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Re-occuring conjunctivitus/hayfever

Kgypsey

Member
I am having real problems with Charlies eyes at the moment - a month or so ago he seemed to pick up what looked to be conjunctivitus - sticky red eye, gunky, the usual signs, off I popped with him to the vet who did the eye stain to check that their was nothing else (all clear) and diagnosed what I thought. I came home with eye gel to be put in both eyes twice a day plus bathing the eyes. This all seemed to do the trick and within a week his eye seemed to clear up and all was well. About 2 weeks later it happened again - I had gel still left so repeated the steps, a couple of days later, all clear....a few weeks down the path and he has woken up unable to open either eyes, green gunk, really red, just horrible. It seems to come back after long walks running through woods/grass which is making me wonder if it is conjuncitvitus and maybe hayfever?

I am bathing the eyes, putting conjunctivitus gel in them and I have given him a hayfever tablet for good measure but the poor soul cant open them at all...my question really is, do any of your cavvys suffer from hayfever, how do you deal with it, is this normal, he is 3 1/2 and has never had this before, I am just confused with the whole thing...I am doing what the vet told me to do but it is not going away, it keeps coming back. What am I doing wrong????
 
I think you need to see an eye specialist rather than just the vet. It sounds like something more complex is going on and Charlie is perhaps being misdiagnosed. Cavaliers can have a variety of problems with their eyes. Most likely he now needs some type of eye gel/ointment every day from now on -- not just short term treatment. There are vet ophthalmologists -- not sure where you are located (which country) but vet schools tyically would have someone or larger vet practices might as well. You can probably find an online list of specialists in your region, or ring the regional cavalier club as they will know.

I think you need to see a specialist to eliminate a more serious eye issue, before going down the route of testing for allergies. If he cannot open his eyes, this has reached a serious point where you need immediate professional help. I have never heard of allergies having such a severe affect on eyes, and you'd expect to see other symptoms if it were allergies, as well. You don't want him to end up with permanent damage to his sight. (y)

Others who have managed eye issues will likely have some ideas too but I wouldn't leave it to guesswork but get him to an eye specialist.
 
I agree with Karlin when she suggests that 'It sounds like something more complex is going on and Charlie is perhaps being misdiagnosed. Cavaliers can have a variety of problems with their eyes. Most likely he now needs some type of eye gel/ointment every day from now on -- not just short term treatment. There are vet ophthalmologists -- not sure where you are located......'

The first thing I think your vet should do is a Schirmer Test to count the number of tears produced in one minute. 20 is very good, 15 acceptable, but anything lower than that indicate Dry Eye and require regular and lifetime treatment. The green gunk discharge you mention could be an indicator of this condition.

It's difficult for anyone to give even educated guesses without actually seeing the dog's eyes, but the first possibility which strikes me is that the redness and swelling can be due to the soreness that dry eye creates. It's rather like a sewing machine in need of oil, which eventually gets so dry that it stops working.

Immediate but temporary relief is to bathe the outside of the eye area with a saline solution, made up of 1 teaspoon of salt dissolved in one pint of warm water.

I also think that a referral to an opthalmic specialist absolutely essential. Their time is expensive but worth every penny for their experience and expertise. Once a diagnosis is made and a treatment regime established you can go back to your regular vet and his more affordable charges.

Please keep in touch and let us know how you get on.
 
Thank you guys so much, I am going to go back to the vets and ask to be referred to an opthamologist, I am not worried about cost, he is insured and even if he wasnt he is my responsibility, I just didnt know where I was going wrong! Will let u know how we get on x
 
Just to say that I took my Harley to my vets with runny eyes. The vet done the tests and couldn’t find anything. I am lucky we have an ophthalmologist at our vets. Two days later I wasn’t happy and I took him to see the specialist. He done loads of tests and found that Harley had a very small ulcer and also follicles. The normal vet could never have seen this. I had to have special drops for the ulcer what cleared up 2 weeks later and he is on Optimmune until we see him again in June.
 
There is a big and very important difference between an all-rounder vet and an opthalmologist.

An all rounder vet deals with anything from fleas and worms to emergency surgery for animals injured in road accidents, or long term treatment of serious diseases.

An opthalmologist specialises in eyes. All day, every day, he sees and/or treats animals referred to him by all rounder vets. Either the all rounder vet is unable to make a diagnosis or realises the animals require specialist treatment that he is unable to provide. The referral surgery is dedicated to the science of opthalmology, containing many thousands of pounds worth of diagnostic and specialist treatment equipment, which no all rounder vet can reasonably be expected to have.

When the consultant opthalmologist is neither examining, treating or carrying out surgery on his clients he is often to be found attending seminars and conferences at home and abroad to update and further his knowledge and expertise. Expensive but worth paying for.
 
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