Uveitis

[bannerminis]

I thought I would share the story of Buck Uveitis.

Buck is my DD colt who will be 6 months old on Dec 5th.

Butt to go back a little around the end of Sept Buck developed sunburn (yes sunburn at the end of Sept in Ireland) but we think it was because he ate something to cause the sensitivity.

So he had the gunky eyes and the crusty muzzle. Anyway the vet put him on an antibiotic and and eye cream and I had a cream for his muzzle and he recovered very well and also very quickly.

A couple of wks later (after recovery) I thought he was a little lethargic but otherwise well (he has been out in 3 acres with his mother, a mare, stallion and 1/2 sister. They were all fat hairy and healthy just Buck was what I would call a little lethargic.

So I thought maybe he was a bit down after his sunburn and his meds so I started to give him an iron supplement in a feed and put a mineral lick out.

I spoke to the vets wife and said I would get her husband out to do bloods if he didnt pick up.

To my delight he did pick up and was back to himself and LOVED his lick.

So to my complete surprise I go to the field to check on them to find Buck laid down and just not looking right. I was mobbed by the others for the food so I got them fed and then went back to Buck.

He had very bad discharge in both eyes and and his beautiful blue eyes were gone and they had turned a horrible sludgy yellow/brown colour.

Thankfully I had the iphone with me so took a couple of quick picks and flew to the vets armed with my photos.

I met the vet back at the field within 20 mins and he was shocked. He didnt know what it was but we started him on eyedrops and an antibiotic straight away. He also took bloods.

So like it or not Buck was instantly weaned and I brought him back home for some intensive care. The vet came again on the Tuesday with his other tool (I dont know what its called) but its so he could look into the back of the eye and to also check for ulcers.

No ulcers and he could hardly see back to the retina. So we contacted the Ophthalmologist who called on the Wednesday.

She did a few tests on him and as she had received his blood results she said it all added up to Uveitis which he had developed from an infection that he had which had shown up in the bloods.

She said that she had seen worse cases then him make a full recovery so she was very hopeful with some aggressive treatment there was no reason why he wouldnt make a full recovery.

So he was to continue his antibiotic and he went on Atropine (to dilate his pupils that were almost no existent) the Atropine was twice a day for a few days till his pupils enlarged and then once a day for a couple of days and now its every other day or to effect.

His other eye drop is Pred Forte which is a steroid and he is on that 4 times a day and could be on it for 2 months. She is trying to prevent a recurrence by addressing it this way.

He was also put on an anti inflammatory for 5 days which worked a treat.

The vet was back on Thursday and is delighted with his progress thus far and will be checking on him again next Thursday.

Anyway I will now add the pictures that I have taken from the first day and since.

Excuse the first photos as they were taken with the iphone.

14th November

 

[bannerminis]

November 16th - taken by the Ophthalmologist

 

[bannerminis]

November 20th

Left eye

Right eye

 

[bannerminis]

November 22nd

Left eye

Right eye

 

[bannerminis]

And finally Today November 27th

Here you can see how much improved he is and also his eyes are now a sort of grey/blue with a hint of yellow.

The ophthalmologist wasnt sure what colour his eyes would be after this but looks like they might go back to some sort of blue

Left eye

http://s156.photobucket.com/albums/t35/Minimad1/Bucks%20eye%20infection/?action=view&current=Buckslefteye2crop.jpg

Right eye

 

[Eagle]

Wow thanks for the great explanation, he is so lucky that you were on to it so fast and thorough. Prayers that he makes a total recovery.

Renee

 

[bannerminis]

Thanks Renee,

The ophthalmologist said that as his eyes were blue it was more obvious then in a horse with brown eyes. The discoloration is blood products that have leaked into the eye.

She said that you might notice a horse with brown eyes had gunky eyes and maybe treated him with for an eye infection but he would not have been treated for the Uveitis.

She does expect his vision to be back to normal without any damage and so far its looking that way.

I am looking into buying a couple of fly masks for Buck especially for next Summer but he has a dinky little head and was wondering does anyone know where is the best place to order a foal fly mask and one then for a yearling.

 

[Eagle]

I think a fly mask is a good idea as he is possibly sensitive due to his colour. I will look for the address of where i got mine from.

 

[supaspot]

oh my word karina , i know you said he had an eye problem but I had no idea how bad they were ,Im so glad hes improving

 

[AnnaC]

UGH!! That looks horrific. Poor little lad. Thank goodness you were on it so quickly Karina and it's great that your vet and the specialist also responded so promptly.

And all this was from an earlier infection! Thank you so much for you indepth explanation and fantastic pictures - not only very interesting, but also a learning curve and a warning for those who think they might just have a simple eye infection.

Sending prayers for a full recovery.

 

[Equuisize]

Thanks Karina,

Excellent photo journal of Buck's Uveitis from beginning to hopefully a total recovery, very soon.

I'm sure Buck will thank you every day of his life for being right on top of his care.

This should hopefully give people, here, a mental tag to file in the back of their mind should they ever see something similar happen.

I saw an add recently that Farnam is making mini masks in a couple different sizes, maybe one of those would work?

 

[bannerminis]

Thanks everyone.

Although Nancy I am not sure if Buck is thanking me yet LOL. Although he is been very good considering I am putting drops in his eyes 4 times a day.

I have found a foal size mask on Ozark and I am in the process of ordering it plus a couple to suit him when he is older. But I will look into others and have a stock of them. No harm in having more rather then less.

I meant to say that I had a double dilute foal before and he never had any issues with his eyes or sensitivity and he was with me till he was 9 months old. Its very strange.

Even though Buck was treated with an antibiotic (for 10 days) and his eye cream there must have been some bit of an infection still there that reared it ugly head and the presented itself through the eyes.

Horses can get it through injury too but an infection is what gave it to poor Buck.

My vet has been great and Natasha the Ophthalmologist has been fantastic too. I had the choice to bring him to her (a good hr away) or for her to come to him but I felt he was too sick and also blind and he had been taken from his mother so felt he was going through enough so I paid the extra for her to come and see him at the house so no extra stress was put on him.

I hope that people do find it informative and might find it good for referencing in the future if anyone ever has a need to.

Here is my ophthalmologists website if anyone wants a look

http://www.eyevet.ie/

 

[shorthorsemom]

The farnam masks work great. They have pink for very small heads and the purple for regular sized B mini heads. Those of us with appys are firm believers in using fly masks to help prevent uveitis. Use them most of the year.

Is Buck appy? I can't tell the color from the photos. Is he also night blind? Just curious, I had a snowcap appy that couldn't see much at all once the sun set. I had a bout of eye issues from an injury a year ago and am very interested in eye health and prevention. Your photos are very educational, thanks for sharing.

 

[Kim~Crayonboxminiatures]

When he has "grown up" enough to wear them, I highly recommend the Cashel Crusader fly masks, the foal size is perfect for A size Minis. It's the fly mask that is recommended by Appaloosa researchers who research Uveitis in appys. I had an appy mini mare with Uveitis, I didn't know it until she had some vision loss (her only sypmtoms were swelling around the eyes off and on with a little bit of discharge. After her diagnosis by my vet, I did put her on MSM daily to help prevent inflammation & ground flax (also supposed to help with inflammation) and fly mask year round to help prevent any flare-ups.

Good luck with your little one! It sounds like your vets are wondeful, and you are doing amazing treating him too!

 

[lucky lodge]

wow,,my little colt has a ulcer but his eye just runs water and has a grey film over the eye..

he,s on antibotic ointment...

but what amazing change from his eye going yellow to back to blue,,,so how did he get his saw eye

 

[bannerminis]

Thanks for the names of the fly masks - he will have more then he knows what to do with them LOL.

Buck is on the Atroptine to effect (to dilate his pupils) and the steroid which he will be on for about 2 months.

He had an infection that presented itself through his eyes.

 

[JAX]

When I was having to dialate my mares eye I was told to keep her out of bright sunlight, the darker the better, Using a fly mask does help some but I think I'd still be trying to keep him out of direct light until you know his eyes are not so sensitive. JMHO

 

[Poodlepill]

Hi there, glad to see the pictures of your little guy on the mend.

My mini horse has Uvitis in one eye, my unlucky draw that when I got him his eye looked perfect but soon after I got him home I took him to the vet for what I thought was an ulceration of his eye from who knows what, his eye looked like a very mild version of your little guys eye but mine only with cloudy eye and just small glop of goo in corner of eye and tearing all the way down to his jaw and a tad squinty. We treated him and his eye got better. 3 months later it appeared again, I treated it and all cleared up in a week. 3 months-ish later it appeared again. In the mean time I am researching the net and discovered the Uvitis threads on many horse forums and concluded he has uvitis. I then purchased a Guardian Mask http://www.guardianmask.com/ He wears the eye shades that are 95% UV protectant. He hasn't had an uvitis attack in 8 months. He wears his mask 24/7 unless his buddy pulls it off or it gets really dirty or muddy. I have come to terms with the fact that he has to wear this mask the rest of his life to protect his eyes.

I would highly recoment the Guardian mask to protect your little guy from further outbreaks.