Hay-poke Treatment at Home?

[hrsrdr]

So, I've been pretty inactive for a while now. But, a few days ago, I finally got two female guinea pigs (Pictures coming soon) However, one of them has seemed to develop a hay-poke injury, and, while it doesn't seem horrible, I do want to get it treated before it could develop into anything worse. Unfortunately, Covid cases are rising again in my area, so I'm hesitant about visiting the vet. Is there any at-home treatment I could use? Her eyelid is puffy, and her eye had a bit of cloudy liquid in it when I woke up this morning, I already cleaned around the area, but hesitated to do anything to the eye itself in fear of hurting her. There is no redness, blood, or discharge other than the liquid, and the eye is a normal color. If I have to go to the vet, I will, but I wanted to see if there was an at home method first. Thanks!

 

[Siikibam]

There is no home treatment, and we don’t recommend it. Eyes are considered an emergency and can be seen/treated by any vet (not just an exotics). So do get your girl seen as soon as possible. It would also be an idea to have them both given the once over.

Looking forward to photos ☺

PS please add your location (state/county or country) to your profile.

 

[VickiA]

I’m afraid this is a vet only scenario. Eyes deteriorate dramatically quickly and home treating is a false economy. I know we are all reluctant to leave home unless necessary but all the vets are operating Covid safe practices to keep us (and them) safe while treating our piggies. So I really would be going to see the vet about this.

 

[hrsrdr]

Ok, thanks! (Photos coming soon )

 

[Wiebke]

Hi!

In the UK eye injuries count as emergencies; they need to be seen as quickly as possible to prevent an infection from penetrating deeper into the eye where it is much more difficult to shift. Eye treatment and medication is the same for all pet species, so any general or out-of-hours vet will do. The crucial factor is time. Vet services count as key services and travel out of the area for a vet appointment counts as essential travel. Vets will generally do their best to squeeze in any eye injury; please don't wait until Monday!

Emergency, Crisis and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment
Accessing veterinary care during coronavirus/Covid-19 lockdown

 

[hrsrdr]

Hi!

In the UK eye injuries count as emergencies; they need to be seen as quickly as possible to prevent an infection from penetrating deeper into the eye where it is much more difficult to shift. Eye treatment and medication is the same for all pet species, so any general or out-of-hours vet will do. The crucial factor is time. Vet services count as key services and travel out of the area for a vet appointment counts as essential travel. Vets will generally do their best to squeeze in any eye injury; please don't wait until Monday!

Emergency, Crisis and Bridging Care until a Vet Appointment
Accessing veterinary care during coronavirus/Covid-19 lockdown

We scheduled a vet appointment for tomorrow, meanwhile, I've just been keeping the area clean, and checking to make sure there's nothing left in her eye. The swelling has already gone down quite a bit, and there's no more discharge, so hopefully it won't become anything major!

 

[Tim]

We scheduled a vet appointment for tomorrow, meanwhile, I've just been keeping the area clean, and checking to make sure there's nothing left in her eye. The swelling has already gone down quite a bit, and there's no more discharge, so hopefully it won't become anything major!

That’s good to know, paws crossed all goes ok at the vets

 

[hrsrdr]

That’s good to know, paws crossed all goes ok at the vets

Thankyou!

 

[Qualcast&Flymo]

That’s good to know, paws crossed all goes ok at the vets

Hopefully there's no serious injury. The vet will probably put drops in which will show if the eye surface has been scratched, something which can't be seen otherwise, and give you medicated eye drops if necessary. Best of luck!

 

[hrsrdr]

Hopefully there's no serious injury. The vet will probably put drops in which will show if the eye surface has been scratched, something which can't be seen otherwise, and give you medicated eye drops if necessary. Best of luck!

Thankyou!

 

[Wiebke]

All the best!

What colour is the gunk that has come out of the eye?

 

[hrsrdr]

All the best!

What colour is the gunk that has come out of the eye?

It was a milky white color, and was a liquid, not a crusty discharge. It was pooled on her lower eyelid, and a little was trickling down. I wiped it off, and then cleaned the area, to make sure she didn't have something like dirt in her eye.

 

[Siikibam]

Let us know how it goes

 

[Claire W]

Fingers crossed. Do let us know how you get on at the vets.

The milky fluid you are seeing is guinea pig cleaning fluid, your piggy is probably trying to clean the eye. All piggies produce a milky white cleaning fluid from the eyes to groom x

 

[Flutterby]

Fingers crossed this gets sorted at the vets!

 

[hrsrdr]

Hi! Thanks for the kind messages! Everything went fine at the vets, he didn't see a scratch on the surface of the eye, and gave us some drops, and instructions on how to keep the area clean! Her eye already looked better this morning, but I'm glad I went anyway! Thanks for the help!