effects of atropine

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lucymay9701

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Please could anyone tell me how long it takes for the effect of atropine to wear off. My horse was diagnosed with a small ulcer in her eye last Wednesday and given atropine twice daily for 2 days, bute and millions of doses of antibiotic drops! The vet came back on the Friday and was really pleased with her progress - she said all the ulcer had gone and just to carry on with the antibiotic drops for a few days (atropine finished last Friday morning). I'm a bit worried that her pupil is still really dilated and whether the light will damage her eye because of this. I wasn't given any special instructions to keep her in when she came again last Friday but I have kept her in during the day anyway as you can see the bright light makes it uncomfortable for her. However she still looks out of her stable and I'm worried if this could cause any permanant damage with her pupil being dilated? I'm waiting for the vet to get back to me but in the meantime getting worried as to whether I should shut her top door and things. I think she'd rather have a bit of discomfort than have me do that but I'm just a bit worried about any long-term damage.
Any advice much appreciated!
 
Hi Lucy

The atropene should have cleared in 5-7 days. You should ideally put a dark fly mask on her so that the light wont damage her eye.

We have a number of vets on here, perhaps you could PM Star or Ann-Jen for further advice.

Good luck with your mare and do let us know how she is.
 
The effects of atropine in the horse can, on occasion, last for several weeks depending on the concentration and dose used. It is probably wise to protect the retina from bright light whilst the pupil recovers its abilty to constrict.
 
My daughters pony had an intensive course of treatment earlier this year which involved atrophine. Dont worry she was several weeks before her pupils matched, it took so long that I was beginning to believe they never would but they are fine now.
 
It won't do her eye any harm - if anything it will reduce the risk of scars forming within the eye as a result of any secondary uveitis and constricting the pupil in the long term The effects should continue to wear off gradually. The risk of damage to the eye as a result of light is minimal as she will just close her eyes if she finds it too bright.
I wouldn't worry too much.
 
Thanks everyone, I feel a bit better now. I'm going to ring the vet back tomorrow just to check on the dose and concentration used but as I didn't hear anything back on Monday I assume she's not too worried either. x
 
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