[Gpdd] Health-- third eyelid inflammation

[Dr Kay Dudman]

Dear Deb

According to Guinea Lynx, there is no evidence for a third eyelid, see:

http://www.guinealynx.info/eyes.html

One of my piggies, Pearl, had an abscess in the corner of her eye
(the ear side), and my vet was able to flush this out under anaesthetic.

Another one of my piggies, Felicity, had a cataract, and then this caused
trouble after a couple of years, ending up with her needing Vexol
(rimexolone, which is a corticosteroid) eye drops, which really helped and
removed the inflammation (uveitis), and prevented any surgery being required.

Yet another piggy, Maxwell, had some inflammation in his eye and was
prescribed Tiacil.  This made his eye worse, so I stopped this, put him
temporarily (i.e. overnight) on Hypromellose (which is like artificial
tears, offers lubrication without antibiotic properties) and saw my vet
again the next day and he was then treated successfully with Maxitrol.

Another eye preparation that might help is Fucithalmic.  Obviously the
best treatment will depend on the cause, but trying something else might
work.  What I would recommend is that you ask your vet to try another set
of eye drops, as it is possible that the eye drops themselves are causing
problems, and another prescription is certainly worth trying if it can
remove the need for surgery.  If the eye is getting worse with the drops
you are using, I would certainly ask for something different.

A documented side effect of Fluriprofen is redness or swelling of the eye
or eyelid, see:
http://www.drugdigest.org/DD/DVH/Uses/0,3915,6121%7CFlurbiprofen+Ophthalmic+Drops,00.html

There is some information on Vexol here (steroid):
http://www.drugs.com/cons/Vexol.html

and information on Fucithalmic here (antibiotic):
http://www.medsafe.govt.nz/Consumers/cmi/f/fucithalmic.htm

If the eye is bulging, it could be something as simple as fatty eye, which
actually doesn't need treatment, unless there is also inflammation.  See:
http://www.treenspigs.com/care/focus/fattyeye/fattyeye.html
http://goto.glocalnet.net/mars/sjuk/fattyeye.htm

See also:
http://www.oginet.com/pgurney/eyeinjuries.htm
http://web.onetel.net.uk/~petergurney/e.html#_EYES

One other thing you might like to try is to check whether Molly has anything
stuck in her eye (like a grass seed or piece of hay).  If your vet can
pull her eyelid back, or down, it should be possible to see if anything is
there, and then remove it with blunt ended tweezers and a little local
anaesthetic.

Your vet should be able to check the surface of the eye is OK by putting
in a drop or two of fluoroscein and examine the eye under ultra violet
light.  The fluoroscein will fluoresce under the UV light, and it will be
possible to see if there are any scratches or any other kind of damage to
the surface of the eye itself.

If it's any comfort, many people have fluoroscein in their eyes to check
the fit of contact lenses, and I've used fucithalmic drops myself for a
corneal abrasion and they are very soothing).

Sorry this has turned out to be so long, I just hope it helps.

Best wishes

Kay