More Harm Than Good...

I recently purchased a new horse and sold the horse I'd had for several years. When I got her she had a wound on her leg that was still in the process of healing. (The previous owner was very upfront with me about what had happened and the horse had been seen by a vet.)

When I got her home I started cleaning the wound daily with some diluted iodine and treating it with an antibiotic cream. I thought the antibiotic cream would keep the flies away and help provide some protection from dirt and germs. But a few days later I noticed that wound was getting infected. After a few days of the same treatment it was getting worse. Since the previous owner knew the history of the wound I contacted her for advice.

She suggested I just clean the wound and not put the antibiotic cream on it. She thought maybe the cream was holding in dirt and germs that the horse picked up after it was applied. So last night I cleaned the wound with a simple saline solution and left it as it was. Today the wound looks better than it ever has. The swelling has gone down and there are no further signs of infection.

The moral of the story - sometimes too much medicine can be worse than no medicine.