Uveitis :(

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tatty_v

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I'm feeling pretty low today as my gorgeous boy has been diagnosed with uveitis out of the blue, having never had any eye problems before. He has responded well to the finadyne and is now on 2 x bute a day for a fortnight before we reassess. The eye is open, the watering has stopped and he seems comfortable, with occasional itchiness just before he's due his next bute. I have ordered a Guardian mask and it should be arriving tomorrow. My vet is an opthamology specialist and assures me we have caught it really early, but I'm still really upset and worried about his future. Combined with managing his melanomas, it's all feeling quite overwhelming :(
 
So sorry to hear your woes. I can't offer you any advice as I've never had direct experience with this problem. I can only say, when researching this topic there are some troubling stories but the one thing you have in your favour is you have caught it early AND you have a specialist advising you. So take comfort in that and keep all your fingers crossed. In the meantime I'm sending you lots of good vibes and hugs!
 
Thanks Zuzzie :) He was looking well this morning and is very much enjoying the addition of breakfast to hide his bute in! The guardian mask arrives today so trying to feel more hopeful x
 
My lad had uveitis, in the end he had a cyclosporine implant fitted to try and control it, he was in full work and still jumping, sadly after a few years it spread to the other eye so we had to pts, he had other issues with his legs etc too though. I work in the optical industry so thankfully had hands on knowledge and was able to get his meds through practice which was cheaper for long term management. The guardian masks are great and was worth its weight in gold, he wore his 24/7 unless I was riding.
 
Thanks ellie_e. His guardian mask arrived today and he was such a super star about having it on. I just hope he leaves it on throughout the day but he's normally too busy eating to bother with things like that! The eye looks completely normal but we are continuing the bute to ensure that we eliminate all the inflammation. He's got a check up next week scheduled. Now educating myself about what signs to look for to try and make sure I catch any future flare-ups early (he made it easy for me this time by rubbing a patch of hair off his face under his eye but can't rely on that happening every time!)
 
Also look at Equine sun visors from the USA.

I have one with uveitis and glaucoma, and she's been wearing one of these for over 2 years now, and she's only had 2 flare ups in that time.

She wears it whenever she is not in the stable, all year round. This is the only mask she keeps on.
 
My boy had uveitis in 2013, we had the cyclosporine implant fitted which didn't work so we had the affected eye removed a few months later. He has been fine without it but I chose to retire him as he became spooky to ride. I wished I'd had the eye removed in the first place as he was in so much pain with it but I was hoping he would have 3 years relief with the implant.
 
tatty_v said:
I'm feeling pretty low today as my gorgeous boy has been diagnosed with uveitis out of the blue, having never had any eye problems before. He has responded well to the finadyne and is now on 2 x bute a day for a fortnight before we reassess. The eye is open, the watering has stopped and he seems comfortable, with occasional itchiness just before he's due his next bute. I have ordered a Guardian mask and it should be arriving tomorrow. My vet is an opthamology specialist and assures me we have caught it really early, but I'm still really upset and worried about his future. Combined with managing his melanomas, it's all feeling quite overwhelming :(
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Don't stress it can be managed well if you get a diary and make a note when an attack starts, of weather wind/sun etc how long the attack last and most important call vet in the onset. The quicker you get atropine in the less damage is caused. Keep a fly hood on in the stable when bright sunny or grey days as shavings dust etc can aggravated the condition. Also keep the mask clean, I used to wash it in the shower every 2 days. My horse got very little permanent damage

Well done for the guardian mask that is a good step forward.
 
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tatty_v said:
Thanks ellie_e. His guardian mask arrived today and he was such a super star about having it on. I just hope he leaves it on throughout the day but he's normally too busy eating to bother with things like that! The eye looks completely normal but we are continuing the bute to ensure that we eliminate all the inflammation. He's got a check up next week scheduled. Now educating myself about what signs to look for to try and make sure I catch any future flare-ups early (he made it easy for me this time by rubbing a patch of hair off his face under his eye but can't rely on that happening every time!)
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A little tip - when the eye cups start to concave inwards towards his eye so fear of touching his lashes . Pull them off and turn inside out so they become convex. That way there is no risk them touching his lashes and causing a flare up keep dust out too just rinse with water.

My horse used to shake her head like a fly around her when an onset attack was starting.
 
Thank you so much for the responses, it really helps to hear from those who have or are managing this condition. The good news is he has kept his mask on so far this morning - apparently he is completely unphased by it :) The tip about the sunshades on the Guardian mask makes a lot of sense, so thank you. I think the next step, assuming we can stop the bute when we are planning to, is to monitor him closely to see if I can work out the tics that will show an attack is starting. So I am closely watching blink rates and eyelash angles at the moment.
 
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