Eye problems?

[SarahKay]

My 3-year old chin, Zeb, looks like he's having some sort of eye troubles. His eye's partly closed and the fur around it looks kind of damp. It has looked this way for a day or two. I'm not quite sure what's going on. I checked his teeth to see if they looked out of whack because I know tooth problems can affect chins' eyes (unless I'm going crazy and making stuff up) and they look normal. Any suggestions/recommendations? I can upload a photo if that would help.

 

[SarahKay]

Update: scritchies were administered and it almost seemed like he could not close that eye. He also just scratched at it with his foot.

 

[Cat75]

It would not hurt to take him to the vet to determine if he has an eye infection or possible x-ray to see if there is teeth issues.

 

[SarahKay]

If it helps...

Normal eye

Icky eye

Irrelevant, cute inquisitiveness

 

[SarahKay]

Sorry, I'm of the school of thought that the more pictures the better so here are some of his teeth.

 

[Woodrow724]

How is he acting (eating, drinking, pooping, activity level)? URI's affect the eyes. They can get conjunctivitis (pink eye) too. Both need meds from the vet. He also could have gotten dust or something in it that is irritating it. When was his last dust bath?

 

[SarahKay]

He is eating, drinking, and pooping like a boss. He devoured the large handful of hay I gave him yesterday in no time. The only way that this seems to be affecting him is that he looks a bit off. He took a dust bath yesterday but I think they eye was a bit sick-looking before then.

 

[Woodrow724]

Is it irritated too, like red and puffy? It kind of looked like it in the picture. Could be pink eye. If it keeps up I'd take him in to the vet, just in case. He'll need eye drops if it is pink eye.

 

[ticklechin]

When I deal with eye problems, if the issue does not go away in a couple of days or it gets worse, chin goes to the vet. The eye needs to be stained to see if its scratched or of it has a infection and eye drops and possible oral antibiotics are prescribed.

 

[SarahKay]

Is it irritated too, like red and puffy? It kind of looked like it in the picture. Could be pink eye. If it keeps up I'd take him in to the vet, just in case. He'll need eye drops if it is pink eye.

No, it doesn't seem red at all... might be a bit puffy because it's part closed.

Looks like baby is going to the vet!

 

[SarahKay]

I'm going to take him in tomorrow if he's not looking better but I was wondering... could I use saline drops in case there's something in his eye that needs to be flushed out?

 

[SarahKay]

In case any of you were following...
Zeb took his first trip to the vet today and got an eye flush and some antibiotics. It doesn't look like he has any tooth problems so we're going to see how he does with the antibiotics. He was super well behaved for the vet and seems to have recovered from his voyage quite quickly.

 

[Woodrow724]

Yay! Glad to hear that!

 

[SarahKay]

Now that he's been to the vet his eye looks way worse than it ever has. I'm not sure if it's just dried out from the rinse she gave him or if it's because he was scratching at it after the antibiotic. Any way to work around this? :/ He looks really miserable. Is this just an initial reaction? I checked the antibiotic tube to see what it is and it's "Neomycin and Polymyxin B Sulfates and Bacitracin Zinc Opthalmic Ointment USP" if that helps. Thank you all for being so reliable and helpful.

 

[SarahKay]

I don't know if he's still just stressed out from the vet but he doesn't seem to be pooping much. I've got some updated photos of his eye. I'm so upset to see my baby looking this miserable. I would really appreciate any advice. I'm kind of freaking out over here.

The last one is his healthy side for comparison.

 

[Woodrow724]

I've never had a chin get an eye infection, I just know the symptoms of one from reading around here. I wouldn't be able to help much with the medication part. There's a good chance he's still upset from his vet visit. The fur around his eye may look like that from the medicine, you said it was an ointment right? He looks alert and his good eye looks bright in the last 2 pictures. He may also be tired from being awake all day at the vet in his normal sleeping time? My boys don't poo when they're sleeping. I wish I could be more of a help to you, I hope someone else with experience will chime in.

 

[SarahKay]

Thanks. She did do an eye wash which I imagine is why the fur is so wet and matted looking but the eye is really swollen and red which is totally new. I saw him scratching his eye pretty hard once he got in his cage but I knew I wouldn't really be able to intervene. Should I put on a bit more of the ointment (anyone?) now that he rubbed it out? She said 2x a day and that what she put in would be enough but I feel like more couldn't hurt? His one eye really is still bright and his ears are still up and he tore his cheerio out of my hand but the other eye looks terrible. I kind of want to dust him to soak up all that ooze around his eye but if his eye is irritated a dust bath probably isn't the best call.

 

[Sandi]

Sorry your little guy is going through this. I had to use an ointment on one of my boys over a year ago and it can get real messy looking and is probably adding a little to his discomfort as well as the vet visit alone. I did have to hand feed my guy for a day or so. Can you check if they can give you drops instead of the ointment?

 

[SarahKay]

Thanks Sandi. I can call tomorrow. I assumed she would give me drops but I got the goop instead. Are drops much better?

 

[Sandi]

Yes, drops are so much better and easier on the chin and us humans.