Could it be a blocked tear duct ?

[m3gan]

Just had my new boy for nearly 4 weeks he arrived with weepyish eye and have been treating him with saline solution, and it does seem better, but wonderif it could be a blocked tear duct; any advice on how i would know? Thanks very much for any info, would be gratefully received!!

 

[Stinkbomb]

My old pony had blocked tear ducts and we suspected Inky had too. The only way to tell as far as i know is to get the vet out. They syringe some green stuff up the tiny hole in the nostril and see whether it comes out of the eye. If it struggles or doesnt come out then hey ho blocked tear duct.

My old ponys was cleared doing this but it soon blocked up again.

 

[Box_Of_Frogs]

Hi M3gan. You might need to watch this VERY carefully. Could be nothing, as Stinkbomb says. But it could be something more worrying. As Stinkbomb says, the vet will test whether the tear ducts are open by putting flouroscene in the eye. This is the bright green dye that is normally used to show up eye ulcers but in this instance, it's useful as it washes off the eye and down the tear duct so should show as a bright green trickle out of the left or right nostril (depending on which eye) in just a minute or 2. No green dye, or barely a trickle, or a trickle that takes 20 minutes or more to appear could mean a blocked tear duct. Blocked tear ducts can be surgically flushed but they won't guarantee that it won't happen again ... depends what caused it in the first place. The next question is does your new ned have just weepy eyes or is there infected goo coming out too? If he has conjunctivitis (which may be linked to blocked tear ducts) then you need expert veterinary advice as to the long term prognosis. My new ned - bought from a riding school - had apparently had conjunctvitis for years and years. They had never bothered to properly clear it up, except for a once in a blue moon wipe with cold tea. Out of the blue, just 2 weeks after I'd bought him and had my vet check his eyes, something traumatic happened in his stable overnight and his eye clouded over and that was the start of a 6-month battle to save the eye. The bog standard conjunctivitis had flipped over into an autoimmune disease called superficial keratitis and despite £4,000 and 3 trips to a specialist eye hospital, the eye eventually had to be removed. Saying that, my ned is still a happy, safe boy and we hack out and do all sorts of stuff. But the expense and heartache was awful and my ongoing terror now is that when I bought him he had TWO gungy eyes. If his remaining eye ever starts to go down the same route, we're in BIG trouble. I guess if it was me, I'd get the vet out to have a look, test the tear duct and talk over the findings with you. Good luck! x

 

[Stinkbomb]

Well put!!! I knew he flushed it one way....in the eye out the nostril not the other way around as i said!!!

 

[CazD]

Echo Box of Frogs - I would get the vet out to check. I came back from holiday 6 weeks ago to find my mare had a very weepy eye with the tear stain running down her face and under her chin. I got the vet out, thinking she had perhaps poked herself in the eye rooting around in the hedge. It turns out she has Equine Recurrent Uveitis, even though she has never had any previous problems in the 18 months I have owned her. She is apparently virtually blind in one eye and has the start of a cataract in the other eye. I am still treating her with eyedrops and bute some six weeks later as we are struggling to get the eye to respond. You cant be too careful when it comes to eyes - definitely one for the vet!