Eye ulcer concerns!

My 13 y/o shih tzu had a sagging eye last Friday so I took him to the vet. He’s been on corneal drops, antibiotic drops and ocry gel since then and she didn’t ask to see him again until this Saturday. It’s now been 6 days and his eye still looks so sore. He’s on liquid paracetamol every 12 hours but he’s constantly licking and biting himself. I rang and asked for blood serum drops to help his eye heal (recommended to me in a dog group) and the vet rang back to say she had ordered some ‘Stromease’ drops instead (active ingredient NAC) I'm so worried about his eye. I’ve rang another surgery this morning and taking him for check up but I would love your opinion. I don’t want to mess around trying this and that I want the best and most effective treatment. What are your thoughts? (I couldn’t get very good photos but this is his eye, it’s watery and sore looking and still sagging)

I think that its always important for me to start by being very honest;  that if your vet has examined that eye close up, come up with a plan and you are not satisfied with its progress, a stranger on the internet who cant examine the eye very closely is not your next port of call, even though I am an MRCVS of quite a few years now. We would have encouraged you to go back to the same vet - first, it is useful for them to know if their treatment wasnt successful but second, they saw the problem, know what it looked like at the time, know what they tried and how it developed... and are therefore in a good place to give advice going forward as they build on their understanding of the situation.   To repeatedly start again with a new vet can mean that each vet has to start again at first principles and may even repeat steps in the diagnostic process.  This being an eye we are talking about, the situation can change very quickly and timely rechecks can be important; usually a vet might issue an instruction such as; please come back for a recheck in two days, or, if this is not better..... or: if it gets any worse.... we need to see you again.

Anyway, you are where you are and Im glad that you have an appointment booked today because eyes can deteriorate very quickly; vets often regard new eye changes as relatively urgent.  They will hopefully examine the eye and reassess the situation - always take the medication along and, if you have them, the notes from the last consult with you.  I wonder if there is some outpouching of the lower lid that can coincide with eye infections or inflammations, foreign bodies and so on.  A buster collar or similar device to prevent licking may be useful - bit remember that dogs usually rub eyes because they hurt, so pain releif may be very important in a lot of eyes (again, a vet needs to issue this).  I hope that the vets get to the bottom of what's causing this red eye and please do let us know what thry find.  The range of possibilities for red eyes is huge; foreign bodies or dust, hair / eyelid protruding into the eye, lack of a perfect tear film, infection, keritanitis, changes in pressure, etc are common.

In the human world, we rarely take a problem to the GP and come back with medication that makes us better; usually rechecks and often interventions / tests / further treatments are required.  This often turns out to be the same with dogs -  Wishing your old gentleman all the best.