[murraysmom]

Murray had his yearly check up 3 weeks ago and at that time got his rabies vaccination, along with a vaccination for distemper. Yesterday I noticed swelling at the site of the distemper vaccination. This morning I took him to the vet, and was told that there is a 'pocket of fluid' under his skin, and that this is a rare reaction to the distemper shot. He is on a 10 day course of Clavimox in case an infection is involved, and I have been told to monitor it and report to the vet if it increases in size. The vet said that he had seen this reaction only once before- has anyone out there had this experience? I have read the vaccination links from the previous thread, but none of them seem to describe anything like this- any input would be appreciated.

 

[lnrider]

I have noticed on Cooter a lump at the site of his vacinations. It went away within about a week, no big deal, no meds. Sorry, this is all the info I know on the subject. Hoping all's well with Murray.

 

[murraysmom]

Thanks for your reply Inrider- the weird thing about this is that it appeared suddenly after 3 weeks, and it is large; about 3 inches across; soft an squishy.It is outside of my experience, and I guess even though I trust my vet, I am a little anxious about it.

 

[lnrider]

I too would be concerned about that. Has the vet said any other treatments/causes? Is it possible it's a cyst? I'm sure others here have had some experience with that, perhaps they could offer some advice. I understand the feeling anxious part though, I'm sure your vet is wonderful and knows what's best. But it never hurts to be prepared with questions to ask, the more info the better. I'm sure if it's not better soon, your vet will know what route to take next. I've never heard of a pocket of fluid after a vaccination. Best of luck to you and Murray, my boys sling healing drool your way!

 

[Barbara Winters]

Sounds like Murray has had a localized reaction to the vaccine. It's possible he has an infection as anytime you make an opening in the skin, bacteria can enter the body. In this case he would have an abcess full of pus. Anytime my dogs have had an abcess they've also had a fever and acted sick. If Murray does have an infection the Clavamox will take care of it. He may have an abcess of clear fluid or another type of lump called a granuloma. These generally just take time. For additional information here is an excellent article: Adverse Events Associated with Vaccination: what goes wrong

If you are still concerned about Murray you should contact your vet. I suspect he'll be just fine.

 

[murraysmom]

Thank you for the article- it sounds like my vet is leaning towards a sterile abcess in his diagnosis, and is giving Murray an antibiotic 'just in case' since he doesn't show any symptoms of infection. The article explained everything really well-it is very much appreciated!

[ September 29, 2003, 06:52 PM: Message edited by: murraysmom ]