Bloat

Question 1

What are the two types of bloat?

Answer 1

1. Frothy bloat

2. Free gas bloat

Question 2

What are the causes of frothy bloat, and how does it present?

Answer 2

Cause - ingestion of too much clover / alfalfa / lots of grain
Dx: abdominal distension that can’t be relieved with stomach tube
Tx: Surfactant - silicone based, vegetable oil
Exercise
Incision in the left sublumbar fossa (4-6 inches)
Rumemotomy or red devil placement

Question 3

What are the causes of free gas bloat?

Answer 3

Rumenal atony secondary to acidosis - carbohydrates
Oesophageal obstruction
Digestive upsets
Wire ingestion / vagal indigestion
Secondary to chronic pneumonia - mediastinal abscesses

Question 4

How can you treat free gas bloat?

Answer 4

Pass a stomach tube
Trochar
Rumenostomy

Question 5

How should you investigate a case of bloat?

Answer 5

Perform a ping test - LDA
Pass a stomach tube and try to relieve the bloat
Give vegetable oil to try to coalesce the bubbles
Eric Williams, withers pinch and bar test for vagal indigestion