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Eye discharge

Last post 10-25-2007 8:07 PM by pygmysong. 7 replies.
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  • 10-23-2007 8:34 PM

    Eye discharge

    A fellow boarder has an Arab gelding who has started showing an odd discharge from his eyes.  Just wanted to check with you all to see if anyone's seen this before, before we call in the vet.  It is a very hard, yellowish, crusty discharge from the lower inside corner of each eye. There doesn't seem to be any pain involved, nor redness, swelling, etc.  They are very "glued on", i.e. hard to pull off and there is no runniness at all.  Within a twelve hour period they will reach the size of a small raspberry.  This is the only sign of illness;  it cropped up a little over a week ago and seems to be getting slowly worse (larger little crusties).

    Any thoughts?

    I am not one of those who in expressing opinions confines themselves to facts. - Mark Twain

    The fact that man knows right from wrong proves his intellectual superiority to other creatures; but the fact that he can do wrong proves his moral inferiority to any creature that cannot. - Mark Twain
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  • 10-23-2007 9:27 PM In reply to

    Re: Eye discharge

    My first question is, has this horse been vaccinated??? And when was the last time he was vaccinated???

     I would be concerned about Influenza, or even Strangles, especially if this continually, and gradually increases...

     Keep him isolated from other horses, and by all means do not touch other horses after handling him, until you have washed your hands...until you know for sure what is going on with him. 

    If this has gone on for a week, and IS getting worse, I would be calling a vet in...but that is just my humble opinion.

    Have you tried Penicillin? 

    Lesson From Your Horse: When you' re tense, let me teach you that there are lions in the woods, and we need to leave. NOW!!

  • 10-24-2007 9:01 AM In reply to

    Re: Eye discharge

    Yup, over a week old, getting worse, and yellow and crusty = vet visit. It's probably a no big deal eye infection conjuctavitis, etc. type thing that will clear easily with proper meds, but it could turn into a HUGE sight threatening problem if you leave it.

    I've never seen or heard of strangles only showing symptoms in the eyes. That almost always presents with a runny nose that progresses to swelling (eye discharge is probably not uncommon, but is more a secondary symptom). I highly doubt it's that; in fact would not even be considering it on my radar screen until a vet told me otherwise. It's still not a bad idea to limit contact with other horses until the vet sees him and wash your hands well after handling him (especially the "eye boogers") though.

    I also would not just randomly put him on antibiotics. Antibiotics should only be used when you KNOW you are dealing with a bacterial infection (rather than fungal or viral infection or another problem genetically or environmentally caused). You also want to target the antibiotic type and length of treatment to the type of bacterial infection whenever possible. Just giving a course of antibiotics to "see what happens" when you THINK it might be bacterial is why we have such problems with resistant bacteria and hard to manage infections. The antibiotics won't work when you really NEED them, and that goes for YOU and all the rest of us to...not just the horse you used them on!

    I understand vets prescribing broad spectrum antibiotics as a preventative for certain large wounds that are not only likely to get infected but likely to be hard to get un-infected once it's in there. This isn't the case, so call your vet and get the correct treatment for this the first time. That may be antibiotics, it may also just as equally be some sort of medicated eye drop.

  • 10-24-2007 9:31 PM In reply to

    Re: Eye discharge

    Call the vet. Big Smile 

  • 10-24-2007 10:30 PM In reply to

    Re: Eye discharge

    QHAA said it all.  Great advice.



    No heaven can heaven be, if a horse isn't there to welcome me.
  • 10-25-2007 9:26 AM In reply to

    Re: Eye discharge

    I definately agree with the other posters...it's time to call the vet.  At the farm I work at, we have an old Appy mare whose eye started draining yellow-ish stuff (sort of like what you described, only not as "crusty").  After several vet visits, we determined that not only did she have an eye infection, the reason it was draining yellow-ish was because her liver was failing [NOTE:  I'm not a vet and I don't know how it happened, I just am relaying what the vet said!].  So it turned out to be a much more serious problem then we had anticipated.  So I would definately give the vet a holler.  Good luck and I hope he recovers soon!  Smile

  • 10-25-2007 9:37 AM In reply to

    Re: Eye discharge

    Thanks for all the posts and advice.  I thought vet but he isn't mine, so when I talked to his owner today, she agreed and we have a call in to my vet (she didn't have one yet).  She's a starving student, as many of you can relate to, and as hard as I find it to believe, even poorer than I, so I'm sure she hoped it was just a quick thing, but today when looking, his eyes are all bloodshot and crusty rimmed, too... so that was the final push.

    I'll let you all know what the verdict is.

    I am not one of those who in expressing opinions confines themselves to facts. - Mark Twain

    The fact that man knows right from wrong proves his intellectual superiority to other creatures; but the fact that he can do wrong proves his moral inferiority to any creature that cannot. - Mark Twain
  • 10-25-2007 8:07 PM In reply to

    Re: Eye discharge

    QHAA I only asked if they had tried Pen...I didn't suggest using it...

    Lesson From Your Horse: When you' re tense, let me teach you that there are lions in the woods, and we need to leave. NOW!!


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