Yesterday Wynston was diagnosed with a corneal ulcer (ulcerative keratitis – a medical condition in which the cornea becomes inflamed) in his right eye. In this post I’ll recap what lead up to the diagnosis, how Wynston is handling it, and what our medical treatment plan is moving forward.
Wynston Has a Corneal Ulcer
Yesterday started as business as usual. Wynston and I woke up, went out to go potty and ate breakfast. It was a seemingly normal morning. I was scheduled to get my hair done at 11:45am, so around 11:15am I headed out. I was gone for an hour.
When I came home, I went to the bathroom, at which time Wynston followed me in. I was looking at him and immediately noticed he wasn’t opening his right eye. I kept staring at him, and I picked him up to look closer. I walked into the kitchen with Wynston in my arms, and told Jordan what was going on. It didn’t take long for me to go into panic mode.
As I attempted to sit down and eat lunch, Wynston’s eye was not improving. It was watering profusely, and he was barely opening it. I called my veterinarian, but couldn’t get in. So I made the decision to go to the local emergency vet – Arizona Animal Wellness Center, an AAHA accredited vet.
The vet basically had to squeeze us in between appointments, so we waited about an hour and a half before we saw a vet tech. Luckily Wynston was calm and his vitals were good. The tech noticed redness in his eye, and put together a monetary estimate of services. I opted to have a corneal stain done on Wynston to check for inconsistencies.
About an hour later, we were finally ushered into a room. Wynston had just been sleeping in the stroller, so he was relaxed. (Thank God for our Gen7Pets stroller)! The veterinarian was incredibly kind, and noticed right away that Wyn’s right eye was very tender. She and the vet tech took my son back to do further testing.
In a nutshell, a numbing agent was administered into BOTH of Wynston’s eyes. The veterinarian immediately recognized an ulcer on his right eye. His left was completely normal. According to the staff, Wynston was the best, bravest boy. #obviously 😉 He had to have blood drawn as well, but it didn’t phase him.
The doctor brought my son back into the room, where he was able to relax in the stroller again. She drew a picture of Wynston’s ulcer, showing me that it’s located in the bottom right corner of his eye. I appreciated the drawing so I could better understand the diagnosis.
Superficial corneal ulcers can be caused in a variety of ways – a foreign object got into the eye, it was scratched, tear production is lacking, chemical substance burn, and more. We believe this Wynston’s corneal ulcer was due to him scratching his eye too hard, or one of my cats may have gotten him during playtime. Chihuahuas have large, prominent eyes, so it’s easy for them to become injured or infected.
Wynston was prescribed three medications. Rimadyl for pain and two different eye drops; tobramycin and a serum created from his own blood. Each drop will offer relief and natural healing. Currently I have a notebook to keep track of when I’m administering each medication, since they are all required daily but at different intervals.
As long as they are not classified as “deep,” corneal ulcers heal with proper treatment within 2-3 weeks, barring any further infection. Superficial corneal ulcers do not require surgery, and I am extremely grateful for that.
We’re only on day two of Wynston’s ulcer, and he’s doing extremely well. He’s taken all of his eye drops without issue. We leave for Colorado tomorrow, but I will stick to our eye drop regimen, even when we’re on the road. Wynston and I are resting up today, so we’ll be feeling great for our trip!
I take Wynston back to the vet for his recheck in one week. At that time the doctor will reassess his ulcer, and see if there needs to be any changes made to his treatment.
As always, we appreciate all of your concern, love, prayers and positive vibes! It really helps me knowing that I’m not the only one who cares so deeply about my son. I love all of you for being there with us through all of these crazy adventures. Thank you!
Cheryl says
I hope Winston feels better soon. He is a beautiful dog.
Cheryl says
I hope Winston feels better soon. He is a handsome dog.
Amanda says
He’s feeling much better! Thank you!
Linda Monforte says
I know, their eyes are so big and so prominent, i’m surprised this doesn’t happen to them more often. Luckily, it’s treatable. Enjoy your trip
Amanda says
They really are. I’m glad we haven’t had an issue until now!
regs says
What an adorable dog!
Amanda says
Thank you!