Jack's eye

[mishellyshel]

jack has this ongoing eye thing. i tried several weeks of tri-meth in combo with terramycin, than just tri meth & saline. now i have him off the tri meth and i am using just the herbal supplement that tanya sent me and wiping with saline.

he has a little white goop in the corner of his eye. sometimes left. sometimes right. sometimes both. sometimes neither.

it is not moist around his eye. his eye is never glued shut. i am not sure if it is one of those pesky hard to cure infections OR dust irritation, lack of proper ventilation or what??

attached is a pic. sorry for the extremely poor quality. it is from my phone. in my basement. he is a violet so his color looks off as does the general photo but you get the idea of what it looks like.

those with experienced eye issues. eye infection?? irritaiton? dust collecting??
i like to have some info before i take him to vet. he was rescued and he has a cleft lip from where it was bitten in a fight. he has the most goregeous fur, wonderful temperment and the cutest curly tail! i heart him.

 

[ticklechin]

Has he had a head x-ray? Persistant infections of the eyes can be from elongation of the roots blocking the lacrimal drain of the eye leaving a constant breeding ground for bacteria. Also, has the chin has a steroidal eye drop such as neo-poly-dex? Steroids are OK for use in the eye.

 

[Sycamore Chins]

Looks like it could be blocked tear (lacrimal) duct, a classmate of mine's rabbit had blocked tear ducts and when I helped her flush them out it looks exactly the same - the milky white stuff.
It could be from teeth issues or not - her rabbit didn't have teeth issues.

 

[mishellyshel]

no. hasnt had xray. he does not exhibit any signs of tooth issues. ie; no pawing, drooling, he chews wood like a champ. eats hay & pellets & treats. but i know that is not 100% indicative of a tooth problem.
And no he also has not had the steroidal drops. thank you for the name, i will text my vet and see if i can get him in.

would you guys recommend trying the drops first and seeing if that clears it up before taking the next step and getting the xrays?? i have money in my "vet fund" but i do have another chin that needs to be checked and possible trimmed.

ETA: or can these drops be purchased without script?? i tried the terramycin and it was extremely difficult to get into eye so i am not sure he really got the dosage necessary.

 

[ticklechin]

The vet may want to stain the eye before Rxing the drops, some do some don't, its worth a try since it does not bother him right?. I don't want to scare you, but I just had the horrid experience of elongation without malo with no symptoms until the lower teeth broke the jaw. Chin was over 1000 gms, ate with gusto, chewed like a demon, went from eating to drooling in a couple of days and 45 days from that 1st symptom he was dead.

Its a prescription and is used 2-3 times a day.

 

[mishellyshel]

Thank you. I am awaiting a reply from the vet. Just helps! so much to have a med name.

 

[mishellyshel]

I'm starting the drops tonite. Strange thing is since I stopped the trimeth the goo also stopped. Im curious if massaging the eye area with my finger very gently in a circular motion would help with any blockage or is the tear duct located in a different area. Prob just a coincidence but I did that the other nite and there hasn't been much eye goo since.

 

[ticklechin]

The duct exit to the eye is located at the inner eye resting in a indentation of bone, it is funnel shaped and collects the tears and directs them through the bone, up and over the incisors to the exit in the nose, the problem area is where it goes over the incisors-this area is narrow and even a small amount of elongation in the right spot can restrict it, leaving the tears in the chamber and its a breeding ground for bacteria. I would IMO not try to express it fearing it could make matters worse and driving infection into the nasel area, this is not based on scientific fact, just my own idea and what I would not do.

 

[Sycamore Chins]

Again, not only tooth elongation can cause a blockage of the nasolacrimal duct.
The lacrimal punctum is located in the bottom eyelid. You can see it on your eyelid in the mirror - it looks like a little dot where you eyelid comes to a point nearest your nose.
You could be relieving some of the blockage by massaging it. The nasolacrimal duct can be flushed quite easily depending on the disposition of the animal involved. On rabbits, we've numbed the eye and are able to flush it in a matter of seconds. It takes an experienced hand to guide a catheter (of sorts) through the duct, but this is easily learned.

I'm not a proponent of administering drugs will-nilly. I would have a vet visit, x-rays and then the vet should be able to determine if the duct is blocked, and why. For some reason, some animals develop and continue to have blocked ducts and need them flushed every so often.

 

[ticklechin]

I was told on numerous occasions by those that have tried to have it done, vets who have tried to do it for owners and by my own vet and vet dentist that chinchillas cannot have their ducts flushed successfully. In my first post I stated the chin should have the x-ray due to the long term issue with the eyes, IMO that is the first thing on chinchillas that needs to be ruled out.

 

[Sycamore Chins]

That's interesting. Did they say why? What do they do for the chins who need it flushed? It can be quite uncomfortable to have a blocked duct like that.

I've never done it on a chin or ever seen a chinchilla with a blocked duct. I don't know why it couldn't be done, the only thing I could see as a limiting factor would be their size.

 

[ticklechin]

That is what I was told, the ducts are too small.

 

[ticklechin]

Also, the chin should have the florescein stain test to check for a actual tear duct blockage if the x-ray is inconclusive and its plugged by something else such as scar tissue or debris.

 

[mishellyshel]

i am going to try the drops for a week or so and if the eye issue comes back he is going in to see her and get xrays. the eye issue has been intermittant and this is the first time i am using drops. i was using the terramycin gel and trimeth over the last month. its just strange because it will go away for several days or weeks and then i notice the goo. no wetness. no other "signs". i think i am going to take his dust bath away too. in looking back, every night i took him out to take the meds, he was dusting too. this is my first time with an eye issue, so hopefully i will get it resolved soon. if i do need xrays, i will request a digital copy to post here. i love my vet but i just know that there is so much more experience here viewing the xrays.

 

[mishellyshel]

So jack has been on the drops for 2 weeks. his eye looks pretty good....for now.
I was wondering how long I am supposed to be administering the drops. I have been putting 1 drop in each eye 1 time at night.

Do I stop now and see if his eye resumes to being gooey OR do I continue for another week. And if it comes back to I do another round of treatment and add in Tri Meth?? Or at this point do I take him to the vet. I noticed he is eating a lot more, could be a coincidence, could be him feeling better. He has been a very good chin during this whole ordeal. so sweet and willing to let me help him. Some of my others are such spazzes!

 

[ticklechin]

When I use them the RX is twice a day for 10 days. How long have the symptoms been gone?

 

[Chinmama]

Mine were every 6 or 8 hours, but ZZ had a scratch on his eye. It took about 8 months for it to heal completely.

 

[mishellyshel]

Pretty much after the 2nd or 3rd day the goo in both eyes was gone. He still gets white chunks of dust in his eye the day after he dusts. Shuld I do twice a day or stop & see if symptoms come back?

 

[ticklechin]

I would stop and see what happens, if it does come back then the chin needs to return to the vet for the tests and x-rays.