"a Touch Of Glaucoma" ?

[Guest lynne893]

Over dinner last night, I remarked that our dog Swiftie's eyes seem a little cloudy these days. She's 9 now, and I guess I chalked the cloudiness up to age (thinking that it's "normal" for dogs' eyes to get cloudy as they get older-- I've seen lots of older dogs w cloudy eyes).

 

DH says, "oh, Dr. Winter looked at Swiftie when she had her vaccines in November and said it looks like she has 'a touch of glaucoma.' "

 

This was the first I heard about what Dr. Winter said, so naturally I smacked my husband (kidding) and asked why the heck he didn't say anything. He said the vet seemed to kind of glaze over it, toss it out there casually like it wasn't a big deal.

 

But now that I've researched online a bit this morning, it sure as heck seems like a big deal! Especially the part about glaucoma being very painful!

 

A search on greytalk doesn't reveal a whole lot. Does anyone have any experience or advice they can share?

 

From what I understand, next steps should be to get her to a canine ophthalmologist and have her tested. Which may lead to prescription for drops to give her daily to reduce pressure. If pressure can't be controlled through drops, maybe laser surgery or worst case, removal of her eye(s)?

 

Thank you. I'm concerned for our Swift. Sight loss would be sad, but I don't want her to be in pain.

[macoduck]

The majority of our seniors gradually got old dog cloudy eyes. My vet would comment on it but said nothing needed to be done unless we saw any behavior signs that indicated vision loss.

[krissn333]

The old dog eyes is called nuclear sclerosis and is not painful. However, if your vet mentioned glaucoma, I would try to get a consult with a veterinary ophthalmologist if at all possible.

[tbhounds]

You need to have your hounds eye pressures taken. They use a portable tonopen to check the pressures-doesn't sound like your vet has one. Nuclear sclerosis can cause cloudiness-it's a rather benign condition but, glaucoma needs immediate attention. Do you think that your vet may have misspoken and meant to say NS??

[Guest IrskasMom]

Please have Swiftie be seen by an Eye Specialist for Animals . Morty has seen another one for a second Opinion. Morty is checked every Time for Glaucoma . He does not have Glaucoma but Mild Arteric Uvietis and Conjunctevitis that has to be controlled through Drops in one Eye . Now we established that it is from his Autoimmune System . Most likely he has to live with it and the Drops.

[Scooby172]

Jack developed glaucoma from an eye injury as a pup. It was monitored closely by an opthalmologist. As it progressed it got painful and we had to intervene. Jack had ciliary body ablation, medication was not a good option for him (he was still a puppy) we could have removed the eye but decided to try the CBA. Jack was able to keep his eye, he has no vision in the eye but his vision was severely impaired due to the injury. Jack did well with the procedure, you can't tell he is blind in one eye, except that his one eye is blue. I would say if you are looking at glaucoma get a consult with a specialist, I could tell Jack was in pain and the specialist said glaucoma is painful for a dog. Good luck

Linda, Jack and Keeva

[Guest lynne893]

Thank you all.

 

This may sound stupid, but what kind of signs would we look for that she is in pain?

 

Other symptoms, now that I think about it, may include occasional rubbing of her eyes with her paws (I always assumed a little allergy or something-- it's not obsessive, ongoing rubbing) and watery eyes after eating-- particularly if she ate really quickly (sometimes her "sister" grey Greta eats fast and tries to come over to steal Swiftie's food, so Swiftie eats fast).

[JJNg]

There's no such thing as "a touch of glaucoma". Glaucoma is glaucoma, and it's a very serious condition that will progress without treatment. I find it a bit odd that your vet would make an off-hand comment about "a touch of glaucoma" as it's not something that can be determined by just looking at the eyes. First thing I'd check is to see if they actually measured her eye pressures, and if so, what were the numbers? If not, ask to speak with the vet to confirm what they said, and why. As others have mentioned, there are many potential causes of cloudy eyes, some of which are completely benign and don't require treatment.

 

Signs of eye pain include squinting, holding the eye(s) closed, redness, rubbing at them, etc, but not all dogs show obvious signs, especially if it's chronic pain that has been coming on gradually.

[Guest lynne893]

thank you. we're going to get her back to the vet (a different one that we've seen before) this week to see if we can learn more.

[fsugrad]

Wow, Lynne, what perfect timing! I was just about to post about this same topic.

Over the last week or so I noticed that one of Toby's eye's has a cloudy blue cast to it, depending on the angle you look at him from. Toby will be 10 in April.

And in the last couple of days, he was squinting/shutting that eye, as if it were irritated.

I took him to our vet today and she said that he has no lesions on his cornea, etc. but she believes he may have glaucoma. She said she thinks it's glaucoma but not cataracts.

She recommended Toby get seen by the ophthalmologists at the UF vet school so Toby and I have an appointment there tomorrow morning at 8:00.

I will let you know what I find out.

thank you. we're going to get her back to the vet (a different one that we've seen before) this week to see if we can learn more.

Suggestion, make sure you take her to a vet who has specialty training in ophthalmology. That way you are not wasting your money. Our vet said she has some basic ways and tools for testing for glaucoma but a definitive diagnosis and treatment should be made by a veterinary eye specialist.

Edited December 16, 2013 by fsugrad

[JJNg]

You will definitely get a more thorough evaluation by an ophthalmologist, but it's not a waste of money to see a regular vet as the first step for a cloudy eye. Some of the basic things can be diagnosed by a regular vet, and if they have a Tonopen or equivalent instrument to measure eye pressures, it can be determined whether or not there is glaucoma before consulting with a specialist. If glaucoma (increased eye pressure) is present, an ophthalmologist will be better able to determine an underlying cause and the best treatment plan than most regular vets. Diagnosing uveitis (inflammation within the eye) is a little more tricky, and an ophthalmologist has better equipment and more experience to recognize the more subtle signs that a regular vet may not be able to see.

[Guest lynne893]

FSUgrad and JJNg-- thank you!

 

FFSUgrad- I wish you the best of luck.

 

We have an appointment with a vet I like very much tomorrow, so hopefully he'll be able to provide some guidance and direction as to our next steps.

 

Will report back!

[GeorgeofNE]

There's no such thing as "a touch of glaucoma". Glaucoma is glaucoma, and it's a very serious condition that will progress without treatment. I find it a bit odd that your vet would make an off-hand comment about "a touch of glaucoma" as it's not something that can be determined by just looking at the eyes. First thing I'd check is to see if they actually measured her eye pressures, and if so, what were the numbers? If not, ask to speak with the vet to confirm what they said, and why. As others have mentioned, there are many potential causes of cloudy eyes, some of which are completely benign and don't require treatment.

 

Signs of eye pain include squinting, holding the eye(s) closed, redness, rubbing at them, etc, but not all dogs show obvious signs, especially if it's chronic pain that has been coming on gradually.

 

Thank you, actual real vet, for chiming in so I don't have to make my comment about yet another bizarro diagnosis that cannot POSSIBLY be made by just looking.

 

Perhaps he said "a touch of cataracts"????

 

You can't see glaucoma. My father had it. My cousin has it. There is no possible way to diagnosis it by LOOKING.

[kudzu]

Hopefully this was just a miscommunication or misunderstanding. A follow up appt is definitely the best thing. (But you already knew that.) Even if it was just a mistake it would certainly help me set my mind at ease to have another pair of eyes checking out my dogs eyes.

 

Good luck!

[fsugrad]

We are still at the vet school, but glaucoma was confirmed in Toby's right eye. When I brought him in, his eye pressure was 40 (which they said is high enough to cause migraine like pain in humans) so they gave him emergency eye drops to relieve pressure asap. In about a half hour, his eye pressure went down from 40 to 15. They also looked at his eye with a special lens where they had to gel his eye to take a look at the areas in the eye where the fluid is supposed to drain from, to see if there are obstructions. We starting him on a couple diff types of eye drops, both in the bad eye and in the good eye as a precaution. Hopefully we can manage this well this way. He doesn't appear to have lost any significant amount of sight in the eye, so that is good news.

.

[fsugrad]

Hi Lynne,

Did you get Swiftie's eye checked out yesterday? What did they find?

Toby is on FOUR prescription eyedrops right now. I have to keep referring to the chart they gave me to make sure I'm dosing him properly, because it's pretty complicated! But his eye looks better after being on the drops for just one day. He has a re-check at the vet school tomorrow. And they did tell me the cloudy blue cast in his eye should resolve as the glaucoma is brought in check. Even the blue-ness looks better after just one day.

[kudzu]

fsugrad, sorry about Toby's eye but what a good thing it was that you got him checked out so quickly. Hope things stabilize and he feels comfortable for a long time. Good luck.

[fsugrad]

fsugrad, sorry about Toby's eye but what a good thing it was that you got him checked out so quickly. Hope things stabilize and he feels comfortable for a long time. Good luck.

Thank you!

[MP_the4pack]

 

Thank you, actual real vet, for chiming in so I don't have to make my comment about yet another bizarro diagnosis that cannot POSSIBLY be made by just looking.

 

Perhaps he said "a touch of cataracts"????

 

You can't see glaucoma. My father had it. My cousin has it. There is no possible way to diagnosis it by LOOKING.

 

 

This. I think either the vet misspoke or your DH misheard. Cataract give cloudy eyes.

Edited December 18, 2013 by MP_the4pack

[Tallgreydogmom]

fsugrad - We have a greyhound with Glaucoma. The eyeball was enlarged with build up pressure. Those might not be the correct terms.

 

I did a lot of research to check this process out before letting the Dr do it. The Dr injected the eyeball to kill off the cells that produced the intraocular fluid. They eye looks different and she has no vision in that eye. The pressure is down and we are on hold. The next option is to remove the eyeball itself.

 

Hugs to Toby

[fsugrad]

fsugrad - We have a greyhound with Glaucoma. The eyeball was enlarged with build up pressure. Those might not be the correct terms.

 

I did a lot of research to check this process out before letting the Dr do it. The Dr injected the eyeball to kill off the cells that produced the intraocular fluid. They eye looks different and she has no vision in that eye. The pressure is down and we are on hold. The next option is to remove the eyeball itself.

 

Hugs to Toby

Tallgreydogmom,

So did you try the eyedrop meds but they either didn't work or stopped working on your hound? Is that why you had to go the surgical route? Just wondering. Thanks, Rita

[Tallgreydogmom]

I took her to see a different vet. By the time I took her to the second vet eyedrops were not an option.

[fsugrad]

Oh, OK. We will see how Toby does with his eye drop regimen.

[Guest lynne893]

Love to Toby and those others experiencing eye and health issues.

 

DH took Swiftie to another vet in town who we trust better and though he's not an opthamologist, he examined her and declared she looks healthy and no concern of glaucoma. Phew!

 

Of course now I read the comments above and feel I'm second-guessing myself, and in certain lights/angles I do see a bluish cloudy cast to her eyes, but I'm not alarmed anymore. If neither vet saw a reason to recommend further examination or testing, I feel I can trust and monitor as time goes on.

 

THANK YOU all and again, hugs and love to Toby.... keep us updated! My thoughts are with you fsugrad!

[fsugrad]

Glad to hear Swiftie is ok. I'll keep everyone posted on my sweet Toby.