*A Shih Tzu keeps having eye discharge

Sunday Apr 19, 2015

"His left eye keeps discharging thick pus daily" the lady had consulted a vet 2 weeks ago. The vet prescribed eye gel and eye drops and advised normal saline eye wash daily. "She said the dog's eye would recover soon."

"Did the vet really guarantee that?" I asked.
"If not," she replied. "I should go back to her again. But I am not doing that!"
"When was the left eye injured?"
"About 2 to 3 months ago." she was not sure of the exact date. She had been treating the eye injury with eye drops herself but the eye got worse.
"Shih Tzus have protruding eye balls," I said. "The eyes get injured easily, becomes ulcerated and scarred. Eye injuries are emergencies. Treatment by the vet should be done within 24 hours to prevent scratching of the eyes. Did the vet advise an Elizabeth collar to wear?"
"No," she said.
"The left eye cornea is dull compared to the right eye," the owner noted the scarring.

Dr Daniel sedated the dog, got the hairs around the face and ears clipped off so that the eyes do not get loose hair irritations. The eyes were irrigated with saline. The 3rd eyelid was elevated to flush out any hairs and debri. I gave a subconjuctival injection of antibiotic and anti-inflammatory. The dog went home with eye drops and a dry eye ointment as well as e-collar. He will have to stay away from the wind and sun and wear the E-collar 24 hours daily for 2 months. There was no deep corneal ulceration based on fluorescein stain test.

I cannot guarantee normal tear production as the owner had delayed seeking vet treatment for 2-3 months. It is hard to predict the outcome as to whether the eye will recover fully.  To follow up in a month's time.

A Shih Tzu's eyes are most easily injured. Treatment within 24 hours by your vet is important to save the eyesight.