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Eye Injury - Not Getting Any Better - Next Treatment?

4pigs&counting

4pigs&counting

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hi all,
My piggy had a nasty eye injury last week (I am guessing perhaps a hay poke but can't be certain). Visited the vet who put dye on the eye and could see that there was an injury. We had 3 days of metacam and have been applying an antibiotic cream (ISATHAL) twice a day since. Have just booked him in to see the vet again this afternoon as, although I thought it was getting better, this morning it looks awful - still cloudy, red around the edges and now some white discharge around eye :( Just posting to see if anyone has any advice as to what to ask/mention when I take him in or what a recommended next treatment would be? I will be seeing a vet I haven't seen before as that was the only appointment available today so I am not sure how piggy savvy they will be. Many thanks in advance :)
 
threepigs said:
Hi all,
My piggy had a nasty eye injury last week (I am guessing perhaps a hay poke but can't be certain). Visited the vet who put dye on the eye and could see that there was an injury. We had 3 days of metacam and have been applying an antibiotic cream (ISATHAL) twice a day since. Have just booked him in to see the vet again this afternoon as, although I thought it was getting better, this morning it looks awful - still cloudy, red around the edges and now some white discharge around eye :( Just posting to see if anyone has any advice as to what to ask/mention when I take him in or what a recommended next treatment would be? I will be seeing a vet I haven't seen before as that was the only appointment available today so I am not sure how piggy savvy they will be. Many thanks in advance :)
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My Hafren's eye nasty eye injury is finally clearing with chloramphenicol drops 3-4 times daily, 0.2 ml of metacam twice daily, regular visco tear gel (can't be applied at the same time as the chloramphenicol but helps to soothe the eye and keep it moist) and currently on her second lot of zithromax (azithromycin), which is a very strong antibiotic, as her infection has gone further into the eye. It's also caused her total loss of appetite at some point, so she was on round the clock syringe feed for a few days and is still on top ups feeding. It's over 5 weeks since I discovered it, but at least I can avoid an eye removal operation in my 6 year old lady. I hope that she is getting the all clear from the vet this week on her next scheduled check-up and any permanent changes inside her eye are not causing her problems down the line.

If the damage is too bad, you may have to consider an eye removal operation. Several of our members have done that successfully.

Good that you have her seen by a vet promptly. All the best! Eye injuries can be very nasty indeed! My Nosgan had an extremely close shave last year; it took again about 6 weeks on the same medication for him to save his eye. He is lucky to have at least regained partial sight.
 
Thanks @Wiebke Gosh, that all sounds a bit scary! He was first seen the day after I think it happened (I noticed he had a slightly closed eye in the evening and then took him the following afternoon) so I hoped that I had caught it early. Unfortunately it hasn't healed as I had hoped and is now looking worse :( I will print out your post to take to the vet and ask about the medication you have mentioned - thank you. Obviously would really want to avoid having to remove the eye :(
 
threepigs said:
Thanks @Wiebke Gosh, that all sounds a bit scary! He was first seen the day after I think it happened (I noticed he had a slightly closed eye in the evening and then took him the following afternoon) so I hoped that I had caught it early. Unfortunately it hasn't healed as I had hoped and is now looking worse :( I will print out your post to take to the vet and ask about the medication you have mentioned - thank you. Obviously would really want to avoid having to remove the eye :(
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All the best!

Eye infections can deteriorate very quickly, within a matter of hours unfortunately. Nosgan was seen as an emergency on a Saturday morning; thankfully by a very competent general vet; his eye was only a third of the size after he'd bashed it in on a C&C grid in one of his blind panics. Hafren's looked similar to yours and took about 2-3 weeks for the ulcer and the surface ulcer/infection to clear with about 6-7 lots of medicating her throughout the day (she's had the chloramphicol for 4 weeks); she's now had over 3 weeks on the zithromax to get on top of the infection inside. I have been very lucky twice now; but that has taken care of my Christmas money together with a ringworm outbreak and another piggy that has been diagnosed with IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) in the wake of a GI stasis... :(
 
Thanks @Wiebke, I'll let you know how he gets on. I certainly want to get on top of it before everything starts winding down for Christmas (these things always seem to happen at the worst time don't they!). Hope that your other issues get sorted soon too! Expensive times, but these piggies are certainly worth it :)
 
threepigs said:
Thanks @Wiebke, I'll let you know how he gets on. I certainly want to get on top of it before everything starts winding down for Christmas (these things always seem to happen at the worst time don't they!). Hope that your other issues get sorted soon too! Expensive times, but these piggies are certainly worth it :)
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Both Nosgan and Hafren's have happened on a weekend, and on the morning of one of my major away fundraising days... I really feel for you! Fingers very firmly crossed. The trick with medicating eye injuries is to keep at it and to get as much into the eye as you can round the clock. I am lucky that I work from home; it has made all the difference. At least you can hopefully keep at it over the holidays. Just do not expect any quick miracles; it is going to take time.
 
Well the vet was okay, but didn't fill me with too much confidence - he did however take the piggy to see another vet who is studying to specialise in eyes to get his opinion which I was glad of. However, I have come away with Metacam (1ml a day), Chloramphenicol (twice a day) and the viscotears (twice a day). Unfortunately he said that it was not a typical ulcer and that there was now a growth of some sort on the eye. I have an appointment after Christmas to review but he seemed to think that losing the eye may be a possibility :( The appointment after Christmas is with the vet who first saw the injury (I had to wait 2 days extra for an appointment with her but as we may be discussing eye removal I feel more confident with her than the one I saw today). Fingers crossed it will improve. I feel slightly nervous that it is quite a long time to wait and they will be closed for the three days over Christmas but hopefully this new medication will work. I made sure to ask for a big bottle of Metacam (last time they gave me the smallest one possible which only lasted 3 days!)...I don't want to think that he is in any pain whilst we are waiting. Thanks for the info above @Wiebke - I felt better that I had it to hand :)
 
threepigs said:
Well the vet was okay, but didn't fill me with too much confidence - he did however take the piggy to see another vet who is studying to specialise in eyes to get his opinion which I was glad of. However, I have come away with Metacam (1ml a day), Chloramphenicol (twice a day) and the viscotears (twice a day). Unfortunately he said that it was not a typical ulcer and that there was now a growth of some sort on the eye. I have an appointment after Christmas to review but he seemed to think that losing the eye may be a possibility :( The appointment after Christmas is with the vet who first saw the injury (I had to wait 2 days extra for an appointment with her but as we may be discussing eye removal I feel more confident with her than the one I saw today). Fingers crossed it will improve. I feel slightly nervous that it is quite a long time to wait and they will be closed for the three days over Christmas but hopefully this new medication will work. I made sure to ask for a big bottle of Metacam (last time they gave me the smallest one possible which only lasted 3 days!)...I don't want to think that he is in any pain whilst we are waiting. Thanks for the info above @Wiebke - I felt better that I had it to hand :)
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Fingers firmly crossed! At least you know you are doing what you can and have got an idea how far up you can safely go in a pinch over the holidays. In my experience, these things always happen at the worst possible time! :(
 
Thought I would post a quick update. Very pleased (and surprised!) to say that his eye now looks virtually back to normal! The cloudiness has gone and the bright red 'growth' has all but disappeared! I am so relieved and amazed at how much better it is - I'm meant to be going back to the vet tomorrow but I think I am going to cancel this now to save the boys another trip out in the cold. Obviously if it deteriorates again I will make another appointment. Thanks for the advice @Wiebke - that chloramphenicol seemed to do the trick! :)
 
threepigs said:
Thought I would post a quick update. Very pleased (and surprised!) to say that his eye now looks virtually back to normal! The cloudiness has gone and the bright red 'growth' has all but disappeared! I am so relieved and amazed at how much better it is - I'm meant to be going back to the vet tomorrow but I think I am going to cancel this now to save the boys another trip out in the cold. Obviously if it deteriorates again I will make another appointment. Thanks for the advice @Wiebke - that chloramphenicol seemed to do the trick! :)
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Hi! Glad that all is going well.

Please have the eye carefully checked by the vet and do not finish treatment on spec!

My Hafren, although her eye is looking normal to the casual eye, has sustained subtle internal changes/permanent damage, which is only visible to a very careful examination. She is still under treatment and has to finish her second course of strong antibiotics in the hope that the infection is not coming back and requiring an eye removal op in my 6 year old lady. Serious eye injuries need to be treated with utmost respect and are not to be underestimated. When they come back, they do so with a vengeance.
 
Thanks for that. Yes, you are right, I will keep the appointment tomorrow, I would feel awful if it came back. I just got a bit carried away as this time last week I was sure we were looking at eye removal and now it looks like that won't be necessary - fingers crossed! :)
 
So glad things are going the right way but please get the eye checked by the Vet as planned. As Wiebke has said these things can be nasty & turn for the worse very quickly. Better to be safe than sorry. I wouldn’t leave it to chance where eyes are concerned.
 
Thanks all. Have been given the all clear today by the vet which is such a relief! Here is a picture of Woody woody2.webp (not looking best pleased as he had only just got back from the vets!) :)
 
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