One single crusty eye - transparent crust

[tatals]

Hey, guys.

Shoyu woke up with some crust around one of his eyes a few days ago. My heart skipped a bit, cause the first thing that came to my mind was URI. But after observing him for a while I noticed that it was a single eye and he had absolutely no other symptoms. Oh, and it wasn't yellow, or even milky. The only other thing was that his eye was 'narrowing' - he didn't completely close it, but it wasn't wide open like the other one.

I was observing him, and then he woke up the next day fine, no signs of anything and life went on, but now it's back again. He still looks completely normal other than that. Could it be an infection? I checked his eye over and over again and couldn't see anything visible trapped in there, and it's not cloudy or anything.

I'll take him to the vet, but I'd love to have your take on this. Anything special I should be doing?

 

[Freela]

It could be a very minor poke/scratch or an eye infection. It's definitely worth getting eyedrops for, especially as it's the first time it has occurred. Hopefully that will clear it up. In the meantime, you can clean off the gunk with warm, clean water and a cotton ball so it doesn't stick closed. Some pigs seem more prone to this than others... most of my pigs have never had eye infections, but Leela gets an intermittent gunky eye, always on the same side (she has different colored eyes so it's easy to remember- blue eye is fine, brown eye sometimes gets gunky!) The vet has suggested she may have a narrow or otherwise abnormal tear duct on that side which causes the fluid to not drain as well and be more prone to growing bacteria. She has a med called Ocuflox or when it flares up, although I'm sure there are a variety of brands of antibacterial eyedrops that are piggy safe!

 

[Wiebke]

Hey, guys.

Shoyu woke up with some crust around one of his eyes a few days ago. My heart skipped a bit, cause the first thing that came to my mind was URI. But after observing him for a while I noticed that it was a single eye and he had absolutely no other symptoms. Oh, and it wasn't yellow, or even milky. The only other thing was that his eye was 'narrowing' - he didn't completely close it, but it wasn't wide open like the other one.

I was observing him, and then he woke up the next day fine, no signs of anything and life went on, but now it's back again. He still looks completely normal other than that. Could it be an infection? I checked his eye over and over again and couldn't see anything visible trapped in there, and it's not cloudy or anything.

I'll take him to the vet, but I'd love to have your take on this. Anything special I should be doing?

Hi!

Please have him vet checked. Eye injuries can be a lot worse than visible to the naked eye and can deteriorate quickly. A vet will check for damage with a special dye under UV light. Never dawdle to see a vet with a potential eye injury; they can go downhill in a matter of hours!

Excessive watering, which makes transparent crusts, is a sign of an irritation in the eye, whether that is from foreign body (often stuck under a lid), a non-ulcerating eye scratch or eye poke or conjunctivitis (in the last case, the fleshy bit around the eye ball is generally reddened and can be swollen).

A narrowed eye, that is not from sitting in the full sun, is a sign of discomfort. If the eye is visibly smaller (drawn in) compared to the other, then it is a sign of pain and needs addressing with a vet check for the appropriate diagnosis and treatment.

 

[tatals]

Thank you again, guys. There was nothing in his eye, fortunately. I'm assuming maybe it was something that he got out eventually somehow? His eyes have looked completely okay since checked, no more crusts or narrowing.