# Bella has a closed eye :(



## Dave (Aug 28, 2008)

Hey everyone

My smallest Chihuahua Bella has been keeping her eye closed and today, I have wiped away a mucus like discharge from the eye. I have three Chihuahua's and the other two are fine. I'm leaning towards it being something airborne that she acquired and I am keeping a close watch on her. Is it okay to administer a basic contact lens solution or a non medicated saline solution to assist in relief? If the situation has not improved by tomorrow, I will be taking her to the vet. I just hate seeing her uncomfortable.


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## michele (Jan 12, 2009)

I would see a vet,you can't ignore something to do with eyes,they are too precious


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## Dave (Aug 28, 2008)

I'll be able to take her in tomorrow. I think that in the meantime I should be applying a compress of some sort.


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## Huly (Mar 5, 2012)

I second! VET time


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## Dave (Aug 28, 2008)

I'll post an update after the visit tomorrow. I'm hoping just a small irritation or something along that lines.


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## susan davis (Mar 25, 2011)

IF there is an ulcer on the eye, I wouldn't want to put anything in it, without the vet telling me it was OK. Could you call your vet in the meantime?


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## Dave (Aug 28, 2008)

UPDATE

I put just warm water to her eye area to sooth it and at first she was reluctant but then allowed me to. It seemed to make her feel better. This morning she has the eye completely opened, there does seem to be what looks like a cloud over the bottom portion of the eye but it may just be discharge that hasn't come out yet. Waiting for the vet to call back.


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## Chiluv04 (Dec 19, 2013)

Dave said:


> UPDATE
> 
> 
> 
> I put just warm water to her eye area to sooth it and at first she was reluctant but then allowed me to. It seemed to make her feel better. This morning she has the eye completely opened, there does seem to be what looks like a cloud over the bottom portion of the eye but it may just be discharge that hasn't come out yet. Waiting for the vet to call back.



So glad to hear the good news. Let us know what the vet says. 😊


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## Dave (Aug 28, 2008)

she is going in at 4:15.I'll keep everyone posted...until then, she is resting


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## michele (Jan 12, 2009)

Hope all goes well,good luck


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## Zorana1125 (Oct 24, 2010)

Awh what a sweet little girl!, good luck at the vet, thinking of you! 

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## Chiluv04 (Dec 19, 2013)

What a pretty girl! Wishing you guys luck!


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## KrystalLeigh (Aug 17, 2011)

Good luck at the vet! This exact same thing happened to Odie and I tried flushing it as well because I thought something was stuck in there that I couldn't see. I took her to the vet ASAP and found out she had conjunctivitis. We just had to give her prescription eye drops and everything was good as new.  


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## Dave (Aug 28, 2008)

Hey everybody, thanks so much for your thoughts and support. So the vet put the green dye in her eye and suddenly she looked like the Green Lantern. It could have been caused by the three of them (all sisters) having an argument and Bella may have gotten the worst of it. The vet said it was good that I was applying warm compress to the eye and also said to say "good job" to the forum for suggesting a vet visit. It could have been worse if I waited a week or more. So, drops every two hours, once a day pain meds (vet said it is painful for her) and a return visit Friday morning for a progress check. Again, thank you all, its just amazing how these little ones can affect us when they aren't feeling well and you certainly offered comfort to my wife and I.


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## Chiluv04 (Dec 19, 2013)

Dave said:


> Hey everybody, thanks so much for your thoughts and support. So the vet put the green dye in her eye and suddenly she looked like the Green Lantern. It could have been caused by the three of them (all sisters) having an argument and Bella may have gotten the worst of it. The vet said it was good that I was applying warm compress to the eye and also said to say "good job" to the forum for suggesting a vet visit. It could have been worse if I waited a week or more. So, drops every two hours, once a day pain meds (vet said it is painful for her) and a return visit Friday morning for a progress check. Again, thank you all, its just amazing how these little ones can affect us when they aren't feeling well and you certainly offered comfort to my wife and I.



It's so good to hear that Bella is on the mend again. I truly hope you will stick around, as this forum is such a great community of people who truly love their pets and genuinely care about the welfare of others. Be sure to send us update pics of miss Bella once she's all happy and her normal self again 😊. Yours truly, Meoshia. 


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## Dave (Aug 28, 2008)

I certainly will and perhaps include the other 2 chuckle heads...LOL....When we brought Bella back from the vet yesterday, Hilton and Ariel acted like we brought home a new dog. new smells from the dye, blood being taken, other humans touching her...,,was quite comical.


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## Chiluv04 (Dec 19, 2013)

Oh that would be great! We'd love to see pics of your other two. Chi's are naturally comical creatures 😊


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## susan davis (Mar 25, 2011)

My chi was attacked by our next door neighbors 2 Jack Russells. Zarita was rolled around alot, with a puncture in her neck. I noticed right away that she was having a problem with her eye. Took her right in, and that dye lit up 2/3rds of her eye! It was a corneal abrasion. Healed within a couple of days with drops. Hope that your Bella has a similar outcome.


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## LadyDevlyn (Jul 8, 2013)

With Candi, it's hard to tell whether or not she has a "real" eye injury. Sometimes she is so happy to see us that she wags her whole body and whacks herself in the eye with the tip of her tail. She then has the squinty eye for about 12 hours. 


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## Dave (Aug 28, 2008)

LadyDevlyn said:


> With Candi, it's hard to tell whether or not she has a "real" eye injury. Sometimes she is so happy to see us that she wags her whole body and whacks herself in the eye with the tip of her tail. She then has the squinty eye for about 12 hours.
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


Thats Exactly how the oldest and smallest Hilton is. They tussle a bit and if she gets whacked in the eye then it usually is just a few hour thing. Of course I think that she plays it up a lot. She is my wife's dog and Bella and Ariel are more mine. I break all the rules with Bella and Ariel. They sleep right beside me under the covers at night, they get everything they want.


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## Dave (Aug 28, 2008)

As an Update to Bella

I have been giving her the eye drops every two hours even through the night. She is still eating, drinking and is acting more herself. I don't think I really see a lot of improvement in the eye though. I'm afraid that when we go back tomorrow, the green dye is still going to be seen in the majority of her eye. The vet indicated that the eye is healing and the drops were to help her out. If they didn't work, the next step was going to be to draw a certain amount of her blood and have it spun down to create a serum that would then be used to apply to her eye. That kind of worries me so hopefully it doesn't come to that. I'll post an update tomorrow after the visit. She goes in for 9:00 am. 
Thanks again for everyone's compassion and support. Truly an inspiration.


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## susan davis (Mar 25, 2011)

IF it is not healing, I've heard of stitching the eyelild closed for a week or so. Obviously, this needs sedation/anesthesia. Keep us informed.


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## KrystalLeigh (Aug 17, 2011)

Sorry to hear that things aren't better. With Odie, as soon a she had the drops she was fully opening her eye (and she was on no pain meds). Did they mention if there's swelling? I wonder if there's more damage than they can see. 


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## Dave (Aug 28, 2008)

Shes opening it completely now, squinting of course if I say anything in that "tone". I'm really hoping that i'm just being cautious in thinking the worst..When I just took them outside, Bella barked at the pool...which is pretty normal for her...


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## lulu'smom (Jan 4, 2012)

I'm so sorry Bella is having this issue. I sure hope tomorrow that she is recovering better than you think. I hope she isn't in too much pain. Keep on keeping us informed. Poor sweet girl.


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## Dave (Aug 28, 2008)

Off to the vets this morning. I'll post a new pic when we get there and hopefully, all good news today.


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## Huly (Mar 5, 2012)

let us know how it goes


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## Dave (Aug 28, 2008)

**UPDATE**

The area that was affected has shrunk to about half the size. Unfortunately the infection that came with it has gone internal. She was given an antibiotic shot and we continue with the drops. follow up appointment on Tuesday to see the progress.


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## Huly (Mar 5, 2012)

Dave said:


> **UPDATE**
> 
> The area that was affected has shrunk to about half the size. Unfortunately the infection that came with it has gone internal. She was given an antibiotic shot and we continue with the drops. follow up appointment on Tuesday to see the progress.


Don't forget to give her a pro biotic or yogurt


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## Dave (Aug 28, 2008)

Huly said:


> Don't forget to give her a pro biotic or yogurt


Cheers!!, never thought of that. Couple pics attached, one is at the doctor and the second was just now.


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## Huly (Mar 5, 2012)

Poor thing! Yes probiotics are a great help esp when on antibiotics


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## susan davis (Mar 25, 2011)

When Zarita had her eye injury from the dogs next door, she was also on antibiotics, due to a puncture wound. Everything cleared in a week. Lets hope she will be clear by the next vet visit.


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## Dave (Aug 28, 2008)

So Bella had her follow up today. I had to stop the pain medication due to noticing a bit of blood in her stool. She is taking the drops every 4 hours now and is a champ. Likely due to the eye not being as sore. The doc says the Ulcer is diminishing but will take a while to completely vanish. He is happy with the progress and will see her in another week. In the meantime, continue on the drops. He did mention giving her a steroid to speed up the process but that scares me a bit so if she isn't in any pain and time will do the job, I'd prefer to just do that. The less medicine in these little bodies is the best course of action . So now..Hilton has an issue but I'll start a new thread for that...


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## Huly (Mar 5, 2012)

Sounds great!


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## mom of caesar (Jun 24, 2014)

You probably could use basic sterile saline solution. It's nothing but sterile water. Solutions made for contact lens cleaning or sterilizing should not be used as they have other chemicals in them. She could have scratched it when playing with the others or possibly just a piece of dust got in. Sounds like she will be fine. Let us know what the vet says.


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## Dave (Aug 28, 2008)

So the fifth appointment went well. The eye is still cloudy and the vet said it is going to take time. You can actually see a flat spot on the eye, he says it isn't hurting her but to try and help things along, he has prescribed a cream now for the eye. 2 week follow up app.


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