Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Treating Mastitis - natural treatment

Well this might sound weird, but I am very excited about this treatment for mastitis that I found out about. I'll start from the beginning. . .


A little while after the cow first freshened, she had mastitis in 2 quarters. I treated them with U.S. Vet/Today Penicillin in the teats. It cleared up one, but the other one never really got better. She just constantly had cheesy chunks in it, and her milk was dropping in that quarter. I didn't know what to do as I had treated it a couple of times with the Penicillin treatment. I left it alone for a week and it still didn't get better (nor much worse, except that her production was slowly dropping in that quarter).

Well, I read online on a cow forum that I am on that Peppermint oil clears up mastitis really well. It wouldn't hurt to try, right? So we got some Peppermint oil, and I mixed 1 tablespoon Peppermint to 1 cup Coconut oil (any type of "carrier" oil will work - palm, coconut, etc).

The first time I only rubbed it on the outside of the quarter, but then learned that I could infuse that teat with it also. So I did 10 cc inside the teat, and then rubbed the entire quarter with it also. Needless to say, it smells great and that quarter is VERY soft! After about 2 days of doing that, there are NO MORE CHUNKS in that teat! And her production is back up in that quarter. Very exciting! I am going to keep treating a few days after there are no more symptoms. I never heard anything like this for treating mastitis in the goat world - so this is very cool. If I ever get a goat with mastitis (never have - never hope to!) I will try this first.

Just thought I'd share!

Suriyah

15 comments:

Herbal Remedies said...

Mastitis is a common breast infection among lactating women. It is caused when bacteria enters a breast through a cracked or abraded nipple. The bacteria causes a localized infection and an abscess of pus develops.

Susan said...

Hi! I have a Toggenburg goat who freshened a week ago and has now developed mastitis. In regards to the Peppermint oil/coconut oil infusion into the teat, was that using the coconut oil as well with the peppermint and was it solidified or did you heat the coconut oil to make more liquidy?
Thanks,
Susan

Good Goats said...

Hello Susan,
Yes, that was using the coconut oil mixed with the peppermint oil. I heated the coconut oil each time to liquify it.

Unknown said...

Hi Susan
Quick question how many times a day did you apply the mixture and did you need to inject the 10 cc each time.

Good Goats said...

I did it after every milking, so twice a day.

bonnie aldridge said...

ok a couple of things where do you find the coconut oil at and since a goat is not as big as a cow should a person go with 5 cc and how would a person put it in the teat
thanks
bonnie

Good Goats said...

Hello Bonnie,

Many grocery stores carry coconut oil - WalMart typically sells it.

It is very successful in treating mastitis just using it topically, but if you want to put it into the teat - just use a sterile syringe. And yes, 5 cc should do, just depending on the size of the goat.

Kristy said...

What does infusing mean? How do I do that? I have a milking doe (alpine) who has a bloody teat. I'm assuming Mastitis, but at this point has no other symptoms. Wormed her a week ago with some ivomectin. We are one week in to a two week discard. I am a huge fan of Essential Oils and I have Peppermint Oil and Coconut Oil. But how do I infuse it? Thanks! Kristy

Good Goats said...

What does infusing mean? How do I do that? I have a milking doe (alpine) who has a bloody teat. I'm assuming Mastitis, but at this point has no other symptoms. Wormed her a week ago with some ivomectin. We are one week in to a two week discard. I am a huge fan of Essential Oils and I have Peppermint Oil and Coconut Oil. But how do I infuse it? Thanks! Kristy

Hello Kristy,

Infusing is simply squirting something up into the teat through the orifice (hole). You must be VERY clean during this as you could accidentally introduce more bacteria. Use a new, sterile syringe to infuse.

DeDe said...

Do you use a needle on the syringe or just put the hole of the syringe up to the goat's orifice?

thanks

Good Goats said...

I do not use a needle - just the hole of the syringe.

Rach said...

Hey, I'm Rachael and live on a lifestyle block in New Zealand. I just got a goat and am excited to read this post as one side of her udder is not functioning. Thanks!

Unknown said...

Does it have to be coconut oil? Can I use almond oil with the peppermint? I am new to all of this.

Anonymous said...

Hi there,
I found your blog while looking for a natural way to treat mastitis in a ewe. i am going to try your peppermint and coconut oil tomorrow as it is too dark here now. i will let you know if it works. nice blog!
Cheers
Heather
Waikato
NZ

Good Goats said...

It does not have to be any coconut oil. It can be any carrier.