Cloudy Eye

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FlipFlop5

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Just wondered if anyone could help with this one...

My horse was diagnosed with a UV sensitive eye about 4 years ago, since then his left eye has always been slightly cloudy, but not dramatically ( its controlled by a fly mask fairly well) and his vision has always seemed fine.

Bought him in yesterday and his eye seemed alot cloudier ( he had the mask on all day), evented him today and inbetween phases it seemed partially closed. There's no discharge and his membranes dont seem red.

Does anyone have any ideas what this could be? can UV sensitvity get worse Have got the vet coming at the end of the week, but if it seems any more serious will rearrange!

Thanks
 
Does he suffer from uveitis?
Personally, if it is like that I would have the vet out asap. Having a horse who suffered from recurrent uveitis, I would always be extra cautious with eyes. The cloudyness could be down to an ulcer or anything really. Hope you find out what it though and your horse is ok :)
 
A cloudy or milky appearance to the cornea is always a medical emergency. It is the first clear sign of damage to the cornea. This damage could very well be linked to a change in your horse's existing uveitis, especially as your horse is now partially closing the eye. You will already know that uveitis is also known as moon blindness because of the regular recurrence that used to be thought to be linked to the phases of the moon. It could also indicate a serious deterioration within the eye itself, since chronic conditions often lead to further problems associated with the long term, unresolved damage. My horse lost a 6 month battle to save his eye after chronic conjunctivitis (ignored by his previous owners) flipped over into superficial keratitis, an autoimmune disease. You need the vet out now.
 
Box_Of_Frogs said:
A cloudy or milky appearance to the cornea is always a medical emergency.
Click to expand...
I agree a Vet visit is definitely in order even with previous cloudyness any change should be checked by a Vet. The partial closing of the eye is one sign of possible discomfort or pain. Does he have a diagnosis, ie. the cause of the UV sensitivity? Did he have treatment for uveitis? It is an extremely painful condition when acute.
Hope it settles soon.
 
as a person who has uveitis...I would get the vet quickly...any changes can be painful and should be looked at - why changes have occurred needs to be established? may need some medication to ease a flare-up...
hope all is ok and he gets better quickly...
 
Classicalfan, that's not quite true that once the eye has been damaged there is no cure. My horse developed a cloudy cornea very suddenly. I'd only owned him about 3 weeks and had been told by the local vet (!!!) that his existing chronic and unresolved conjunctivitis needed no special care and to just wipe with water prn. Ha ha. The sudden onset of the cloudy cornea was referred to a specialist horse hospital and diagnosed as an autoimmune disease called superficial keratitis. The hospital told me that chronic conjunctivitis is a recognised pre-cursor to this disease. Not recognised by my vet it wasn't but that's another story - I wouldn't let that vet treat a stick insect now. My horse was in hospital a week the first time and with careful nursing and the very regular application of Optimmune (don't ask the price) the cloudiness was shrinking well and was expected to resolve completely. The only thing that stopped this happening was when a member of staff on my full livery yard stabbed my horse in his BAD eye with the pointy end of the Optimmune tube. The Optimmune was stopping his body from reacting to an infection that wasn't really there (auto immune disease) but when there WAS an infection there his body was unable to prevent the terrible damage that eventually meant he had to have the eye removed.
 
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