To Michelle Skinner -
 
        Michelle - There are a few things you can do, but it all boils down to -
wait until it abscesses, if it is going to, and then have it drained, or remove
it in toto surgically.  Then you would probably have to revaccinate - this time
in the muscle, where there is a much better blood supply.  The reaction you are
seeing isn't to the vaccine per se, but there is a foreign substance under the
skin in an area where it has not dispersed well, so the body is reacting to it
as it would any other substance.
        I think I would probably try to remove it surgically if it is a small
hard lump; if it is a big sore red area, then you have to continue with the hot
packs, etc.
 
       Bruce Williams, DVM                 Department of Veterinary Pathology
       [log in to unmask]         Armed Forces Institute of Pathology
       (202) 782-2600/2602                 Washington, D.C.  20306-6000
[Posted in FML issue 1150]