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Can't Take Much More - Emma Has An Eye Injury - Healing Vibes Appreciated

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Claire W

Claire W

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I tried to write this last night but I believe there have been a few forum problems as it wouldn't let me.

I really do not know how much more I can take :(

Emma has an eye injury :( It happened yesterday afternoon typically after the vet had closed.

I think it may be a hay poke as her eye is watery and sore. She also has a white speck on her eye which I am assuming is from a poke?

Thankfully I had a spare unopened tube of Fucithalmic eye ointment and metacam so I am treating her with these.

Eye injures turn me in to a worrying mess.

I don't know what I do wrong but it is obviously something :(

Emma is fine in herself eating and drinking etc but I feel so guilty.

I can't go through what I went through with Eliza who I am still grieving for so much.

Emma's eye is pretty much the same today but she has only had 3 lots of drops so far. I am just really conscious of the white 'poke' on her eye. Is this normal to have a white spot if the eye has been poked? Eliza had one of these, granted it was in a different area (Eliza's was on the white area of the eye) and was much bigger but it worries me.

I have dealt with hay pokes before but not the white dot.

I do not understand how it has happened especially now I no longer use hay as bedding. They just hay a hay corner and hay racks.
 
I am so sorry this has happened, please don't blame yourself though. My Terk was very prone to them as she used to walk through hay with her eyes wide open. Lucky you had the Fucithalmic, does she seem in pain at all? I know you know the drill so won't suggest vet putting dye in etc as you will be doing that anyway. Hope it heals soon.
 
ashleigh vets have an out of hours team now. you ring the normal number and it gives you the mobile number of the vet on call. maybe you could call for advice and they might see her if you're worried. x
 
Oh Claire, you poor thing. You aren't doing anything wrong just bad luck :(

Cookie had white in her eye after her hay poke that she fully recovered from, you are treating it right and early. Lots of love and vibes x x
 
Most vet clinics now have an out-of-hours cover; you can find the contact number via the answering machine of the vet clinic. The white dot indicates an ulceration.

If I were you, I would seriously consider shifting away from hard, spiky timothy hay and research for a supply of soft meadow (US orchard) hay instead. I haven't had any eye injuries since I dropped the timothy hay for mine, especially for my cataract group. None of your current piggy has got recurring bladder problems, so the slight increase in calcium is a small sacrifice. With your group being full time indoors piggies now, you do no longer need the big packing of hay for insulation.
 
Hi Claire

Hugs! In all probability this is "just" a hay poke - but I understand your concerns given everything you have gone through recently.

It is not unusual in my experience for hay pokes to also develop a white patch (means she probably has developed an ulcer and potentially an infection). I would suggest you get a vet diagnostic with the flourescein dye test done to confirm if an ulcer is developing. Continue with the fucithalmic and I'm sure she will be fine.

As many of us know, Fucithalmic has been the standard SUCCESSFUL ointment of choice for piggie hay poke eye injuries to date....and we all reach for it if we have a spare tube

However - just as a more general information update, based upon recent new experiences in connection with piggie eye ulcers that degenerate:
Please be be aware that piggy eye ulcers, especially those that "break down and necrotise", can also be caused by secondary infection with a Pseudomonas superbug (I have had cultures done) that is resistant to everything bar gentamycin (i.e. Tiacil eyedops). Unfortunately it is my personal experience that just "switching" from fucithalmic to tiacil in that situation creates a bad (in my case PTS) reaction in the eye for the guinea pig concerned.

In order to avoid this in future, I will always now reach firstly for the Tiacil rather than fucithalmic. My vet now prescribes Tiacil as a first option rather than fucithalmic for any type of eye injury.

Please help spread the word and help educate your own vets and the guinea pig community - i.e. Next time you are offered fucithalmic - ask instead for Tiacil (gentamycin) eyedrops as it is a better treatment to cover all eventualities. There is plenty of documented evidence about this Pseudomonas being involved in eye and ear infections in dogs and cats so it "should" ping you vets interest.

HTH
x
 
For the avoidance of doubt: I would like to make it clear that Claire has done absolutely the right thing using fucithalmic. It is the current accepted method of choice by vets....and there is no evidence that this a necrotising ulcer.

I apologise to Claire that, if in choosing to provide "breaking news" on this topic of guinea pig health, it has in any way reflected upon her. It doesn't....and That was not my intention.

x
 
I am so sorry :( It's not your fault at all. Since joining this forum eye pokes seriously frighten me so although I do use Timothy hay I do not put it loose in their enclosure, I always put a dish in a litter tray & fill that, so they eat it from the same level as pellets :) Previously when we had piggies in the past I used to put a lot in a corner for them to hide & bury in, unfortunately they picked up static hay lice & several times they got very small bits in their eyes & I was very lucky I was able to remove the tiny pieces without any eye trauma. As mine are indoors all year around they don't need to bury in hay for warmth & although I have to refill their bowls every time they empty them it is a small inconvenience for my peace of mind. Fingers crossed that it is minor & will heal quickly for her & big hugs for you x
 
keeping everything crossed for you.Sure she will be fine but can understand you panicking. Keep us informed
 
Aww… Vibes! mega vibes!
Maple is still in treatment for her eye! It started in the beginning of January - she has an ulcer but it's like a little clouding and it won't shift! She's on two different types of drops. Might see if they have something else for her =/
 
It isn't anything you are doing wrong, but just bad luck. I always fill my hutches and cages with hay, as the piggies love burrowing in it, and in fact start to popcorn the minute I throw in lots of hay. I have had a couple of piggies with haypoke injuries in about 16 years, which have cleared up quickly and easily. I prefer to take the risk than restrict the amount of hay they have to play in.
 
Understand why you are worried - I once went to my guineas cage to find that Reggie had a completely clouded eye - awful, I really thought he was going to lose the eye. Went to the vets as soon as possible and he was on a course of eye drops for a week I think, and it cleared up perfectly. I was so relieved. Not sure what it was, but it's almost guaranteed it was a hay poke. Very easy to treat providing your piggie is alright with eye drops!
 
We had a tough weekend with eye problems as well, Saturday started with us at the vets at 9am with Flash who had a seed stuck in his eye, it caused an ulcer. The vet removed the seed and prescribed ointment. Unbelievably we ended Saturday at 11.30pm at the emergency vets with Frank who had exactly the same problem. The hay they have has been threshed, threshed and threshed again. During over 20 years of slavery to guinea pigs it has not happened before and we always gave them loads of hay as they love burrowing and playing but we now find ourselves wondering whether to reduce the amount. Both vets said that it was unusual for them to see piggies with seeds in their eyes so we were wondering as a "straw poll" how many people has it happened to? Both piggies have been thoroughly spoilt and are making a good recovery. Hope little Emma is recovering well too. Why is it like children piggies just happen to need medical attention when surgeries are shut, the emergency vet costs £105 just to be seen, worth it as Frank is too precious to be in pain with the possibility of losing his sight but goodness what a lot of money.
 
I'm really sorry Claire. I think you are just having really bad luck. It happens sometimes when you have a lot of animals. BIG HUGS! And healing vibes to your little piggy Emma. xx
 
What terrible timing and worse luck! I hope it is nothing more than a little hay poke that will clear up nice and quickly! vibes! x
 
Thank you everyone.

I am back from the vets with Emma. She has punctured her eye either by hay, debris or an accidental kick from either Erika or Enoch :( Her eye looks awful :( but hopefully worse than what it is.

She has had anti inflammatory injections and been sent home with baytril, fibreplex and Chloramphenicol eye drops to be given 6 to 8 times a day for a week. One thing I did forget to ask was as i have been using Fucithalmic, does anyone know if I should give her the second dose of that today and start the Chloramphenicol tomorrow or start the Chloramphenicol today?

My vet couldn't see anything nasty going on behind the eye, I am hoping that if that were to happen, it would have done so by now? It did with Eliza, almost straight away. It is just a wait and see game I guess :(

Healing vibes for anyone else who is dealing with eye injuries right now x
 
With all those meds hopefully it won't be long before she's on the mend! Tango has had three rounds of the drops now and already his eye looks less sore, hopefully they'll have the same effect for you x
 
I agree with Tbag, shouldn't take too long to heal with damage only to the surface of the eye. It does take a few days for the cloudiness to clear up I recall, think it was 3-4 days before Reggies eye looked on the mend. Good luck to Emma!
 
Thank you. Her eye is looking really red and sore tonight :( She is squinting too. Did anyone else with similar problems experience this? Is the squinting down to the soreness? Would the due test and a full examination of the eye show up any debris that may have been stuck in there?

Sorry for going on, I'm just so worried :(
 
Have the vets done the dye test?

I know my vet said to me if Maple ever got a leaky eye or squinty eye to bring her back to get it checked again. Her eye might need flushing out or something...
 
Yes, she did the dye test and looked in her eye with a tiny light and the thing they use when you have an eye test so she could look behind the eye. She even looked at her right eye for comparison
 
maisie squinted for a day or two when she had a hay poke in her eye. she had drops for a week i think. the dye test would have shown anything up that was in there. hopefully the eye will begin to heal soon. x
 
Yes, Cookies eye looked angry and worse before it got better. the dye would have shown anything up I think too. Cuddles to Emma x
 
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