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Bann's eye

I didn't give him a dose of anything this morning but that's probably been a little premature, he's been very quiet again this morning. I ended up giving him a dose of the metacam again maybe a hour ago though and that's brightened him up, so I'm back at two doses / day again. I've got the meds, so it's nothing awkward.

I did try to give him the metacam without handling him, thinking it'd stress him less...but he's a goblin and it stressed him more :doh: fine, lad, we'll do it your way.

The trouble is when he's in the cage it's usually his left eye facing me and I still don't think he can see properly with it. He won't turn around, buuuuut actually I don't think it occurs to him to stand the other way around. That might be mean but common sense wasn't something he was blessed with.
 
Lorcan said:
This was him this morning (when he finally stopped moving for long enough) -

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This was after the isathal again but he's still producing too much of the cleaning fluid. He's always been prone to it but this is still more than his norm. I think this is why the vet was still trying to see if anything was caught in the third eyelid, when the ulcer itself is gone.
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Hi

After much searching and checking it has been now determined that guinea pigs definitively and officially do not have a third eyelid. Yet another myth debunked...

However this looks rather like some ulceration gunk and definitely not like milky cleaning fluid or clear tear fluid.

Could the tear duct be blocked or partially blocked?
 
Wiebke said:
Hi

After much searching and checking it has been now determined that guinea pigs definitively and officially do not have a third eyelid. Yet another myth debunked...

However this looks rather like some ulceration gunk and definitely not like milky cleaning fluid or clear tear fluid.

Could the tear duct be blocked or partially blocked?
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It's possible, but I've got no idea. He'll let me put drops in but the minute anyone tries physically check the eye he attempts to run off (and gets really squirmy). It feels like we end up fighting with him and I don't know if it's worth stressing him out more for. But he's still on very little metacam so even if it's making him feel brighter, I'd guess whatever is wrong is making him uncomfortable rather than outright painful.

It gathers occasionally into a small lump of semi-solid goop on his upper eyelid which is what I originally saw before the ulcer came up, but it doesn't set or harden, it's not like any pus I've ever dealt with, and he doesn't fidget about me cleaning it off. But if I leave it, it frequently dis within an hour or two.

My guess is there's something there that's probably not caused by haypoke because that would either be causing more damage (considering their hay) or he'd be in pain.
 
Lorcan said:
It's possible, but I've got no idea. He'll let me put drops in but the minute anyone tries physically check the eye he attempts to run off (and gets really squirmy). It feels like we end up fighting with him and I don't know if it's worth stressing him out more for. But he's still on very little metacam so even if it's making him feel brighter, I'd guess whatever is wrong is making him uncomfortable rather than outright painful.

It gathers occasionally into a small lump of semi-solid goop on his upper eyelid which is what I originally saw before the ulcer came up, but it doesn't set or harden, it's not like any pus I've ever dealt with, and he doesn't fidget about me cleaning it off. But if I leave it, it frequently dis within an hour or two.

My guess is there's something there that's probably not caused by haypoke because that would either be causing more damage (considering their hay) or he'd be in pain.
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I wonder whether it is something small but poky still caught somewhere. What you describe is ulceration pus.
 
Wiebke said:
What you describe is ulceration pus.
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Well, crap. At least I know for next time. Considering how wriggly he is, is it worth continuing with the drops for another fortnight, or should I be pushing for more? Eye injuries are new territory for me still.
 
Lorcan said:
Well, crap. At least I know for next time. Considering how wriggly he is, is it worth continuing with the drops for another fortnight, or should I be pushing for more? Eye injuries are new territory for me still.
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Please continue since there seems to be still a source of infection somewhere that your vet hasn't been able to get to. It doesn't seem to be major but big enough to cause ulceration. My suspicion is that it is something stuck very firmly deep under a lid - hence the wiggliness whenever somebody is coming close to where it hurts.
 
Hooray for metacam bribery, heh. 🤷‍♂️ I hate seeing him like this, I know he's not right. Cam's actually been really nice to him for over a week now and I can only assume it's because he knows something's off as well.
 
Do you have another appointment booked with Vince? If not, he works Mondays Tuesdays and Thursdays and as it’s an an eye injury, they should fit him in. They open their phone lines around 7.50am
 
No, he gave me another isathal prescription and to continue with it for another two weeks at once or twice a day. He said the longest he could prescribe the isathal was for another two weeks without review, and if it wasn't sorted to come back.

I'd left his morning dose and it's only been from that he's been uncomfortable again.
 
Lorcan said:
No, he gave me another isathal prescription and to continue with it for another two weeks at once or twice a day. He said the longest he could prescribe the isathal was for another two weeks without review, and if it wasn't sorted to come back.

I'd left his morning dose and it's only been from that he's been uncomfortable again.
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Hopefully another two weeks will do the trick 🤞but it’s good he said he’ll review again if needed but do take him back sooner if things get worse
 
Lorcan said:
No, he gave me another isathal prescription and to continue with it for another two weeks at once or twice a day. He said the longest he could prescribe the isathal was for another two weeks without review, and if it wasn't sorted to come back.

I'd left his morning dose and it's only been from that he's been uncomfortable again.
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I would recommend you keep an 'eye diary' so Vince can see how things have gone if needed.
 
Possibly, although Bann's eye did have a ulcer at least. When I mentioned there had been bleeding he did suggest Bann might have done that scratching at it but I'm not convinced. I couldn't get a good photo of it that night though. It's a pity because he's good with me and the drops now, it's just a pity he can't settle enough in the vets to get a proper look.
 
Qualcast&Flymo said:
It all sounds a lot like @Betsy 's Thea and her gunky eye which had a trapped hayseed for 3 months ..Thea has a gunky eye

if it is the same i guess all you can do is keep it lubricated and wait for the thing to work its way out 🫣
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My gut feeling goes into a similar direction. It will eventually decompose and hopefully come out.

I had something sharp stuck really firmly in my own eye for a week with similar symptoms. It was very uncomfortable at times plus there was some ulceration eventually (which was when I made my trip to the doctors) so I feel for Bann.
 
Just caught up. You are going a great job @Lorcan. It does have the feeling of something lodged somewhere in the eye but time will tell.

Many years ago I “lost” a contact lens after a few too many lemonades. Several mysterious infections later one day an old gungy lens appeared from who knows where behind the eye despite me having been seen and the eye checked several times by the opticians. So we do know these things can happen.
 
He's been more confident after a dose of isathal and metacam than he was without which tells me what I need to no even if he'd prefer otherwise, so I'll continue with it for a bit at least. I just don't want to keep fighting him, that way there's nobody learns.
 
So I'm hoping to make this the final update, but on Saturday Bann was doing better than my hungover self was. I dosed him on Saturday evening as normal but I skipped yesterday. He was bright, active, and honestly I think if something was in his eye it removed itself on Saturday because he was that different between the morning and bedtime.

I skipped the morning dose because moving is stressful anyway, then skipped the evening dose because he has as doing so well with a tiny bit of gunk and this morning, well all day, the eye's been entirely clear, bright and wide open.

Phew. Nevermind him, I feel better for it lol.
 
Me too, because I don't relish trying to extract him from the tent twice a day :xd: I mean I can climb in and out but it requires a bit of work and a bit of work from the goblins to stay out of the way.

In other words, it's never gonna happen!
 
Just to update this after having him at the vet again, for the same eye. Last time it was gunky on Tuesday, then clear, to bleeding on the Wednesday night and I told them today it looked fine but I didn't want to risk it. They were fine, he behaved himself the entire time, even let them put the dye in his eye and shine a torch in 🤨. They said they could see the scarring from last time but nothing else, so it's a diagnosis of conjunctivitis. I still had the unopened isathal from last time so that's one less expense.

Meanwhile he promptly smacked his head off the carrier in his haste to get back in, then I had to dismantle the entire carrier to get him back out, and then he kept trying to make himself into a neck pillow and hide in my hair. S'been a long morning, lol.

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Lorcan said:
Just to update this after having him at the vet again, for the same eye. Last time it was gunky on Tuesday, then clear, to bleeding on the Wednesday night and I told them today it looked fine but I didn't want to risk it. They were fine, he behaved himself the entire time, even let them put the dye in his eye and shine a torch in 🤨. They said they could see the scarring from last time but nothing else, so it's a diagnosis of conjunctivitis. I still had the unopened isathal from last time so that's one less expense.

Meanwhile he promptly smacked his head off the carrier in his haste to get back in, then I had to dismantle the entire carrier to get him back out, and then he kept trying to make himself into a neck pillow and hide in my hair. S'been a long morning, lol.

View attachment 251592
View attachment 251593
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Glad that there is no new eye injury! Enjoy some more fun with getting eye drops into a wiggle piggy...

PS: I am relieved to hear that you have survived the experience unscathed, despite Bann's best efforts to do himself in!
 
I had hold of him while the vet was looking at him and I spent the entire time saying he was behaving far too well...and then I tried to put him back in the carrier lol.

It's relief it's not another ulcer though. It's an even bigger relief he consented to the dye because he wouldn't let them try at all before. 😅
 
Ah lively Bann always doing things his way or no way ❤️
Glad it’s ok and you have the stuff to treat the conjunctivitis!
Good luck with it all 😂
 
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