as go 08/11/2015.
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This pig was diagnosed with hemangioma. Surgical removal of the masses was recommended and Mo Money for pigs stepped up to help with the financial aspect.
*Update: unfortunately, the tumor wasn't able to be removed, the only alternative was euthanasia. Rest in paradise sweet baby.
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This was thought to be one of the mysterious bumps that come and go on pigs
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Pigs can also have allergies just like people. If you see a swollen eye(s) or excessive itching, be sure your pig is up to date on antiparasitics, hydrated and then seek the advice of your vet to get the OK to give Benadryl which may help.
For miscellaneous lesions and conditions or you would like to learn more, please check out this link below.
http://vetmed.iastate.edu/vdpam/new-vdpam-employees/food-supply-veterinary-medicine/swine/swine-diseases/miscellaneous-lesions
or
http://www.thepigsite.com/diseaseinfo/
Source for pyoderma
http://www.vet.utk.edu/dermvet/pyoderma.php
http://vetmed.iastate.edu/vdpam/new-vdpam-employees/food-supply-veterinary-medicine/swine/swine-diseases/miscellaneous-lesions
or
http://www.thepigsite.com/diseaseinfo/
Source for pyoderma
http://www.vet.utk.edu/dermvet/pyoderma.php
Homeopathic Remedies
Often times an abscess can be drained and no further treatment is necessary. Sometimes, there is a cyst of sorts and until that pocket is removed, the abscess reappears. Your vet will have to do a needle aspiration to determine what the underlying cause is and treat accordingly. Abscesses aren't uncommon, but are usually associated with various strains of bacteria. Usually, these abscesses are identified as swellings beneath the skin, the skin above typically has a reddish discoloration. Areas most commonly affected are around the flank, ears, and shoulders. Specific infections can lead to septicemia in young piglets, the skin often shows small hemorrhages in the abdomen and flank areas. Older animals, especially sows, develop abscesses along the flanks and on the back and neck most commonly.
A specific form of skin disease is associated with infection by the organism Staphylococcus Hyuis causing an exudative condition of the skin known as exudative epidermitis or greasy pig disease. This is usually seen in young piglets between 1-8 weeks of age.
Contagious pyoderma is a skin condition where affecting young piglets is rare but occasionally does occur. It affects the mammary glands of the sow and the infection spreading to the piglets can take place from this. Clinical signs: a rise in temperature often followed by the appearance of depression and reddening of the skin. the abdominal areas may show hemorrhages while pustules develop in various parts of the body such as inguinal and around facial structures. Pustules are followed by scab formations like in pox lesions.
Treatments from a homeopathic approach?
CHECK WITH YOUR VET BEFORE ANY TREATMENT IS GIVEN
Hepar Sulph. A potency of 30cc can be helpful in most cases once a day for 14 days.
Variolium. Although these conditions are unrelated to the pox conditions, this has been recommended at 30cc for a total of 10 days once daily to help.
Echinacea. Symptoms associated with the rise of temperature accompanied by multiple small papules/pustules in various parts of the body may be alleviated by this remedy. It is best employed in low potencies, example 6cc three times a day for 10 days.
CHECK WITH YOUR VET BEFORE ANY TREATMENT IS GIVEN
Hepar Sulph. A potency of 30cc can be helpful in most cases once a day for 14 days.
Variolium. Although these conditions are unrelated to the pox conditions, this has been recommended at 30cc for a total of 10 days once daily to help.
Echinacea. Symptoms associated with the rise of temperature accompanied by multiple small papules/pustules in various parts of the body may be alleviated by this remedy. It is best employed in low potencies, example 6cc three times a day for 10 days.