left eye with mucus
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Our 9.5 year old Spinone Italiano was prescribed three weeks of 500mg Cephelexin following ACL surgery on May 30, 2013 – around mid-June she began to experience problems with her eyes.
July 1 we brought her to the vet who prescribed an ointment 2x a day for a week (Neomycin and Polymyxin B Sulfates and Dexamethasone Ophthamic Ointment), which initially seemed to work. However, within a week or so, the symptoms returned.
We called requesting more ointment, which we were given, but it was suggested that if she was still having problems after another week to bring her back in.
Within days of her second bout with eye issues, she experienced a nasty moist dermatitis on the right side of her face. We brought her in for that and were given another week’s worth of Cephalexin, a topical antibiotic, and told that Prednisone (20mg b1000) should be prescribed, but not while she was still taking Rimadyl prescribed by the surgeon who did her knee. Her last Rimadyl was the following day, so we were given Prednisone but told not to begin using it until the following week.
We were able to alleviate the discomfort of the dermatitis and stop it’s spreading with a combination of Vetericyn and EMT Gel and did not require the Prednisone. Much to our relief, as we were concerned about the antibiotic having messed up her immune system to begin with and were afraid the Prednisone might add to an already weakened immune system.
Meanwhile, the eye issue continued. We were forced to seek assistance once more and – without any idea of what else to do – on August 15 had to succumb to four weeks of Prednisone use (2x a day for 2 weeks, then every other day for 2 weeks). We just began our fourth week today, and except for a bit less mucus production than when we began, her eyes look just as red and droopy, the whites of her eyes are still a bit bloodshot, and we still have to occasionally clean the mucus out of her eyes.
The vet assures us the problem is an allergy and that the steroid is necessary to “stop the cycle”. She’s never had allergies. Ever.
We don’t feed her junk (we follow The Whole Dog Journal’s advice for both dried, canned and dehydrated dog food) and she’s always been healthy. This recent three-week bout of antibiotics is the first time she’s EVER been on a broad spectrum antibiotic, and I think she just blew up her immune system.
She’s also been experiencing a yeasty odor and itching on her chin in addition to the eyes and moist dermatitis. I think while the Prednisone has helped a little, it’s only adding to the problem.
We began a dog supplement called Dinovite in early July, Seacure (hydrolyzed white fish) on August 21, and have been adding a super probiotic called Symbion For Life 3x a day – all in the hope of supporting and/or strengthening her immune system so that once the Prednisone is done in another week, we won’t have to continue and we can help her back to a state of balance more naturally. But we’re also concerned that her eyes continue to look a bit scary to us.
She hasn’t lost her appetite (in fact the begging has increased since the Prednisone began), she’s still cheerful and rolicky on romps. She has no problems with her digestion or bowels and otherwise seems comfortable.
Perhaps we’re more concerned than she is about it, but I have seen her paw at her eyes as if scratching an itch, and we often catch her rubbing her chin on the carpet and deck in an effort to relieve the itch there.
We fear the eye problem may actually be something other than an allergy and that it may get worse if it’s not addressed appropriately, so we’re just looking for a second opinion.
All photos, except “happy girl”, were taken within minutes of each other this morning.
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