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Eye injury

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14guineapigs

I noticed today my GP has an eye injury, the whole eye had gone yellow and was infact bleeding. I took her straight to the vet, who said she had an injury probably from hay. She checked the injury and said she was sure it would not heal with any treatments and that my GP was in pain, although she didnt appear to be in any pain, was eating, running around, suggested the only course of action was eye removal? I was shocked and upset, although hearing that nothing else could be done and my GP was in pain, I agreed. I have left my GP at the vet's and operation is taking place tomo morning. I am now worried this action is too drastic and not sure what too do? Should I ring first thing in the morning and cancel? or is it best for her to have the operation. The vet said she shoudl recover fine and lead a perfectly happy normal life. All advice needed, tks
 
I'm no expert but i would've thought treament with antibiotic drops first & then if the eye hadn't healed to then operate, i personally think to dive in & remove it is a bit drastic without at least trying drops
 
For the time being wait and watch. I have had a pig with an eye infection where the eye-ball protruded from the socket, coupled with pus in the eye itself, the problem resolved with the use of antibiotics. The pig did lose the sight in that eye but at no time did the pig suffer any apparent discomfort or pain. Behaviour eg eating carried on as normal and the pig did not seem in the least bothered by what was happening. A gps eye can become bloodshot as a result of a penetrating injury and usually becomes a milky white colour for some days, this is a built-in response to help speed-up the healing process.
 
Eye injuries can look absolutely revolting ....and still clear up so quickly with antibiotic eye drops.
If the pig is eating happily etc I don't think that it is in that much pain and eye removal is just too drastic.
 
Thank you for your advice, I am worried sick as I have left little tiny at the vets, hopefully can call first thing tomo to stop operation. I only left him as the vet said it was best and I wanted to do the best for him, now not sure. His eye looked so bad, turned yellow and was bleeding, although it did only happen today, maybe it can recover? even though the vet said it is very unlikely.
 
I agree with you all, i'd wait too, antibiotics first and if it gets worse or piggie is stressed and not happy.......then i'd look at an operation.
Sending healing wheeeeeeks and loves for the little one xx>>>xx>>>xx>>>xx>>>xx>>>
 
See thats the thing I didnt understand, little tiny is happy, she is eating, wsa even running around cage, even the vet commented on how friendly she was, just she still insisted she was in pain? and lots of it, she said going by the blood shot vessels. I just thought if she was she wouldnt be eating, or would be crying out in pain. I just thought the vet knew best, not so sure now.
 
You did the right thing tho going and asking for help for little Tiny :)
I'd be on phone first thing in morning and ask to speak to the vets and say you'd like them to look at the eye but to get back to you first before doing anything!
Is there another vets close by who'd be more piggie expert?
If you look on here there's a great list of vets, also you could say your general area and i know that someone may be able to help you :)
 
The vet sort of convinced me it was best, she said it was cruel to wait, but after reading on here, I just think its a little drastic, after all we are talking about her eye and saving it. I will call first thing in the morning, fingers crossed I can stop operation and talk over other options with vet, if not I think i will go for a second opinion. Tks for all your advice will update you tomo.
 
One of my pigs had a severe injury (from fighting). The inside jelly of his eye was actually coming out from inside. My vet was brilliant & before even suggesting eye removal, she sutured the eyelids together & left it for a few days to see if it would heal on it's own. Amaxzingly it did! He had severe scarring on his eye, but he still had it & he did have some, reduced sight, so it was a great thing.

Why not ask your vet if this would be possible first? Fudge's eye was sutured in the vet's that day, I think under sedation. I will PM you & if you want ring me & I can check with my vet's for exactly how they did it?

It is worth trying to save the eye if possible. :(

Michele
x
 
I think my vet gave me chloromycetin eye drops for my piggie for a deep corneal ulcer. The vet suggested removing the eye as the ulcer was so deep but I wanted to try meds first. 6 weeks later the ulcer had completely healed. Maybe you could phone the vets and say that you don't want your piggie to have surgery and you'd prefer to try meds first.
 
Ty for the information, I have called the vet, who is not there yet, but spoke to the receptionist, told her to please put a hold on the operation and could the vet call me when she arrives as I would like to talk about other options rather than surgery first. Will update later. tks
 
14guineapigs said:
Ty for the information, I have called the vet, who is not there yet, but spoke to the receptionist, told her to please put a hold on the operation and could the vet call me when she arrives as I would like to talk about other options rather than surgery first. Will update later. tks
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That's great love xxxxxxxxxxxxx x)
I hope you got some sleep, i bet not.... take care, remember to let us all know and if anyone can help i'm sure there's somebody that can on here :)
 
14guineapigs said:
Ty for the information, I have called the vet, who is not there yet, but spoke to the receptionist, told her to please put a hold on the operation and could the vet call me when she arrives as I would like to talk about other options rather than surgery first. Will update later. tks
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Anxiously awaiting your update - thinking of you and little piggie.
 
I agree, antibiotic drops or ointment need to be tried first. One of my pigs Suki had a HORRIBLE hay poke that went on for weeks! You need to perservere with the drops as they can take a few days to work too.
 
It can take weeks for the eye to get better but it's definitely worth trying antibiotic drops first. I had a piggy with such a severe eye that I used to dash home from work every few hours to put the drops in! Amazed I didn't get sacked! LOL

However, if it doesn't get better, please don't be too worried about eye removal. One of my piggies damaged her eye severely last year. She was in extreme pain and it was really beyond help. She had her eye removed and was home looking fine and well that night. In fact she looked better than she had before as the pain had all gone away. Having only one eye hasn't caused her any difficulties and she's a happy, lively piggy.
 
I am inclined to agree with what others have said. Eye removal seems a little drastic to me without first exploring other possibilities. A guinea pig makes it pretty clear when they are in pain so I don't no how the vet can just assume without hearing it first hand. I hope that your little piggy gets better soon xx
 
Claire W said:
I am inclined to agree with what others have said. Eye removal seems a little drastic to me without first exploring other possibilities. A guinea pig makes it pretty clear when they are in pain so I don't no how the vet can just assume without hearing it first hand. I hope that your little piggy gets better soon xx
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Yes I would agree. When my piggy was in pain with her eye she stopped eating and sat fluffed up i the corner. Even metacam wasn't making her feel better.
 
Ok, spoke to the vet and we went through other options, pain relief and medication. I said to her ok, lets try that first and see what happens. I couldnt believe the change in her, she went from being very nice to hmmmm lets say not nice, she went on to say, if it was her pg she wouldnt put her through this sort of pain only to have the eye removed weeks down the line and that I was doing the wrong thing. I was so upset by her attitiute as I dont really know what to do for the best, all I know is I want to try and help tiny recover without such drastic action if I can. So I became firm as said its med ok. She said ok, and told me not to come and collect her until she calls me when it is convienent to her? I agreed, but was so worried I just turned up to collect her! I cant be sure but the eye doesnt look as horrid as yesterday, not as yellow. Tiny seems fine in herself, I have just put her out in the run, she is running around happily, eating the grass. The meds the vet gave me are Meloxidyl, Tiacil and Baytril, anyone heard of these? I have now called another vet, who said see how she goes in the next few days, if no improvement, then to take her there. Ty all for your help and advice.
 
I am pleased that you have stood your ground. I seriously think that you should go to another vet as all vets should repect the decison that YOU make without critism. To be honest, it sounds to me like she is just after your money. As awful as this sounds, unfortunatley, there are a small number of people that do this. I am only familar with Baytril and septrin but please wait before somebody more knowlegable comes along as I know that not all antibiotics are safe for guinea pigs. I have heard horror stories off here from people who have been precribed the wrong medication xx
 
Ty I think I will, as I have just read the leaflets with the meds and for Meloxidyl, its states for "dogs"! omg! can anyone advice on this? please.
 
A pain relief called metacam is often used for guinea pigs and that is for dogs but can also be used as a pain relief for small animals even though there can be side effects and treatment must be stopped if this occurs. Did your vet explain anything like this to you :o I am looking up Meloxidyl up for you now x
 
To be honest, she didnt explain anything, I asked, but she just said everything you need to know is on the boxes! and at that point I just wanted to get Tiny and get out of there. Will look up the meds as well. tks again.
 
Gosh this thread is so awful :( I'm glad that you are getting advice from another vet. Poppy one of my girls I got from a rescue was recovering from an eye poke injury and her eye was so cloudy. I took her to my vet for another opinion and she thought something was still in her eye embedded - I did let them investigate and put her under anaesthic. Thankfully there was no foreign body and she had eye drops for a while and her eye is completely normal apart from a small mark where the poke injury was.
My vet also panicked me saying she could lose her eye or go blind if there had been something stuck in there, vets are not always right and thankfully in my case Poppy is fine :)
I really hope your little Tiny responds well to her medication and her eye gets better :)
 
Tiacil, says its a sterile antibiotic for dogs, cats and rabbits.

No instructions with Baytril, so not sure what that is?

Meloxidyl, says is pain relief for dogs, although I have been instructed to use a much smaller dose than on the bottle.
 
Baytril is fine for guinea pigs :) Did she tell you what dosage to give of the Meloxidyl? I'm inclined to think that this is the same as Metacam but not 100% sure so please do not quote me on this. As for the Tiacil, I'm afraid I have no idea but i'll keep looking x
 
Don't worry too much that the instructions don't specifcally mention guinea pigs, the important thing is the dosage. My vet has given me stuff that the box says is for cats, but always been very very careful to prescribe correct dose for piggies. Hope all goes well for your piggy. x
 
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