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Eye problem on my Guinea pig

Prasiddha

Prasiddha

Junior Guinea Pig
Joined
Nov 28, 2017
Messages
307
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Points
340
Location
India
Hi! It's been a very long time. My boy brownie he is been active and eating and drinking as usual. But his left eye started looking small past two days. Yesterday his eye started having discharge, eye lids look swollen making his eye look smaller than the right eye. His right eye is perfectly normal. He keeps squinting his left eye frequently. Other than these visible changes, I feel it is doing no harm to interfere in his daily activities. I took him to the vet today due to concern. But I have no exotic veterinary doctor here in Chennai, India. He has prescribed fucithalmic viscous eye drops. This is a human eye drop. Contain 10 mg of fusidic acid it is a 5 ml bottle. He is prescribed one drop twice a day. I found it to be overdose for guinea pig personally. And also sceptical to give it to my Guinea pig. Need your advice please. Is it safe to use human drops on guinea pigs?
 
It sounds as if your piggy has had a haypoke injury.
This medication is perfectly safe to give to your piggy.
 
I have used these drops in my own piggy after a hay poke injury, and they are fine to use.
I also used 1 drop twice a day as it really is impossible to give a smaller dose.
 
How to administrator eye drops to piggies.? And advice please. My vet wasn't clear at all.
 
Prasiddha said:
How to administrator eye drops to piggies.? And advice please. My vet wasn't clear at all.
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when I’ve had to put drops in my piggies, I have used one hand to hold the eye open and piggy’s head steady and the other hand to squeeze one drop in. This is how my vet showed me. It can often be easier to have two people do it though - that way one person can hold the piggy’s body and the second person has both hands free to administer the drops
 
Prasiddha said:
How to administrator eye drops to piggies.? And advice please. My vet wasn't clear at all.
Click to expand...

Try to hold their eye open and to pull the lower lid slightly away so you can squeeze the drop into the gap there. It may be a two people job and you may have to try more than once, especially at first while the eye is still painful and sore.

I would also strongly recommend to additionally give plain artificial tear gel (or drops if you cannot get hold of gel) to help keep the eye hydrated and to help the healing process. You can give the tear gel 3-6 times in 24 hours but you always need to wait for at least 30-60 minutes after any medicated drop to allow these to be fully absorbed before you can hydrate, or the medication will be washed out. ;)
My piggy savvy vet always prescribes the tear gel with any eye injury, and I have taken to having some at home, seeing that I am dealing with hay pokes fairly frequently. I usually notice them before I go to bed or on a weekend, rather on a weekday morning... :mal:

Prompt treatment with antibiotic eye drops is key for eye injuries; if treated promptly, any injury that has not damaged the eye irreparably (no acute bleeding) will heal well. ;)
 
Wiebke said:
Try to hold their eye open and to pull the lower lid slightly away so you can squeeze the drop into the gap there. It may be a two people job and you may have to try more than once, especially at first while the eye is still painful and sore.

I would also strongly recommend to additionally give plain artificial tear gel (or drops if you cannot get hold of gel) to help keep the eye hydrated and to help the healing process. You can give the tear gel 3-6 times in 24 hours but you always need to wait for at least 30-60 minutes after any medicated drop to allow these to be fully absorbed before you can hydrate, or the medication will be washed out. ;)
My piggy savvy vet always prescribes the tear gel with any eye injury, and I have taken to having some at home, seeing that I am dealing with hay pokes fairly frequently. I usually notice them before I go to bed or on a weekend, rather on a weekday morning... :mal:

Prompt treatment with antibiotic eye drops is key for eye injuries; if treated promptly, any injury that has not damaged the eye irreparably (no acute bleeding) will heal well. ;)
Click to expand...
How to find artificial tear gel/ drop. Should i just request for artifical tear gel/ drop at pharmacy. Or is anything specific used for piggies
 
And unfortunately fusidic acid eye drops are discontinued here. My vet asked me to administrator any eye drop with chloramphenicol (0.5% w/v) twice daily for two days. If no improvement asked me to visit again. Since he isn't an exotic vet himself I am scared again. I read online that this antibiotic is safe for guinea pigs. But still concerned with dosage and if it is safe.
 
Even the eye drop with chloramphenicol antibiotic is only available from tomorrow 😭
 
I am already using saline solution to flush out the eye and wipe the eye of dried up discharge. Is this sufficient or eye tear drops / gel a better option. Can we use human artificial eye tear drops on piggies?
 
Prasiddha said:
How to find artificial tear gel/ drop. Should i just request for artifical tear gel/ drop at pharmacy. Or is anything specific used for piggies
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You get human artificial tear fluid/gel from a pharmacy (just don't say that it is for guinea pigs). Any pharmacy should have artificial tear drops or gel. They are not a medication. Just say that a family member suffers from dry eyes at night. ;)
 
Prasiddha said:
I am already using saline solution to flush out the eye and wipe the eye of dried up discharge. Is this sufficient or eye tear drops / gel a better option. Can we use human artificial eye tear drops on piggies?
Click to expand...

Tear drops are the better option. ;)
 
Is chloramphenicol good antibiotic. Since fusidic acid is discontinued, vet prescribed this. 0.5% w/v chloramphenicol eye drops twice a day (one drop each). My vet is not an exotic specialist. Please request some advice and your experience with this antibiotic.
 
Wiebke said:
You get human artificial tear fluid/gel from a pharmacy (just don't say that it is for guinea pigs). Any pharmacy should have artificial tear drops or gel. They are not a medication. Just say that a family member suffers from dry eyes at night. ;)
Click to expand...
Thank you. Great help.
 
Prasiddha said:
Is chloramphenicol good antibiotic. Since fusidic acid is discontinued, vet prescribed this. 0.5% w/v chloramphenicol eye drops twice a day (one drop each). My vet has not an exotic specialist. Please request some advice and your experience with this antibiotic.
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Yes, it is!

It is the stronger eye antibiotic compared to ficidic acid and is generally prescribed in more severe infections/injuries. Because it dries the eyes out more, using the rehydration drops is generally strongly recommended.
It has saved my piggies' eyes a few times over the years.
 
IMG_20191128_133752.webpIMG_20191128_133807.webp
I got this eye drop today. My vet says it is safe. He is keeping his eye half shut and also white discharge coming immediately after wiping the excess. I am scared to use it on him when I heard it is stronger antibiotic. Will he loss his sight? I have also got artificial tear drops for him. Should I use few times the artificial tear drops and see if any improvement before trying this antibiotic? Request advice please.
 
Your piggy needs the antibiotic drops. Please give them to him. His eye won’t get better without the chloramphenicol drops.
Using artificial tear drops is in addition to the antibiotics, not instead of. The tear drops will only keep his eye hydrated, they won’t heal it but the antibiotics will help heal the eye.
 
Prasiddha said:
Hi! It's been a very long time. My boy brownie he is been active and eating and drinking as usual. But his left eye started looking small past two days. Yesterday his eye started having discharge, eye lids look swollen making his eye look smaller than the right eye. His right eye is perfectly normal. He keeps squinting his left eye frequently. Other than these visible changes, I feel it is doing no harm to interfere in his daily activities. I took him to the vet today due to concern. But I have no exotic veterinary doctor here in Chennai, India. He has prescribed fucithalmic viscous eye drops. This is a human eye drop. Contain 10 mg of fusidic acid it is a 5 ml bottle. He is prescribed one drop twice a day. I found it to be overdose for guinea pig personally. And also sceptical to give it to my Guinea pig. Need your advice please. Is it safe to use human drops on guinea pigs?
Click to expand...
I feel u so much😞 I am from India too and here's literally no exotic vet 😞 it gets so complicated sometimes this forum has helped me alot even without a vet available though
 
Prasiddha said:
View attachment 127511View attachment 127512
I got this eye drop today. My vet says it is safe. He is keeping his eye half shut and also white discharge coming immediately after wiping the excess. I am scared to use it on him when I heard it is stronger antibiotic. Will he loss his sight? I have also got artificial tear drops for him. Should I use few times the artificial tear drops and see if any improvement before trying this antibiotic? Request advice please.
Click to expand...

I think you misunderstood @Wiebke last comment. A stronger antibiotic is a very good thing not bad. It means that it is more likely to fight off the infection and this needs to be given as prescribed immediately. Basically your vet has recognised that the treatment so far isn't doing enough and something stronger is needed to save the eye
 
Thank you @Lady Kelly and @Wiebke I gained confidence and administered one drop of chloramphenicol on his affected eye few mins back. He is again having loads of discharge now. I am planning to use the artificial eye drops in an hours time.
@Ritika I can totally relate. I had two unexpected pregnant piggies. This forum was the best helped me bring up healthy babies and take care of mom's health. With lot of health problems my piggies have survived, this forum was TRUE reason. My piggies are all alive (touchwood) due to these awesome guys.
 
Hey friends,
How to find out if the antibiotic eye drops is working on him? I have given him totally three doses of the medicine
 
Prasiddha said:
Hey friends,
How to find out if the antibiotic eye drops is working on him? I have given him totally three doses of the medicine
Click to expand...

It’ll take a few days to a week before you see improvements. Keep administering the drops and check back with your vet in a weeks time to see how it has healed
 
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