Conjuctivitis - effect & treatment

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Hutchlou

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Hi, bringing my muddy faced mare in from the field this morning I noticed that her eye was a bit pink, weepy & sticky with yellow gunk.
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I'm assuming this is conjunctivitis, just like my kids get!

So,
a) does it need to be treated (I bathed it with some water)
b) can human Optrex be used to treat it effectively
c) is it likely to have affected her behaviour in any way ie painful/ impairs her vision? She was really wild & naughty trying to lunge her this morning...

Thanks, I'm still really new to this and would love some advice.
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You are right bathing with water. When my horse had it i called the vet. You never know if anything is in the eye or if it is damaged. The vet will put some green dye in to check for ulcers etc. I was given drops and it cleared up in a few days. Maybe give them a ring for advice. His mood never changed as he is grumpy usually anyway.
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try using tea - my horse had it recently and i brewed up some black tea left to cool and squeezed it over his eye. cleared him right up over a few days.

He did end up with a yellow tinged face though (he's a grey)

hope she gets better soon
 
My vet told me that tea bags were good for bathing the eyes & I've also heard of this for children.

You can use one after making a cuppa - but don't add any milk or sugar first!

When my kids had blocked tear ducts, I used to use cotton wool dipped in clean boiled water. Allow to cool slightly, then use once only wiping from tear duct outwards. The tea bag can be used similarly.
 
use warm water to get the gunk off and then use t bags but only do it for a couple of days before calling the vet. My girl had conjunctivitis 18 months ago and it turned out to be a tumor on her 3rd eyelid. I don't want to scare you and it is not my intention at all but don't let it go on too long before you get it checked out xx
 
Optrex, cold tea, Golden Eye ointment - these things are all ok to soothe a sore or tired eye but they are not antibacterial and will not on their own clear up an attack of conjunctivitis. I'd have the vet out asap to check it out to make sure your ned hasn't scratched her eye rolling in the mud or got a foreign body in it. I'd treat it with great respect as rolling in mud can press mud into the eye and this can be the same mud that holds the bacteria that causes mud fever. Bog standard conjunctivitis infections are easy to clear up with antibx from the vet but untreated they can turn nasty.

I try to never miss an opportunity to warn people about how precious and fragile eyes are so please understand when I say that if anyone wants to see what chronic conjunctivitis, only "treated" by an occasional wipe with cold tea can look like after a few years, have a look at Sunny in my sig. His smart pirate eye patch protects his empty eye socket when he's travelling.
 
Ditto BOF - We had a long run with recurrent conjunctivitis, leading to scarring on her eye which turned out to be cancer which was causing the conjunctivitis ...... she's been treated, but if it returns, her next treatment will be to lose the eye.....

Don't mess with it - get it checked for ulcers. Please.
 
Thanks for all your advice. Hadn't thought about it being any more serious than when the kids get it
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I'll see how she is this morning and get the vet out if it is still bad.
 
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