
Our elderly hound (12 1/2) has eye ulcers, they began two years ago, it sounds awful but lost count as how many probably 8/9. His cousin who we lost 18 months ago had previously been diagnosed with corneal oedema which was treated with drops, steroid based, forget the name but not the price £30 for 3/5ml, did help for a while but suddenly a large ulcer developed & close to rupturing so his eye was removed. So when Otto first developed one it was thought perhaps he too had corneal oedema, took the decision not to take him to the specialist (a day's journey), as he's been & still is a hound with multiple problems from a pup & we'd made the decision that we'd not subject him to further surgery. He'd previously had a cyst/mass develop in the outer corner of his right eye which was removed some years ago & biopsy come back that it was related to autoimmune. Treatment for the ulcer, was re mend, spun blood, acular (steroid based) & ExOcin, it was not debrided or the lids sewn. For the first 6 weeks we applied drops every hour around the clock, little if any improvement so decision taken to stop at night to allow him to get some decent rest. The spun blood, was interesting as it's efficacy is 24 - 48 hours at most, & involved him having to go to the vet every morning for bloods, not the best start to the day, so asked if we could have it in smaller amounts with the remaining amount frozen, which we did & also his cousin donated blood so they only needed to donate every three weeks!
I'm not good with eyes & knowing how painful ulcers are we did discuss initially that perhaps the kindest option would be to call time but apart from when they first begin to appear/erupt they've not given him any problems. Yes he rubbed his eye first thing in the morning, otherwise no head shaking or holding it to one side, so our vet (who knows him very well) told me to stop honing in on his eye (now eyes) & look at him overall. Two years on as I've said he's had multiple ulcers, still does & small 'bubbles' appear, his sight is non existent especially in lower light levels but he's also deaf & this has effected him more than his sight - he can still run (lollop) after his ball & shows little to no concerns or problems with his eyes. Spun blood was stopped after 5/6 months, re mend I've cut back to every couple of hours (purchase online half the price) & basically use to keep eyes lubricated (he also has blocked tear ducts!) & they don't cause any discomfort. As mentioned previously steroids & eyes don't go together & only use very occasionally if I think he's in discomfort & again I think that's more about me than him. Sadly had to stop giving him P.L.T, old fashioned I know, but had been of great benefit to him for arthritis but have got him reasonably balanced now on other meds. I know Kerry (his vet) is not that keen that I still apply anti biotic drops twice daily but I'm irrationally scared to stop & when we have in the past, his eyes to me can look uncomfortably red. Sorry about the waffle, I also ensure that his eyes are clean & bathe them first thing & when required during the day but this is probably due to the blocked ducts & have done it for years. Good Luck. I think they're due to Autoimmune.