Possible Eye Infection?

Question

Right Eye  

Closer   About 2 days ago I noticed that guinea pig's right eye looked like it was weeping, then, the next day his eye started to recede into his eye; the other eye is perfectly normal. His eye is starting to droop, it looks red at the bottom of his eye, and there is some discharge. I really want to take him to the vet but my mom won't let me; she only sees him as dirty, stinky pig. He's eating and drinking like before but I'm not sure if he's truly okay. Is there anything I can buy to help him? Some ointment or medicine without having to see a vet? Any suggestions would really help, I love him and I can't bear to lose him...

Answer
There's definitely a problem in that eye. Eye infections or injuries will indeed cause the eyeball to recede such as he's doing.

There are a couple of things you can do to treat it. First thing you need to do is to keep that eye clean. A cotton ball moistened in plain water can be used to wipe the eye. Don't try to touch the eyeball, just wipe and drainage from it.

You can also irrigate, or flush, the eye with some saline. Saline solution is a bit expensive to buy but you can make your own. Take one cup of water (preferrably bottled water) and one fourth teaspoon of salt. Bring the water just barely to a boil, then add the 1/4 tsp of salt. Stir it well. Let it cool. You have what  is called "Normal Saline" which in an IV bag is .9% Sodium Chloride.

Of course the solutions used in a hospital or doctor office settings are processed differently and are sterile, this formula pretty closely compares to the saline used for medical treatment. Our patients that have wounds they need to cleanse and dress at home are taught how to make and use this 'salt water' as it's so much cheaper than having to purchase the kind we use in the hospital or office. It's perfectly appropriate and safe for use on your pig to wash his eye.

To flush the eye (which is another term for irrigation) you can put a cotton ball in that solution and squeeze it over the eye so that some of it runs into the eye itself. If we use plain water it is irritating to the eye.

Our bodies and those of animals are mostly water, but it is salty water. Think of how your tears taste, they are salty. By using this saline (salt) solution the tissues do not become irritated because this is like dropping tears into your eye.

If you can get some Teramycin eye ointment that's a great way to start. You use this after you have cleansed and irrigate the eye. Put a tiny dab of ointment in the corner of his eye. He will try to shut the eye, but if you've put the ointment on there then very gently massage the closed eye and the ointment will get in there.

If you cannot find Teramycin eye ointment there's another breeder trick that has been successful in treating eye problems. Get some Vitamin A capsules, not tablets. They must be the gel capsules. Any brand will do, buy the least expensive kind you can find.

Most grocery stores and of course drug stores carry Vitamin A capsules. If you're not sure whether they are the gel liquid capsules, just ask the pharmacist. It should say so on the bottle. What you are going to use is the liquid inside the capsule.

Cut the tip of the gel capsule just a little bit, then hold it over the eye (not too far away, you need to be about an inch from the eyeball. Squeeze the liquid into the eye. What it does is the same thing the Teramycin ointment does:  it lubricates the eyeball and that helps it to heal.

One more thing you can use is Visine eye drops. Again, they are nothing more than a lubricant for the eye. When injured our eyes tend to get dry, and that hurts. I've also used Visine with great success.

You will need to do this twice a day. Cavies respond pretty fast, usually within three or four days. If the eyeball itself was injured it could possibly cause blindness in that eye. But that won't keep him from still living a happy life.

These choices are far less expensive that a trip to the vet. I've used them many times in the past ten or twelve years and had wonderful success. Don't give up on him. I think you can take care of this quite well by yourself. And please, let me know he he is doing. I'm always very concerned about how things are going in times like this. So don't hesistate to write me again.