to seal or not to seal

[Duncan]

I just read a post on face book that to be honest got me fuming

the guy said I don't agree with sealing a wound because your sealing bacteria in, to be honest if you have done a really sloppy job of cleaning the ulcer up hes probably right
if you have not cleaned the wound properly with something like roccal and you have left dead or dying scales( you can tell these because they look kind of transparent, THEN DO NOT SEAL THE WOUND you have done a crap job of cleaning

if you have cleaned properly with roccal or peroxide, removed all dying and dead scales applied a good topical like mercurochrome or a diluted betadine/povidone solution and have therefor killed and removed all the bacteria then seal the wound because a coat of sealer is designed to keep the bacteria off and not seal the bacteria in
we are only looking for one or two days break from bacteria to set the healing process

after that you can run low level chloramine T doses to keep bacteria in the pond to low CFU figure

dunc

[Manky Sanke]

Self proclaimed "experts" like that drive me potty. Would they advocate not putting a plaster or bandage on one of their children's cuts or abrasions for the same reason? Or perhaps their understanding of bacterial infections is so poor that they don't understand where the bugs that infect wounds actually come from.

[Davej]

Dunc;

Not being pedantic just seeking clarification

When you say after that you can add some CT to keep bacteria count down do you mean immediately after putting the treated fish back or after a couple of days break after the topical treatment.

I always tend to hit with CT simultaneous with any topical - just checking whether I am on the right page.

Dave

[tomy2ponds]

Hi Duncan I was typing a reply to that post on FB when you replied,I agree 100% I see many wounds made worse in customers Koi due to not being cleaned properly then sealed.Causing small marks wounds to develop into ulcers.

[Duncan]

dave

never put the c/t in the same day leave the wound topical to do its job for a couple of days then when the sealer has run its course you can add c/t to lower the bacterial count

I was always told its never a good idea to cauterise the wound twice in the same day from a topical and a pond wide c/t or PP

hope that helps

dunc

[StuW]

Will have to change my protocol based on that Duncan. Have always treated with C/T on the same day. Would this be the same with salt. My feeling is no because as well as reducing bacterial load it's main function is to maintain osmotic balance and reduce stress

[obolisk]

When you say a low level CT what dose would that be.and is that better then Virkon.

[Duncan]

1 gm per 100 gallons and yes it wont effect your filter like vikon

[obolisk]

How often would you CT at that dose.