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Eye injury

JosieK

JosieK

Junior Guinea Pig
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Hi, how long did it take for your piggies eye to heal? Currently my guinea pig has a nasty eye ulcer from a hay poke that looks quite similar. I've been to the vets for antibiotic eye drops and corneal repair gel but they didn't really give me any timeframe for the healing process. They mentioned eye removal straight away which seemed very drastic
 
JosieK said:
Hi, how long did it take for your piggies eye to heal? Currently my guinea pig has a nasty eye ulcer from a hay poke that looks quite similar. I've been to the vets for antibiotic eye drops and corneal repair gel but they didn't really give me any timeframe for the healing process. They mentioned eye removal straight away which seemed very drastic
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Healing is an individual thing depending upon the severity of the injury and how quickly treatment started.
The haypokes my boys have had were healing after two days of treatment and were fully healed within 7 days but the other end of the scale can be a couple of weeks of treatment.
Has your piggy been given any pain relief?
 
Piggies&buns said:
Healing is an individual thing depending upon the severity of the injury and how quickly treatment started.
The haypokes my boys have had were healing after two days of treatment and were fully healed within 7 days but the other end of the scale can be a couple of weeks of treatment.
Has your piggy been given any pain relief?
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Yes, he has been given metacam for pain relief and does not seem in pain at all. I noticed the eye was damaged Monday morning around 6:30 and he was at the vets at 09:30 that day so I think I caught it quickly
 
Haypoke varies so much.
Micah took 2 lots of eye drops and about 4 weeks to heal even though I caught is quickly.
On the other hand Ruth got a haypoke on Sunday, saw the vet on Monday and her eye is almost completely healed already.
I think a lot depends on how badly the haypoke affected the eye.
Enucleation is rather drastic and according to my vet only has to happen if haypoke isn’t treated quickly.

Hope you’re having as much fun as I am getting drops into a reluctant piggy.
 
Merab's Slave said:
Haypoke varies so much.
Micah took 2 lots of eye drops and about 4 weeks to heal even though I caught is quickly.
On the other hand Ruth got a haypoke on Sunday, saw the vet on Monday and her eye is almost completely healed already.
I think a lot depends on how badly the haypoke affected the eye.
Enucleation is rather drastic and according to my vet only has to happen if haypoke isn’t treated quickly.

Hope you’re having as much fun as I am getting drops into a reluctant piggy.
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Thanks for your reply. He is being very calm and patient for the most part but gets grumpy sometimes and squeezes his eyes shut so I can't get the drops in 😂 we have a check up appointment this afternoon, hopefully there has been some improvement
 
The vet is not happy with the progress yet. Problem is I was supposed to go away Saturday until the 20th and they want to see him again on Monday. He is staying at boarding an hour away so I doubt they will be able to bring him for a check up. Maybe they'll be able to bring him to their own vet instead to have a look at him. As an alternative he suggested having the eye removed tomorrow - I declined as I find that after only 3 full days of treatment that seems like a rushed decision. Would you agree?
 
It depends on the injury and how severe it is, but I would personally (with the guidance of my vet) want to give more than three days for a chance for the treatment to work. If the vet thinks there is no chance then that is a different matter.
 
The idea to take him to the boarder’s vet could work if they are willing.
It would give a bit more time for the treatment to work and give you a second opinion.

I do agree with @Piggies&buns that if your vet does believe the eye cannot be healed that is a different matter.
 
JosieK said:
The lovely lady at the boarding place has booked Paulie in for a check up at her vets on Monday. We will see what they say, it will be good to get a second opinion
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I think this is a very sensible course of action.
Although it is impossible to say without a hands on examination I have to confess that removing the eye after only 3 days seems very drastic!
If it was hugely swollen or inflamed, weeping etc than that might be different, but it does sound like you spotted and dealt with it quickly and I have had hay pokes that took a week or more to really heal.
 
Just an update on this: The second vet said she had seen worse injuries heal within a couple of months and so the boarders continued with Paulie's meds plus Baytril as recommended by the vet. He has just been for another check up with me and the ulceration is all gone. The eye is still cloudy and there is some inflammation left so we were advised to continue with eye drop, corneal Gel and metacam for now and get him re checked in a week or so. She also said that there's no way the eye needs to be removed, I am glad I did not listen to the previous vets advice!
 
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