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Hole in eye?

Published on: August 30, 2023 • By: maggiemoo · In Forum: Dogs
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maggiemoo
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August 30, 2023 at 08:55pm
My poor Maggie, 15 year old miniature poodle, has been having issues with her eye. It started with a lens luxation. Then there was hyphema.. we checked pressure about 6 weeks ago and there was no glaucoma at that time but we have been unable to check again. As of a few days ago her eye was leaking yellow discharge and was glued shut upon waking up. I have applied warm compresses to help unstick her eye. The first time I also carefully used a lid scrub towelette to help disinfect. I ended up stopping her 2 medicated eye drops (diclofenac and dorzolamide) for the lens luxation because it seemed to be hurting her more. She would paw at her eye and lick her paw repeatedly after the drops went in and whimper. It seems the discharge and pain have gotten a little better since doing this. And the swelling has gone down a little.. enough to see that there appears to be a hole in her eye.. I've been on Google.. it looks like possibly a corneal ulcer? And possibly phthisis bulbus? But it's looks worse than some..is there anything I can do at home for her to help this heal comfortably or help prevent infection? She has also is having a lot of sneezing fits.. I think related to what is going on with her eye. Since a couple of days after her last vet appointment, our vehicle died which put us in a very rough financial position as I am looking for work and my husband drove uber so he has also been out of work and we are stranded pretty far from anything. We cannot afford to take an uber to the vet or even pay for an appointment at this time. I wish I could. I feel awful to be in this position when she really needs to see a vet. Trying to make that happen asap. But realistically that might look like another week or so away. Just would like to know what I can do in the mean time. inbound348587077405706552inbound1426679719882176878
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Liz Buchanan BVSc MRCVS
Keymaster
August 31, 2023 at 10:29am
Hello there -  I am afraid that a hole - or even a nick - in the cornea this is absolutely not something that you should be treating at home.  A hole in the cornea (I'm not allowed to diagnose from pictures so I'm taking your word for it) is extremely painful and needs appropriate and strong pain releif.  They are also notoriously tricky to heal even with the correct tools and drugs and delays in presentation frequently result in a blind, sore eye requiring ennueation (removal). Indeed, an eye ulcer - even a small, mild one - is on the list of true medical emergencies.  We understand - and your vet will certainly understand - that you might not have realised this previously - and sometimes circumstances make it difficult - but please take the patient to them as soon as possible.   I am in the UK and here it would rightly be regarded as an extreme welfare issue and get me struck off to suggest you do anything else. A good vet will work with you to find the best way forward from here.
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Liz Buchanan BVSc MRCVS
Keymaster
August 31, 2023 at 10:33am
Having thought a little about your situation, here are some ideas:  1) describe the problem to your vets receptionist and ask about payment plans or charity clinics in the area.  2) If your vet proposes treatment for the eye (depending how bad it is), you might ask whether enucleation (eye removal) is an option.  It sounds dramatic but, depending on the severity, can reduce a lot of suffering. I'm sorry that this is not what you wanted to read and wish both of you all the best in getting this eye sorted out.
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