****Dog illness help: Constricted pupil in one eye.****

My son’s dog, 7 yo rehomed alsation, female. Lovely tempered thing.

Symptoms:

They noticed today she has a constricted pupil (pupil very small) in one eye, discharge from eye, white of eye blood shot, squinting that eye, other eye normal.

Vet says the eye isn’t damaged, given drops to take home to make pupil normal sized. The pupil this evening is almost normal, discharge reduced, white of eye more normal too.

I wasn’t at the vets but basically he said that if it doesn’t clear up, it could be something going on behind the eye and he “might have to open the head up.”

Anyone had a dig with similar symptoms?

Thanks for any info guys.

I wasn’t at the vets but basically he said that if it doesn’t clear up, it could be…….

It is clearing up! And apparently very quickly!

The pupil this evening is almost normal, discharge reduced, white of eye more normal too.

Stop looking for things to worry about  😉

To be fair I get stupidly worried about pets, so I know where you are

It is clearing up! And apparently very quickly!

Very true but I get the impression from the third hand info that is very much Judy to treat the symptom at the moment and might not treat the cause.

Follow up appointment tomorrow, just keep our fingers crossed I suppose. She’s a lovely thing, really hope it’s nothing serious.

We had this and it did rapidly improve with some anti inflammatory meds. Very scary when it first happened though and the emergency vet we went to took longer than we’d have liked, but it did go back to normal by the next day.

Fingers crossed that it stays OK. If she’s not showing discomfort then that’s a good sign I think.

We’ve had eye issues w our dogs over the years. It has usually (edit: always) been a conjunctivitis thing ( w discharge and redness of the white of the eye) caused by brushing past plants probably, or one of them has a soft toy that gets thrown around that she like to catch but the toy’s leg might catch her in the face. Eye drops from the vet or salt water rinse has always sorted it out.

My guess would be that it’s innocuous and will clear up with the drops (do you know what was in the drops?). I’m surprised they are after a follow-up so quickly – give it a couple of days like.  if they are going to charge for second visit you could cancel in the AM if it’s cleared overnight

We’ve had it with even the indoor cats (that have an outside area) – they can catch their eyeball on something, and then can’t look out of it for a fair few hours. Seeds are an issue with dogs..  We wait with the cats as they are usually a fair bit more resilient creatures and it sorts itself out in 24 hours.

Thanks guys.

(do you know what was in the drops?)

At the vets, a dye was put in, I’m guessing to look for a scratch to the eye, didn’t shiw anything up though.

Drops being given at home are anti-inflammatory and an analgesic.

We’ve had it with even the indoor cats

I had a cat many years ago, can’t remember which cat it was, with a constricted pupil. I obviously rushed it to the vets in a state of panic and the vet assured me that it had just poked itself in the eye with something and it wasn’t anything to worry about.

I can’t remember any of pupils ever constricting when I have accidentally poked myself in the eye, human eyes must be different, but she was right.

I thought it might have taken some drugs it had found or something

Ok. Update time. Third hand info again.

Finances first. Yesterday cost £91, today £95. Both below excess amount.

Today vet said it’s cataract in that eye, other eye will follow in time.

Now… It’s an “optional”  operation to remove the lens etc so I’m going to guess insurance won’t fund that.

Googling reveals ballpark costs of “a lot”.

Anyone had any experience of this is dogs?

Thanks as always.

Mrs Epic has done most of our vet claims, and if there are more than one visit related to same issue, they are usually the same claim (so your 2 could be on same claim). Don’t know about cataracts, but vet should advise if necessary and make recommendations for insurance to approve. If so all related bills on same claim.

But also would double check and ask why they are saying cataract if eye had discharge and recovered after antiinflammatory – is that correct diagnosis? IANAV

It’s an “optional” operation to remove the lens etc so I’m going to guess insurance won’t fund that.

How is it optional, the alternative is blindness?

I found this:

pet insurance in the UK can usually cover cataract surgery for dogs if the cataracts are not a pre-existing condition and the policy’s waiting period has passed. 

I am frankly shocked by the cost for having it done to a dog btw. I know that this will sound really weird but I have had cataracts done on a crow and a magpie by specialist avian vets somewhere near Portsmouth about 10-15 years ago for £1,000 each. Although to be fair at the time my regular vet was one of Britain’s top avian vets and I think he got me a special price.

Later he retired and wrote the book below about his life as an avian vet in which he mentions my crows cataract operation (he came along and observed it)

https://amzn.eu/d/4yvHk4t

Thanks very much for the continued info.

Going to have a chat with my lad tomorrow (he’s been working during all this) and see where things stand. I want to know more about the insurance policy too.

I’m inclined to say to him he should get a second opinion. It might be a waste of money but my spider sense is tingling a little about this.

We shall see.

Poopscoop, some background info links at the bottom that might be useful. Second opinion might be useful too. If your spidy senses are tingling it’s worth listening i reckon… How much do you trust your vet to provide good advice vs recommending expensive interventions? Was she seen by the same vet on both visits?

Personally (IANAV) – i’d be doing some watchful waiting before diving into optional surgery.
Have the issues cleared up with the drops and has she settled down so original reason for going to vet now sorted?
Is she visibly perturbed by any vision issues?
Are you able to see the cataract (if not then are they developed enough for surgery to be sensible next step, and what are the recovery issues)?

Good luck

https://www.hillspet.com/dog-care/healthcare/cataracts-in-dogs

https://www.pdsa.org.uk/pet-help-and-advice/pet-health-hub/conditions/cataracts-in-dogs

Things I would consider if she was my dog: single pupil constriction ( anisocoria) has many causes:

https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/anisocoria-in-dogs

With the redness and discharge some form of trauma was a very likely cause. The good response to treatment supports ( but does not prove) this.

Cataracts in dogs are part of the normal ageing process. Most dogs cope very well with the gradual onset and compensate with their other senses. Cataracts that develop rapidly (for example due to diabetets) are more likely to affect the dog’s quality of life.

There are dogs that have lost both eyes or lost sight in both eyes and still lead normal active lives.

Cataract surgery is likely to involve a long and possibly lifelong period of needing regular eyedrops. Not all dogs will tolerate this.

If cataract surgery is something to be considered a full eye examination by an eye specialist early on is useful, surgery does not need to happen until it affects the dog in day to day life.

If it is important cost is covered by insurance get a claim going asap (so you have confirmation it is covered), check what time limits there may be, what is and is not covered and ask for pre-authorisation.

If she has fully recovered you may not need to do anything!

We have a working cocker spaniel who has had three eye issues. On each occasion we’ve been referred to the Eye Vet Clinic at Leominster. In part to confirm the vets diagnosis and also they have better scanning equipment. Its not cheap, but we got it back on insurance minus the excess. the last occasion the clinic diagnosed an infection behind the eye and antibiotics cleared it up without any invasive operation. With animals, a second opinion is probably wise if its serious…….hope that is useful

I have had cataracts done on a crow and a magpie by specialist avian vets somewhere near Portsmouth about 10-15 years ago for £1,000 each.

That’s a big bill for a crow..

IGMC

I have had cataracts done on a crow and a magpie by specialist avian vets

Yes, there has to be more to that story than Ernie is letting on, and there are surely pictures!