green/yellow gunk in eye, could it be conjunctivitus?

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gemski

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Went to check the horse this morning and he has a lot of green/yellow gunk in his left eye.
I gave it a quick bathe with a luke warm salt solution and can't see any damage to the eye or foreign bodies so just wondering if it could be conjunctivitus (spelling).

The eye doesn't seem swollen or red just had this thick green/yellow discharge coming out of the corner of the eye and spreading along the bottom lid. His eye was fine yesterday jut a little weepy (normal for him at this time of year).

The Vet is coming tomorrow afternoon to another livery so will ask him about it tomorrow but just wondering if anyone had any idea's what it could be or am I worrying over nothing as he normally has weepy eyes in summer but its normally a clear/natural colour and not this yellow/green colour.
 
Could well be conjunctivitis. Is the eye membrane bright pink/red and swollen? If you are not confident or experienced in checking eye membranes, probably best not to. Leave it to the vet.

My horse gets this in windy weather and can is easily treated with ointment from the vets. In the meantime, keep regularly bathing the eye with salt water and fly free.

Would strongly advice the vet has a look and it is handy as you can split the cost with another livery.
 
thanks for the reply.

Will get vet to check him when he comes up to see the other livery's horse tomorrow afternoon.
Couldn't see any swelling this morning and the membrane that I could see didn't look too red but was quite scabby like when they get sunburnt muzzes (if that makes sense).
He is an appaloosa so has a lot of pink around the eyes which could prehaps be sunburt.

Could the sunburn be causing the weeping and gunk I wonder?
 
Anything is possible welshspotty but be very alert to the fact that green gunk is a sign of infection in the eye, not just sunburn. It's almost certainly conjunctivitis but the $64,000 question is why? Ned could have got something in his eye, could have poked himself in the eye, could still have something in his eye, could have a problem inside his eye, could have a fly bite close to the eye. It could be a million things but in the worst case scenario, untreated conjuctivitis can result in having to have the eye removed. I'd get the vet pronto. Also, please see previous posts on the Forum about the dangers of putting creams and ointments into a horse's eye as most ointments have a sharp, pointy end to the application tube (even if they are only plastic). If you try to put this sharp point right up close to the horse's eye and he jerks at the wrong moment (as they usually do!) you could end up scraping a huge scratch across the cornea or even puncturing the eye. This immediately becomes a critical medical emergency. It's much, much safer to apply the ointment to a clean finger tip and gently squish THAT into ned's eye instead. Obviously, long nails are a no-no at this time! PM me if you need any more info as, sadly, I'm a bit of a lay "expert" on this after my ned's conjunctivitis degenerated into a very dangerous autoimmune disease and - after a 6 month battle - the eye had to be removed. NB - Ned is now sound, happy and taking me on safe hacks or winning me rosettes whilst he engages in his favourite pastime of eating too much! x
 

Vet has just taken a look at the eye and he says its is conjunctivitus and prescribed some topical antibiotic ointment.

Looks like it has been spread from another horse in the field that has had it for the past week (only now been told by yard owner that this horse has had it) via flies.

Thanks for the advise regarding applying ointment with a clean gloved finger rather than from the tube. My horse is a bit of a nightmare with having things done with his eye's in particular so applying with the finger is the only option I think.

Hopefully is will clear up in a few days (fly mask will stay on 24hrs until all the horses are clear).

Thanks for all the advise,
 
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