red eyes in new foal

[yellerroseintx]

I checked for eyelashes they are pointed down...his eyes seem real red and runny...I cleaned them out will watch him..any ideas what else to look for or why? thank you for any input...

 

[Reignmaker Miniatures]

I'm no expert on what the causes could be but several of my foals have been born with red and goopy eyes. First one I had like that I waited, watched and wiped. When I finally decided at 4 or 5 days to treat it I got some polysporin eye drops and they cleared up in about 2 days of treating 2x a day. Now I just go ahead when I see the eyes are like that after 24hrs I treat right away and it seems to be gone by the next day on one treatment.

 

[backwoodsnanny]

Harvey also had one very red eye though it was the white part that was red and vet gave me ointment to put in. There is another thing that causes red eye but I cant remember what it is maybe if this bumps your question up someone else can help you. In Harvey's case it was just the extreme pressure of his tight birth and the ointment cleared it right up.

 

[MSRminis]

I had a foal with red eyes-scared the BLEEP out of me. Vet said it was a form of conjunctivitis caused by the trauma of birth. An eye ointment and a couple of days and it was gone.

 

[Doobie]

Mine have been born with red eyes ...

I was told it was from the trama of birth.

It has always gone away within a couple days.

 

[yellerroseintx]

whew..thank you all soooooooo much......I cleaned them out and one eye is already looking normal....appreciate your input as always ((hugs)) OH!

 

[Jill]

When the vet was out to do the check up on Ducky after he was born, she put him on antibiotic eye ointment in one eye for a couple of days. He had a mild iritation.

 

[Suzie]

We have had several foals this year with red eye. Not sure why this year. I use eye wash and watch closely. All of ours have cleared within 3 days. Human eye wash is very safe and handy to keep on hand for any sort of eye irritation, etc. I keep it in my foaling kit.

 

[Joanne]

The trauma of birth can cause the reddness in the eyes. The swelling and reddness goes away in a few days. We keep human eye wash in the foaling kit and use it on those red eyes, as well as those that have that thick gooey fluid in them and those that are tearing alot. It seems to sooth the eyes. We also keep human RX eye ointment on hand and often this will releave the eyes.

Just laying around on the bedding when they are just born can be a problem. Good to catch these and treat early.

 

[yellerroseintx]

thanks..by eye wash you are referring to the saline solutions like for contact lens or the visine type for redness. irratation. I have been wiping them daily with a warm compress and it also has seemed to help...he seems to like it..but will wait for your reply on which type to use..I also have a genamicin eye solution ....??? oh..and I also have the stuff that is basically a petroleum based eye ointment used for soothing pinkeye....

 

[Just Us N Texas]

I clean my eyes, and my animals eyes with Bausch & Lomb eye wash. It has a cup that fits perfectly over the human eye. I would not use Visine, Murine, or any of those things. Just plain eye wash.

 

[Laura]

I had a foal with red eyes-scared the BLEEP out of me. Vet said it was a form of conjunctivitis caused by the trauma of birth. An eye ointment and a couple of days and it was gone.

Ditto here, red eyes after birth for us have always been caused by a tight/prolonged birth.

 

[Suzie]

I use Bausch and Lomb Eye Wash. Never use Visine or anything else like that. I do not use antibiotics either. Some humans and animals have a worse reaction to the antibiotic in ointments and drops than the original irritant.

If just plain B&L Eye Wash does not help, time to get the vet to prescribe. Do not use contact lens solutions either. Some can have preservatives that are an irritant also.

 

[wildoak]

A tight birth can cause little blood vessels to break which causes temporary redness. Eyelashes in the eye are a pretty common problem too - entropion, ectropion - I forget which is which LOL. Beyond that, the only problem we have had with foal eyes has been just irritation from bedding, dust, wind...

Eye issues that don't resolve pretty quickly are a red flag to me, time for the vet.

Jan

 

[Miniv]

Two primary reasons for blood shot eyes for our foals -- when they happen are........one - the birth was tight which caused pressure to the foal's eyes. It's almost like they are born with "black eyes" because of the trauma. Two - their eyelashes may be turned under or rubbing which is something we automatically check for.

The birth trauma redness tends to clear up in a matter of a day or so. The other may cause some gook to form and rinsing their eyes with B & L wash is the first action we take, after "flipping" their little eyelids to make the lashes turn outward.