sandy eyes

[stevesel 18]

My lakey x russell went to ground today while i was walking my dogs,i found her after about a half hour searching and she was in an old earth that is a deep and really sandy place. I did not know where she was exactly as she had no collar on and couldnt have dug her anyway as we were on forestry commision land and it was an old badger earth.

I could hear her so i tied the lurcher and the other terriers up and waited,calling her when nobody was about.

Trust her to pick the first warm day for ages and right on a tourist route.

She has never stayed long enough to be dug to always out within 15 minutes,quicker if it bolts, i thought she wouldnt be long,how wrong was i. Two hours after i found her she emerged with both eyes firmly shut,i tried to wash out the sand with some water but without much luck.

She hasnt opened her eyes since, any ideas what i should do?

.

[redmoor 0]

Get some tea bags, let them soak in tepid cooled boiled water for a while then drip them over her eyes, you will have to wash out her eyes to get rid of some of the sand. Its possible that the sand may scratch her corneas, so watch out for small ulcers on her eyes. It would be good if you had either some Viscotears (you can get these in any chemist) or Fucithalmic an all purpose cream/ointment for animals eyes. I would just keep rinsing her eyes, try not to let her rub her face/eyes along the carpet/kennel floor as she will cause more damage. Am sure she will be fine after the sand starts coming out.

[ferret15 0]

i would go get some optrex from the chemist or supermarket ( it is safe to use on your dog i used it before i was recommend to by my vet cheaper than there stuff ) but if it hasn't cleared by the morning i would get the dog to the vet as it could end up blind !! it could just be scratched but is it worth taking the risk waiting to see what happens ??

[higgins 75]

not sure what damage is done here,but a good eyewash should be first,and if there is no sand/grit

left a bit of vaseline may stop the eyelids sticking,all the best,

Higgins.

[skycat 6,174]

All you need to do is get a syringe, the little plastic ones, with no needle on the end. Fill a cup with COOLED BOILED WATER, fill the syringe then hold her eyelids as open as possible: might need two of you to do it and hold the dog. Then sluice the eye out very gently: don't force the plunger down hard or you will damage the eye: just run the water over the surface of the eye starting at the corner of her eye nearest her ear, so it runs out naturally at the front corner, where her eye would naturally weep. You'll see sort of wet 'sausage' shapes of sand coming out at the front corner of the eye. Pull the lower and upper eyelids up as far as you comfortably can for the dog and you'll probably see lots more sand tucked right up against the eyeball where it disappears into the head.. Just keep filling the syringe and washing the eye out VERY GENTLY.

 

The best ointment to use is FUCITHALMIC OINTMENT. Its an ointment for humans, but vets routinely prescribe it for conjuctivitis in dogs as well. It is antibiotic and very soothing (I've used it on myself and it really takes any soreness straight out) so the dog won't feel the need to keep rubbing its eyes making them worse.

 

Fucithalmic is a prescription only ointment: though if you have sore eyes yourself (chuck a handful of sand in your eyes LOL) the doctor will prescribe it for you if you ask for it by name saying its the only one that works for you! Cheaper than the vets! Keep it in the fridge and it'll last for months. You only need one drop in the corner of each eye once a day for 2 -3 days and that will generally be enough.

 

This is how I've treated my terriers eyes for years and I've never had a problem. Mine work to ground in very fine silty, like fine sand, earths and their eyes get full of the stuff every time they go to ground. I always wash out their eyes like I've described as soon as they get home after they've been to ground, and you won't need to use any ointment as long as you do it straight away in future.

 

Hope this helps.

[stevesel 18]

Thanks for the advice,i washed the eyes out again last night but she still has har eyes shut today so i suppose its the vets this morning. I wonder if the vet will have anything to say about the cuts on her muzzle(i think it was the brambles that caused it )

[redmoor 0]

These brambles are hellova sharp this time of year!!

 

The Vet will pop a stain in her eyes to show up any scratches/abrasions on the cornea, this 'dye' will 'stick' to the ulcers and the rest of the dye naturally drains down the nose, she will probably need some pain relief in the form of Metacam or Rimadyl and Fucithalmic to put in the eyes, in addition to this he may give you drops to dilate the eyes (if the pupils go very small there is a risk of Uveitis and permanent damage) and oral antibiotics. My PRT has had thorn tips broken off in her eyes so many times, they tend to heal pretty quickly.

 

Hope she is ok and your bill isnt too large.