Staining PEW eyes.

pinta

Post   » Mon Feb 05, 2007 1:41 am


Bliss, a pink eyed skinny, had a squinty eye that was watering and slightly receded.

The vet did a stain on her eye, turned the lights off and used the hand-held light(not sure if it's special) to check her eye: Nothing, no sign of anything.

About 5 minutes later when we were about to leave the clinic, the vet saw the stain had taken hold and she could clearly see two ulcerations that did not show up when she looked with a strong light in the darkened room.

The vet was really shocked and said she'd just learned something new about pink eyed pigs: You can't see the stain results in the dark with the strong light because the light goes right thru the eyes. You can only see the stain results in normal lighting. If I hadn't been chatting with the vet and time had passed, the ulcerated eye would not have been caught

Although the patient was a skinny I suspect this would apply to all pink eyed pigs.

HollyT
Get on your bike.

Post   » Mon Feb 05, 2007 3:30 pm


Kringle was a pink eyed white with an ulceration and we didn't have that problem pinta. I wonder if there are various concentrations with the drops?

pinta

Post   » Mon Feb 05, 2007 9:08 pm


They were the same drops that showed ulcerations in the coated pigs' eyes.

I wonder if it is a skinny pig anomaly.

HollyT
Get on your bike.

Post   » Mon Feb 05, 2007 9:18 pm


I was just about to post as I revieved the thread. Both Kringle (PEW) and Rosa (dark-eyed TSW) got a hay poke. From my posting it looks like Kringle got leftover genticin drops which worked for him but Rosa's eyes did not clear up. She went in for a stain and different ab's. Kringle did not. So it could very well be a PEW issue afterall.

I have one more PEW here and if he ever gets an eye injury I'll be sure to take him in for a stain. Thanks for the heads up.

ChunkyPiggies

Post   » Tue Feb 06, 2007 1:08 am


THat light they use is a Woods Lamp (fancy name for a black light).

pinta

Post   » Tue Feb 06, 2007 10:48 am


Interesting. I wonder if the eye requires pigment as a background for the flourescing(sp?) of the stain. Definitely there was nothing to be seen in Bliss's eye with the light, but under the normal clinic examination room light, the ulcerations were an obvious bright green.

ChunkyPiggies

Post   » Tue Feb 06, 2007 1:56 pm


I can find out exactly what the stain is if thats what you are wondering. We use it all the time. It has a specific name that I never bothered to learn. The stain is suppose to be orange under normal light but green under black light.
From what I understand, the stain gathers in areas of unevenness (such as an ulcer or scratch) so those areas look green under the Woods Lamp. The animal hosptial I work at sees dogs and cats only so I have no idea about the PEW thing. Very interesting though. I'll ask when I go in today.

Josephine
Little Jo Wheek

Post   » Tue Feb 06, 2007 3:57 pm


Fluroscein.

pinta

Post   » Tue Feb 06, 2007 5:14 pm


Definitely bright green under normal light for Bliss and nothing visible under the black light. It did take about 5 minutes(maybe even 10) to develop.

Makes me wonder if any PEWs might have been sent home without eye meds after a stain that showed nothing under black light.

Hopefully other people will post results of their PEW eye stains and whether or not they flouresced under black light.

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salana
GL is Just Peachy

Post   » Tue Feb 06, 2007 7:08 pm


Einstein never had his eye stained. Wouldn't this apply to all pigs with pink eyes (beige, etc.)?

pinta

Post   » Tue Feb 06, 2007 8:27 pm


Probably. I don't know if there is a tiny bit of pigment in a lilac or beige pigs' eyes. The pink seems to vary depending on the coat colour from albino looking to red. Bliss was actually a light himi with more and more spots developing as she aged. So that would indicate Bliss had some pigment.

Her eyes were as pink as a PEW and as transparent.

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salana
GL is Just Peachy

Post   » Tue Feb 06, 2007 11:41 pm


I looked up some studies with pigmented and albino rabbits, and it didn't mention any difference in fluorescing. Some differences in the resistance of the eye to being ulcerated by a laser after being dosed with other substances.

So if Bliss had some pigment, then there's a chance that other pink-eyed pigs would have the same problem. I'd say maybe this warrants a mention on the eye page as a possible thing to watch out for?

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