Superficial corneal Ulcer
I need some help/advice on Bubba's eye. three weeks ago he was diagnosed as having a "superficial corneal ulcer" in his right eye. I had taken him to the vet because the night before he was blinking and keeping it shut mostly and I didn't hesitate taking him in. this was on Saturday Aug 28th. that's when the diagnosis was made. He was put on an antibiotic oinment and Atropine at that pont.
The following Tuesday I had to take him back for a check up t see how things were going. Nothing had changed. I continued with the antibiotic salve and Atropine. We go back again on the following Saturday. This time they spin some of his blood and want me to put two drops in his eye from the serum 3-4 times a day along with the other two meds. Now, I'm going back to the vet once or twice a week for checks.
Yesterday they spun some more of his blood and gave me four vials from which to draw drops from and the regiment continued. this time they
didn't use that illuminated stuff(whatever it's called) to check to see
if the ulcer was still there as she didn't want to irritate the eye
more.
We're now going on the fourth week with this and I'm about nuts trying
to keep up with what I put in there last and in trying to get him to
open his eye, which is shut tight as Ft Knox. It's next to impossible to
get him to keep his eye open enough for me to put his meds in and I'm
about crazy trying.
I'm thinking seriously about stopping all this to see if things won't be better for him as well as for me. Continuing to put this Atropine, blood serum and antibiotic ointment in his eye every day, several times a day just doesn't seem to be working and I may be making things worse by continuing to do so. After three weeks if it's going to heal it should be so by now. Other measure seem to be in order and I thought about just stopping all this to see if there's an improvement.
I have no idea how this came about and I understand there's at least a dozen ways it could have happened from bacteria to scraping the eye on a twig. That doesn't matter. What matters is there was a pin head size ulcer on his lower cornea around 6 o'clock that as of the last time they checked was still there...no bigger but no smaller. Some advice would be greatly appreciated before I loose it all worrying about him.
The following Tuesday I had to take him back for a check up t see how things were going. Nothing had changed. I continued with the antibiotic salve and Atropine. We go back again on the following Saturday. This time they spin some of his blood and want me to put two drops in his eye from the serum 3-4 times a day along with the other two meds. Now, I'm going back to the vet once or twice a week for checks.
Yesterday they spun some more of his blood and gave me four vials from which to draw drops from and the regiment continued. this time they
didn't use that illuminated stuff(whatever it's called) to check to see
if the ulcer was still there as she didn't want to irritate the eye
more.
We're now going on the fourth week with this and I'm about nuts trying
to keep up with what I put in there last and in trying to get him to
open his eye, which is shut tight as Ft Knox. It's next to impossible to
get him to keep his eye open enough for me to put his meds in and I'm
about crazy trying.
I'm thinking seriously about stopping all this to see if things won't be better for him as well as for me. Continuing to put this Atropine, blood serum and antibiotic ointment in his eye every day, several times a day just doesn't seem to be working and I may be making things worse by continuing to do so. After three weeks if it's going to heal it should be so by now. Other measure seem to be in order and I thought about just stopping all this to see if there's an improvement.
I have no idea how this came about and I understand there's at least a dozen ways it could have happened from bacteria to scraping the eye on a twig. That doesn't matter. What matters is there was a pin head size ulcer on his lower cornea around 6 o'clock that as of the last time they checked was still there...no bigger but no smaller. Some advice would be greatly appreciated before I loose it all worrying about him.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Aj on
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Hi, I'm so sorry that you and Bubba are going through this. I may be wrong but what you described sounds like what my Brian went through. Here is my really long discussion on it: http://www.mycorgi.com/forum/topics/my-corgi-developed-cloudy-blue
I am not familiar with the blood spinning since Brian's eye vet never mentioned anything "blood". Did Bubba's vet recommend anything else other than the eye drops treatment?
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Permalink Reply by D46 on
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They take a certain amount of his blood and spin it in a centrifugal device to separate the solid from the liquid-in layman terms. The liquid is then used for drops to aid in the healing process...supposedly.
In addition he was given the Atropine which I used twice daily early on and now just once a day along with the antibiotic ointment Neomycin and Polymyzin B Sulfate. I'm just worried due to the duration of all this as three weeks seems excessive to be giving all this and as mentioned, I'm seriously considering not giving it anymore after this amount of time. Corneal Ulcers are suppose to heal in 3-5 days-sometimes a bit longer but I still think three weeks, going on four now is just too much to put things in his eye several times a day.
I haven't as yet read the discussion you mentioned but I will.
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I found an article about corneal ulcers:
http://www.pets.ca/dogs/articles/corneal-ulcers-in-dogs-and-cats/
Two sentences from the article caught my attention:
1. "There are many types of corneal ulcers. Superficial ulcers only affect the epithelium (the outermost layer). These ulcers are usually easy to treat."
--makes me believe that the superficial ulcer has grown worse since so much time has passed and Bubba's eye is not feeling better. In my opinion, (and I may be wrong) I think the vet should have done a test to check the progress of Bubba's eye in order to decide what the next appropriate action should be. I think it's better to know for sure than assume that Bubba's eye has grown worse, better, or stayed the same; since quite a bit of time has passed since the last "illumination" testing.
2. "Some animals are prone to having recurrent ulcers; ulcers that won’t go away or keep reoccurring. These animals will need advanced surgical techniques or very long periods of medication."
--made me believe that you should continue administering the meds per doctor's orders. However, if Bubba's condition has grown worse, maybe a different course of action is in order since the meds are possibly not effective. And I think there is a chance that overuse of the meds can do more harm than good, so I do understand your wanting to stop with the meds.
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If it had been superficial in the first place it should have healed with a week at worse from all I've read.The last time an illumination test was done was last Tuesday. That upcoming Friday I took him back again and she elected not to do it again since it hadn't been long since the last one. I'm scheduled to go back yet again this coming Tuesday.
I just felt like after three weeks giving him the same thing and nothing appears to have gotten better in that he's still keeping that eye tightly closed 90% of the time maybe it was time to stop and do something else. I don't want him to have to undergo any kind of surgery-especially having to have his eyelid sewn shut. I live alone and there's no one home in the day time to give him any aid or administer meds for his eye...plus my air condition system isn't doing well and I'm about to go nuts between these two things!!
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Permalink Reply by Tauna and Kota on
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I would ask your doctor to do another illumination test and make sure you know that there is no change or it's getting worse or better. If it's the same or worse, I would discuss other options with them. I would never just stop using a medication without the doctor's permission unless there is an allergic reaction. Tell them your concerns about using the methods you are currently using and let them know you would like to know of any alternative treatment options.
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They will be doing another test this Tuesday...if I go back there. I may call someone else as I fear this is all just getting worse and they're not doing anything different than what was done three weeks ago. I'm in a Catch-22 situation-not knowing whether to continue with what appears to be useless or to stop the ointments and see if it will heal better without all that stuff in his eye.
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Permalink Reply by Alex on
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Dee Dee had corneal ulcer twice. Once on left eye, and once on right. Both times, eye drops & ointment did nothing for her. Both times after a week of drops & ointment with no improvement, our vet referred us to ophthalmologist (eye specialist). They said that if there was no improvement with drops & ointment, they needed to do a procedure called grid procedure. Basically, they take a small needle, and make grids on the surface of the dog's eye. By making grids on their surface, it forces the eye to heal (including the ulcer). He said if that didn't work, he may have to operate. Luckily, both times, grid procedure worked on Dee Dee well. Her eye was teary and looked very sad on the day of the procedure, but the recovery was amazing. Her eye started to clear in a few days!
At this point,I really think you should either ask for referral to a specialist, change your vet, or at least get a second opinion. If you've been doing this treatment for four weeks, obviously it's not working. Corneal ulcer is not uncommon, but Bubba shouldn't have to suffer this long, and neither should you. I hope you find a solution & both you and Bubba can go back to the way things were real soon!
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[quote]Basically, they take a small needle, and make grids on the surface of the dog's eye. By making grids on their surface, it forces the eye to heal (including the ulcer). He said if that didn't work, he may have to operate. Luckily, both times, grid procedure worked on Dee Dee well. Her eye was teary and looked very sad on the day of the procedure, but the recovery was amazing. Her eye started to clear in a few days![/quote]
They did that to Bubba after the third trip. she told me she took a Q-tip and swabbed his eye and a thin layer came off and they did the scratching with a needle. that was about two weeks ago. He's going to see someone else tomorrow for another opinion. Next week will be four weeks this upcoming Friday. I'm ready to get on with our lives and get his eye better.
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Permalink Reply by Sam, Gregg & Poopdeck on
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I agree. A specialist and/or second opinion is the way to go. I have believed small animal vets before and it ended up in the end my dog had something much more dire wrong, instead of just "getting senile"
If the meds aren't working, I vote for see someone else
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Permalink Reply by Susan , Radar and Cooper on
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This happened to Radar. It was a pinhead sized corneal ulcer. Had to put drops and the blood and ointment twice aday. Trying to do this by myself with a dog that doesn't wan't to do it was very stressful for me. I had to get in bathroom shut door put him between my feet and hold on for dear life, hoping I could get the drops in his eye. He actually would snap at the dropper. When I ran out of meds it finally healed up. I understand where your coming from.
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That's about the size Bubba's was-right about 5-6 o'clock on the cornea. Sounds like you've experienced the same thing as me...no fun for any of us nor them. I needed a third hand but there wasn't any.
Fortunately, Bubba's a very mild mannered and laid back sort of fellow and has never barked, growled or snapped at me or any of the vets. He just lets you do what you want.
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Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on
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Sorry you 2 have to go through this! I don't have an opinion but I think you have some good advice already! Good luck!
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