Gunky eye

Shaz82

Shaz82

Location
Essex, U.K.
Yesterday Maisy started with a gunky eye, yellow like sleepy dust but more frequent. She has had it before and her third eyelid was red and noticeable at the same time so I took her to the vets and got eye gel which cleared it up. She didn't have a scratch or conjunctivitis.

I would rather try and deal with it myself this time and use the vets as a last resort, last time they charged me £200 plus for eye tests and fees when the gel itself only cost £15. I'm not trying to skimp and put Maisy's health at risk but I am sure they go overboard on what is probably a simple problem.

At the moment it is just a small discharge which I have been wiping with cold tea and it does not seem to be getting worse

In a previous thread I read that someone used human eye drops, does anyone know of any other treatments?
 
Cupcase

Cupcase

Wow £200 for a gunky eye! Any time I've taken Cassie I've been charged consultation fee of about £20 and the cost of eye cream.
Green tea or plain old black tea is what my vet recommended just to help keep her eye clean, I've never heard of human eye drops being used on dogs, personally I wouldn't use them on my dogs unless my vet gave me them.
Sorry I don't know of anything else but eyes are something I'm not keen on self treating for very long.
Could you find a cheaper vet? In the case of vets I'm finding that you get what you pay for, does NOT apply to vets.
 
Beanwood

Beanwood

Administrator
One of the partners at my local vets recommends Golden Eye ointment for minor eye infections for dogs. It contains chloramphenicol, a topical antibiotic. I used single-use cold tea bags, to wipe the eyes, then a spot of ointment. Only though, if I was sure it was something quite minor.
 
Shaz82

Shaz82

Location
Essex, U.K.
Cupcase said:
Wow £200 for a gunky eye! Any time I've taken Cassie I've been charged consultation fee of about £20 and the cost of eye cream.
Green tea or plain old black tea is what my vet recommended just to help keep her eye clean, I've never heard of human eye drops being used on dogs, personally I wouldn't use them on my dogs unless my vet gave me them.
Sorry I don't know of anything else but eyes are something I'm not keen on self treating for very long.
Could you find a cheaper vet? In the case of vets I'm finding that you get what you pay for, does NOT apply to vets.
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I will keep on wiping with the tea for now, but if it worsens I will have to go to the vets as I will be worrying so much, eyes are very important obviously and not something I would treat myself for very long. Really I just want to go and ask for a tube of eye gel, pay for that and the consulting fee and that's it, but each time I go they seem to do more than is needed, I am feeling ripped off tbh. If it was for me I would not bother, just wipe your eyes until it clears up. But being Maisy I can't do that even though it is not bothering her at the moment.
 
Shaz82

Shaz82

Location
Essex, U.K.
Beanwood said:
One of the partners at my local vets recommends Golden Eye ointment for minor eye infections for dogs. It contains chloramphenicol, a topical antibiotic. I used single-use cold tea bags, to wipe the eyes, then a spot of ointment. Only though, if I was sure it was something quite minor.
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snowbunny said:
This stuff is great for sore eyes. Viscotears Liquid Gel Sterile Eye Drops - 10g - Boots
Don't say it's for a dog, though, or they might not serve you :)
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I will try these, very handy to know. Obviously if it gets worse I will get it seen to.
Thank you very much.

What we need is an alternative medical guide for dogs/pets.:unsure:
 
Shaz82

Shaz82

Location
Essex, U.K.
The pharmacist is out of stock of practically everything, so I have been on Amazon looking for golden eye.

There is so much available for dogs, I did not realise. Has anyone any experience of 'Pro Pooch' or 'Uploria' Eye drops?
 
alschwahn

alschwahn

Location
United States
Not to take away from this post, but Aspen has been having the same issue - he has very gunky eyes, like morning boogers, but throughout the entire day. He doesn't have red eyes or any other type of irritation, just constant eye boogers. It seems to be worse with the colder, cooler fall/winter weather. It doesn't seem bother him, but his eyes are pretty crusty and we seem to constantly be cleaning the boogers off. Could this just be allergies?
 
M

M.F.

When Snowie’s eye was weeping, the vet said to flush it with a saline solution. You can make it yourself: cup of boiled water, add half teaspoon salt, stir thoroughly, then let cool. Then pour into her eye to flush out any debris or dust. Do this several times to wash out the eye. If no improvement, then immediate vet visit. You don’t want to mess with eyes.
 
Xena Dog Princess

Xena Dog Princess

Location
Wellington, NZ
I agree that you don't want to muck about with eyes, but 200+pounds is just taking the piss. Xena's only had mild conjunctivitis once, but even then it looks totally different than just your bog standard gunky eye. Trust your gut, Shaz, you'll know if he needs vet treatment.

Do you have any of the cream from last time still knocking about?
 
M

M.F.

Xena Dog Princess said:
I agree that you don't want to muck about with eyes, but 200+pounds is just taking the piss. Xena's only had mild conjunctivitis once, but even then it looks totally different than just your bog standard gunky eye. Trust your gut, Shaz, you'll know if he needs vet treatment.

Do you have any of the cream from last time still knocking about?
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While I generally agree one knows one’s dog better than anyone else, and I’m definitely in the class of “don’t rush to the vet unnecessarily” (I’ve changed! When Snowie was a puppy, I’d want to take him in if his nose was dry!!), eyes are one thing I think are different. Perhaps my previous experience influences me here: we were on holiday, and after a mad play with another dog, Snowie was whimpering. We thought it was his back so we called a nearby vet (we were in a remote place with bumpy roads so didn’t want to drive Snowie on bumpy roads with a bad back) and asked if a friend could come by to buy some painkillers for Snowie. The vet wanted to know everything, and so I happened to mention his eye was weeping but I wasn’t worried, probably dust (there’d been a LOT of dust between these two dogs!). That’s when the vet said to flush the eye. Well, there was no improvement so we went straight to the vet—31 Dec, Sat afternoon!!—and Snowie had sliced his cornea!!!!!! Poor dog, no wonder he was whimpering. So... yep, eyes do worry me if they show no improvement after flushing.
 
Shaz82

Shaz82

Location
Essex, U.K.
alschwahn said:
Not to take away from this post, but Aspen has been having the same issue - he has very gunky eyes, like morning boogers, but throughout the entire day. He doesn't have red eyes or any other type of irritation, just constant eye boogers. It seems to be worse with the colder, cooler fall/winter weather. It doesn't seem bother him, but his eyes are pretty crusty and we seem to constantly be cleaning the boogers off. Could this just be allergies?
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That explains Maisy's condition really well but only one eye. It is not inflamed or bothering her and I don't think an allergy would affect just one eye, it might be the case with Aspen though. Is there something in autumn like leaf mould or certain plants that could affect him?

M.F. said:
When Snowie’s eye was weeping, the vet said to flush it with a saline solution. You can make it yourself: cup of boiled water, add half teaspoon salt, stir thoroughly, then let cool. Then pour into her eye to flush out any debris or dust. Do this several times to wash out the eye. If no improvement, then immediate vet visit. You don’t want to mess with eyes.
Click to expand...
I have been using cold tea but I will give the saline a go if I can't get anything from the chemist today. Thanks for the 'recipe', I wasn't sure how much salt to use. Yes I won't risk anything nasty happening to Maisy, thanks.

Xena Dog Princess said:
Trust your gut, Shaz, you'll know if he needs vet treatment.
Do you have any of the cream from last time still knocking about?
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I am not as worried as I was last time about it, my gut is telling me not to panic at the moment. I threw the last lot of cream away as it has a use by date once opened, I wouldn't want to chance it.

Cath said:
How is Maisy today?
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Yesterday she was fine, just a few wipes of her eye in the morning and she seemed to improve completely in the day and that night. No discharge. During the night I checked her and all was fine. This morning there was a small dark crusty bit I wiped off and then 10 minutes later a big yellow glob appeared. I wiped that away and she has been ok again. Its very up and down.
 
Shaz82

Shaz82

Location
Essex, U.K.
M.F. said:
and Snowie had sliced his cornea!!!!!! Poor dog, no wonder he was whimpering. So... yep, eyes do worry me if they show no improvement after flushing.
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That's horrible, poor Snowie.

I will be flushing Maisy's eye today and tonight and then hopefully using some ointment, after that it is to the vet.
There are other causes too like seed in her eye or eyelid, or scratches on her eye which they checked for last time, you can't see those so that's in my mind too.
 
Shaz82

Shaz82

Location
Essex, U.K.
Beanwood said:
One of the partners at my local vets recommends Golden Eye ointment for minor eye infections for dogs. It contains chloramphenicol, a topical antibiotic. I used single-use cold tea bags, to wipe the eyes, then a spot of ointment. Only though, if I was sure it was something quite minor.
Click to expand...
Do you know what strength they recommend? My pharmacist has some 1% but there are weaker versions eg. 0.15% (they cannot get these).
Do you think the 1% is too strong?
 
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