Eye gel on ulcer

[andisafc]

Hi, unrelated to Brambles ongoing not eating issues we were at the vet again yesterday as he was closing his eye. After tests it was found he has an ulcer. He was prescribed drops & gel.

I am struggling to get him to keep his eye open to get the gel in. Does anyone have any tips? Thanks

 

[Piggies&buns]

Do you have someone who can help you? It is easier if someone can hold piggy so you’ve got both hands free - one hand to hold eyelid open and one to administer the medication.

I do medicating by myself (hubby won’t go near my animals!) and I sit on the floor with piggy between my legs facing towards my feet. I then position myself with my arm around the front of piggy (they can’t go backwards or forwards them) and use that hand to hold the eye open and then administer drops with my other hand. I hope that makes sense!

 

[andisafc]

Thanks for the help. Yeah the husband should be able to help. He just gets a bit worried that he’ll hurt him (Bramble is a squealer). Doesn’t help that the gel is really worm like! The drops weren’t too bad but getting the gel on the eyeball was a nightmare, not sure if any did exactly go on & then Bramble just scratches his eye!

Sounds like you’ve got the medication off to a tee?

 

[Piggies&buns]

Yes the gel is tricky! As long as it lands somewhere on the eye and then make him blink and it should coat the eye sufficiently.

Well, I think I made it sound easy….the reality is it looks something more like a cartoon from my childhood (80s) with two swirls of characters rolling down a hill in a dust cloud….

 

[Cara-milk]

Hi,
I have no experience with eye gel, but have treated hay-poke in the past..
This is how I hold them for treating it, clipping their nails etc. To do this have them on a surface where you can hold them near your chest (Any height that you can hold them and treat the eye)
I find it easier because you have them supported and can still use both hands..

 

[andisafc]

Yes the gel is tricky! As long as it lands somewhere on the eye and then make him blink and it should coat the eye sufficiently.

Well, I think I made it sound easy….the reality is it looks something more like a cartoon from my childhood (80s) with two swirls of characters rolling down a hill in a dust cloud….

Thanks, that’s reassuring as I’m sure I can get it on there for a blink! At least that’s the plan!

Ha ha I can just imagine the scene!

 

[andisafc]

Hi,
I have no experience with eye gel, but have treated hay-poke in the past..
This is how I hold them for treating it, clipping their nails etc. To do this have them on a surface where you can hold them near your chest (Any height that you can hold them and treat the eye)
I find it easier because you have them supported and can still use both hands..

Thanks very much, another thing to try with him! He’s having to have a lot of things “given” to him at the minute so is extremely grumpy!

 

[Piggies&buns]

On a surface at chest height is ok if there is two of you - one to hold - but a blind jump from height (even if you think you’ve got them tightly enough) can cause serious injury or worse (we see quite a few posts about blind jumps and falls) so do be very careful if you are doing it alone

 

[Cara-milk]

Hi,
I have no experience with eye gel, but have treated hay-poke in the past..
This is how I hold them for treating it, clipping their nails etc. To do this have them on a surface where you can hold them near your chest (Any height that you can hold them and treat the eye)
I find it easier because you have them supported and can still use both hands..

If you don't feel safe holding them at chest height you can also do this with them on your lap.. I find it easier standing up because I have more control over how I'm holding them...

 

[andisafc]

Y

On a surface at chest height is ok if there is two of you - one to hold - but a blind jump from height (even if you think you’ve got them tightly enough) can cause serious injury or worse (we see quite a few posts about blind jumps and falls) so do be very careful if you are doing it alone

Yes, I have been doing his feeds and meds on a table as I can hold him close if needed too. I don't doubt he'd be off if given the chance

 

[andisafc]

If you don't feel safe holding them at chest height you can also do this with them on your lap.. I find it easier standing up because I have more control over how I'm holding them...

May try the lap, he is struggling so much at the minute.

 

[Wiebke]

Hi, unrelated to Brambles ongoing not eating issues we were at the vet again yesterday as he was closing his eye. After tests it was found he has an ulcer. He was prescribed drops & gel.

I am struggling to get him to keep his eye open to get the gel in. Does anyone have any tips? Thanks

Hi

If you can, do it as a two person job. If you are on your own, place one finger above and one below the eye to help prise the eyelids back. It can take several tries and some fiddling but you will hopefully get there.

Use our whispering tips to assert your dominance and then give plenty of praise and encouragement. No piggy likes a hurting eye manipulated.
Who is the Boss - Your Guinea Pig or You?

 

[andisafc]

Hi

If you can, do it as a two person job. If you are on your own, place one finger above and one below the eye to help prise the eyelids back. It can take several tries and some fiddling but you will hopefully get there.

Use our whispering tips to assert your dominance and then give plenty of praise and encouragement. No piggy likes a hurting eye manipulated.
Who is the Boss - Your Guinea Pig or You?

Thanks very much again. He is back on a different antibiotic for possible UTI pain as well & isn't eating much again so having to syringe feed more into him! Thought the metacam would be easily received by him but no! I am sure that he now thinks that his name is good boy!

 

[Wiebke]

Thanks very much again. He is back on a different antibiotic for possible UTI pain as well & isn't eating much again so having to syringe feed more into him! Thought the metacam would be easily received by him but no! I am sure that he now thinks that his name is good boy!

I know the feeling and fully sympathise with you! Have you got other eye treatment or is the antibiotic gel the only one?

 

[andisafc]

I bet you do, you will have had more than this to cope with over the years! Yes, he has drops which I have to put in 1st and then after he has had his feed I have to put the gel in, both twice a day. They cost a fortune as well, couldn't believe it! They are wanting to do bloods and x-rays to see if we can get to the bottom of what is going on with him as they don't think the outward signs should be causing him enough issue to stop him eating!

 

[Wiebke]

I bet you do, you will have had more than this to cope with over the years! Yes, he has drops which I have to put in 1st and then after he has had his feed I have to put the gel in, both twice a day. They cost a fortune as well, couldn't believe it! They are wanting to do bloods and x-rays to see if we can get to the bottom of what is going on with him as they don't think the outward signs should be causing him enough issue to stop him eating!

Good, so he is having some corneal repair/ulcer removal as well. Medications have truly sky-rocketed over the last 5 years.

 

[andisafc]

No repair / removal at the moment, she said she wanted to see how it looked in a week? She apologised for the price, makes you wonder who is gaining the most out of these increases?

 

[Wiebke]

No repair / removal at the moment, she said she wanted to see how it looked in a week? She apologised for the price, makes you wonder who is gaining the most out of these increases?

Certainly not the people at the front; mostly the medical industry/share holders and the owners of the vet chains.

 

[andisafc]

We were at the vets again last night and poor Bramble has another ulcer in the other eye! They can't believe our bad luck. The 1st eye hasn't healed yet so I am now having to put the drops and gel in both eyes as many times as I can manage in a day and it is so hard. We are waiting for stronger gel / drops to come in tomorrow so hoping for quicker progress after that. Has anyone ever had this happen? I am at a loss at what I can do to stop this happening? Had pigs for 25+ years and never once had an eye issue!

 

[Wiebke]

We were at the vets again last night and poor Bramble has another ulcer in the other eye! They can't believe our bad luck. The 1st eye hasn't healed yet so I am now having to put the drops and gel in both eyes as many times as I can manage in a day and it is so hard. We are waiting for stronger gel / drops to come in tomorrow so hoping for quicker progress after that. Has anyone ever had this happen? I am at a loss at what I can do to stop this happening? Had pigs for 25+ years and never once had an eye issue!

HUGS

Piggies don't usually like having their eyes deal with; that is instinctive protective behaviour.

Yes, I have had it happen very occasionally; once just a few hours apart so I turned up at the vets with piggy with two bad eyes on the appointment on the following day but in the other cases it happened while I was already treating and I caught the second injury in the very early stages so it was not a big problem. It can happen when either the hay is particularly hard or when a piggy is focussing too much on the side with the reduced sight.

Please check whether your hay is too spiky and tamp it down with your hands if it is. I prefer soft meadow hay in my hay trays for burrowing and romping.

Are you additionally using artificial tear gel like visco tears or any other carbomer based tear gel? It is widely available online but a vet won't usually prescribe it because it is not a prescription-only medication. The extra hydration helps with the healing process especially in the deeper areas and does speed it somewhat in my own rather ample experience. It also helps with the overall comfort in the eye. You will need to wait at least half an hour after giving the antibiotic eye drops or gel to allow them to be fully absorbed first before you go in with the gel but it also eases the itchiness in the eye from the medicated drops.

Please be patient and persist. You will get past it all.

 

[andisafc]

HUGS

Piggies don't usually like having their eyes deal with; that is instinctive protective behaviour.

Yes, I have had it happen very occasionally; once just a few hours apart so I turned up at the vets with piggy with two bad eyes on the following day but in the other cases it happened while I was already treating and I caught it in the very early stages so it was not a big problem. It can happen when either the hay is particularly hard or when a piggy is focussing too much on the side with the reduced sight.

Please check whether your hay is too spiky and tamp it down with your hands if it is. I prefer soft meadow hay in my hay trays for burrowing and romping.

Are you additionally using artificial tear gel like visco tears or any other carbomer based tear gel? It is widely available online but a vet won't usually prescribe it because it is not a prescription-only medication. The extra hydration helps with the healing process especially in the deeper areas and does speed it somewhat in my own rather ample experience. It also helps with the overall comfort in the eye. You will need to wait at least half an hour after giving the antibiotic eye drops or gel to allow them to be fully absorbed first before you go in with the gel but it also eases the itchiness in the eye from the medicated drops.

Please be patient and persist. You will get past it all.

Thanks Wiebke, definitely need some hugs this morning. What with the feeding issues we're both doing it tough at the minute.

I am pleased I'm not the only one! I feel like I am doing something wrong with him.

We have been using Timothy Hay from The Little Hay Co and Burgess Feeding Hay. Think it doesn't help that with him now having his new friend they are running round like crazy things! Nice to see but not good if this is a result?

We have Remend dry eye drops and Ocumont Chloramphenicol but this will be getting swapped for something stronger. Do I need the other drops as well as the Remend?

Honestly I feel like I am getting nowhere with anything. Although he definitely seems more like himself which I need to try and focus on!

 

[andisafc]

Here is a pic of a very pretty but unimpressed Bramble. Rocking the Ziggy Stardust vibes!

 

[Wiebke]

Thanks Wiebke, definitely need some hugs this morning. What with the feeding issues we're both doing it tough at the minute.

I am pleased I'm not the only one! I feel like I am doing something wrong with him.

We have been using Timothy Hay from The Little Hay Co and Burgess Feeding Hay. Think it doesn't help that with him now having his new friend they are running round like crazy things! Nice to see but not good if this is a result?

We have Remend dry eye drops and Ocumont Chloramphenicol but this will be getting swapped for something stronger. Do I need the other drops as well as the Remend?

Honestly I feel like I am getting nowhere with anything. Although he definitely seems more like himself which I need to try and focus on!

The Remend is for corneal surface repair. The hydration gel (and please make it gel not drops) penetrates deeper and supports the healing process further into the eye. I know that it is more hassle but since your piggy will feel better very soon after the tear gel, they are usually not quite as bad about it. All you need to achieve is getting a little across the eye surface without it getting lifted off by a lid.

Hang on in there; you are on the way and will get there. Recovery is rarely as smooth and straight forward as a motorway; it is usually much more like a bumpy and twisty country lane.

 

[andisafc]

The Remend is for corneal surface repair. The hydration gel (and please make it gel not drops) penetrates deeper and supports the healing process further into the eye. I know that it is more hassle but since your piggy will feel better very soon after the tear gel, they are usually not quite as bad about it. All you need to achieve is getting a little across the eye surface without it getting lifted off by a lid.

Hang on in there; you are on the way and will get there. Recovery is rarely as smooth and straight forward as a motorway; it is usually much more like a bumpy and twisty country lane.

Ahh right, get you. Will Clinitas 0.2 carbomer gel be ok? Oh how he loves a gel ha ha! I will persevere!

Thanks so much, just feels like one step forward and three back! I think I'm on a dirt track at the moment

 

[Wiebke]

Ahh right, get you. Will Clinitas 0.2 carbomer gel be ok? Oh how he loves a gel ha ha! I will persevere!

Thanks so much, just feels like one step forward and three back! I think I'm on a dirt track at the moment

Hi

Any plain gel brand will do; they are pretty much of a muchness.

 

[andisafc]

Hi

Any plain gel brand will do; they are pretty much of a muchness.

All ordered, thanks for your help AGAIN!

 

[Wiebke]

All ordered, thanks for your help AGAIN!

The gel is alwys good to have at home.