Eye ulcer

[zez]

Spice was totally fine last night. I went to feed them this evening and her eye was cloudy. Rang the vet straight away, emailed photos and they asked me to bring her in. £90 later and it is an ulcer, probably from a hay poke. We have antibiotics and pain relief. Please reassure me it will be ok.

 

[VickiA]

Well done for getting such prompt treatment. With eyes, time is of the essence. Over the years mine have had countless hay pokes, and all have healed very quickly once they had seen the vet and started on antibiotic drops and anti inflammatory medicine.
What treatment have you got?

 

[zez]

Thank you. We have isathol (think that is how to spell it). I usually check them later in the evening so I am so grateful that I checked straight after work and could get to the vet just as they closed so no out of hours fee.

 

[zez]

Oh and loxicom for pain.

 

[Wiebke]

Thank you. We have isathol (think that is how to spell it). I usually check them later in the evening so I am so grateful that I checked straight after work and could get to the vet just as they closed so no out of hours fee.

Great that you have been able to get your piggy seen promptly. Eye injuries count as urgent and most vets will make time to see them if at all possible because they can deteriorate very quickly. The sooner seen, the quicker and more easily eye injuries heal up again.

In addition to the isathal (which are antibiotic eye drops or gel used in the UK for milder eye injuries), I would recommend plain tear gel from a pharmacy, which helps with hydration of the eye, including itchiness and deep healing. Gel is much easier to apply and longer lasting. You need to wait for at least half an hour to allow the isathal to be fully absorbed before applying gel (like viscotears, which you can order online). It does help to speed up the healing process; my own vet prescribes the gel routinely now, unless you have got another lubricant from your vet that will do the trick as well.

All the best! Hay pokes and hay/grass stuck under an eyelid are pretty much par for the course when you have piggies. I had one year when I had 8 hay pokes; normally I have about 1 or max 2 a year.

 

[zez]

Thank you so much. Will ask at the pharmacy.

 

[VickiA]

All sounds very positive. Just to say again, well done for getting seen so promptly. Hopefully you will start to see an improvement quite quickly.

 

[zez]

Well, it’s definitely looking no worse this morning, so I’ll take that as a sign that the antibiotics are working!

 

[VickiA]

Well, it’s definitely looking no worse this morning, so I’ll take that as a sign that the antibiotics are working!

Absolutely!
And as it improves it gets easier to put the drops in, too.

 

[PigglePuggle]

Healing wheeks! We have our first ever haypoke/eye ulcer (apart from when I got haypoke myself lol) this week too, Tallulah skinny hippo had an eye ulcer diagnosed yesterday and has isathal eyedrops, and I was just thinking about going to fetch some lubricating tear gel for her too.
This is the photo we sent to the vet and they booked her straight in for an emergency appointment:

Eyes usually heal fast with prompt treatment, she already looks a bit better after the first 2 lots of eyedrops. Hope your piggy will be ok and good luck getting the eyedrops in, Tallulah only lets us do that in exchange for a blueberry x

 

[zez]

It’s a week tomorrow since Spice started treatment for an eye ulcer. How long should I continue treatment - I don’t think the vet said! She is completely happy and the eye is looking normal now I think.