Pot bellied pig eye discharge

Question
My 7 year old pig has copious amounts of reddish brown discharge from his eyes. It's sticky and mats up on his eyes and down his face.  His skin is also extremely dry and flakes off in big pieces. He's been treated with Ivermectin a couple times but problem continues. He hates being washed so it's hard to keep his face clean and his eyes clear.

Answer
Pigs are prone to entropion, a condition where the eyelid rolls inward and the eyelashes are pressed against the eyeball. Pot-bellied pigs tend to have a lot of fatty pads in their faces. When these pigs gain weight, their cheeks and faces puff out. This makes the condition much worse.

Entropion interferes with eyesight, so your pig is probably both uncomfortable and unable to see well. This makes him jumpy and uneasy about having his eyes touched.

Start by working with him during his usual nap time or just after bed time. Sleepy pigs are easier to work with. Tell him you're going to touch him before you do it. Start with a belly rub, and slowly work your hands towards his face.

Start with just your fingers, or soft paper towel, dry or moistened with plain warm water. Don't try to use room temperature or cold water, pigs generally don't like cold, wet things. When you get your hands up to his face, open his eye and take a look. Very gently, pull the eyelid away from the eye and towards you, just enough to make sure his lashes are out and away from his eyeball. It may take several days of working with him to get to this point, but that's ok. Go slow, take your time, but keep at it.

You can use any lotion made for people on your pig. Corn Huskers is an inexpensive and readily available brand. Again, don't try to apply it straight from the bottle at room temperature, that's too cold for most pigs comfort. Warm it up by dropping the bottle into a bowl of hot water for a few minutes.

If piggy is on the plump side, loosing weight will help. As the fat pads in the face shrink, there will be less pressure on the eyeball and lash.

Entropion can be treated with surgery, but only if piggy is at a healthy weight. If his eyeballs are sunken into fat pads, surgery will be difficult or impossible, and the risk of serious infection is very high, because the incisions will not be able to drain correctly.