Gracie's eye

[PeanutNPatches]

Hi all,
Gracie recently developed an eye problem that escalated quickly. It started as a small white area in the center of the eye, which then expanded in size and developed some white cloudiness around it, then took over the entirety of the iris within a day. The sclera is now pretty red and inflamed. All of this occurred in the span of less than 48 hours. We got her to the vet the morning after we first noticed the cloudiness. He prescribed terramycin, Baytril, and Metacam but wasn't able to definitively conclude what the issue is. He did an eye stain and examined the eye and mouth pretty thoroughly. I thought it was probably a hay poke. She is definitely mostly blind in that eye as she can sense no movement whatsoever but still seems to squint in bright light.

My concern is that the sclera has turned this red color despite the medication and that there might be something more serious at play.

She is at least 4 years old; we rescued her as an adult with a chronic untreated respiratory infection. Her appetite is normal and she seems to be fairly content. Her weight is actually up about 55g since we took her to the vet on Tuesday morning.

Any opinions on what to do at this point?

[GrannyJu1]

I have no experience with this kind of eye problem, but I wanted you to know we care and I'll be thinking of you.

[bpatters]

Sounds like a hay poke to me. I'd continue with the treatment, and pay particular attention to whether she's in discomfort after she's off the metacam. If so, you may need to find someone with more experience in treating eyes to determine the next steps.

[4lilPigs]

Had the same issue with my Ralfie girl. The only difference being that the hay had lodged itself up under her eye lid. With the staining the vet was able to see that there was no cornea damage and that even though the eye looked awful, it would heal quickly. With similar treatment minus the baytril (she was on antibiotic eye drops) her eye was back to normal within 4-5 days. She also did not appear to see out of it for a few days until it healed. Hope this helps and hope Gracie recovers quickly!

[Lynx]

When the vet did an eye stain to check for scratches, was anything found? Did the vet roll back the eye lid to make sure nothing was lodged underneath?

Yes, I think it will heal well with treatment too.

[PeanutNPatches]

The vet didn't give us any closure on the eye stain. He said something along the lines of it's too cloudy to see anything clearly, but it wasn't a cataract and he didn't see anything lodged in there.

I think it's definitely a corneal ulcer. There is a raised bump in the center of her eye, almost like a little plateau. It seems to be protruding more as time goes on, which really concerns me. I can't get a photo from a good angle, but I'll try again tonight.

She is still acting completely normally, but the eye is still bloodshot with a white center after 7 days of treatment. I think I see a bit of the normal color returning between the ulcer and the bottom eyelid.

For now, since she doesn't seem to be adversely affected by it, we'll finish the 14-day course of terramycin and Baytril and hope the ulcer goes away/doesn't burst in the meantime.

[katiikinsxx]

Hello! Ive got the exact problem with my Piggy at the moment, bloodshot around the eye and the corneal is white. I've been given eye drops and anti inflammatory. When did you start to see signs of improvement as its been 5 days and my piggy is in pain.
Thank you in advance! Would appreciate your advice as been so panicky :)
How is your piggy now is she okay? Xx
Not sure how to upload photos xx