Why do my spaniel’s eyes keep running?
OUR VET DAVID GRANT WORKS HIS MAGIC
Q
Our one- year- old male cocker spaniel has always had runny eyes, which we treated with bathing, but recently it has worsened. Our vet says the problem is caused by the lower eyelids rubbing on the eyes, and surgery is required. Have you come across this?
A
Inward turning of the eyelids is called entropion, and is a common problem in certain breeds such as yours.
Although in later life entropion can be caused by a variety of eye problems, in young dogs it is almost invariably an inherited congenital problem. The inverted eyelid rubs painfully on the outermost part of the eye, the cornea. As a result, a dog will produce excessive tears and will often squint.
In the most severe cases, and if hairs also rub on the cornea, it can lead to ulcers developing.
Prior to surgery, your vet will want to make sure there isn’t corneal ulceration by placing a few drops of fluorescein dye in the eye. The ulcers become visible in the dye, and can be treated with antibiotic ointment.
The surgery involves removing a small area of skin from under the affected eyelid, and then suturing the skin so the eyelid is turned out and returns to a normal position.
It pays to be cautious when performing this surgery, and it may need to be done more than once. This is to avoid a complication caused by over- correction of the problem, which is more difficult to resolve.
The prognosis for your dog, following surgical correction, is very good.
Q
My four- year- old female neutered cat had a fit a week ago. She started twitching, fell over for a minute, and then recovered very quickly. At the vets the next day she was quite normal, and blood tests came back normal too. My vet advised a “wait and see” policy. I am wondering what to expect.
A
The seizure you describe sounds relatively mild and a wait- and- see policy is recommended. It is a good sign that your cat was normal by the next day, and that your vet could not find anything abnormal either by neurological examination or by blood tests.
Before any additional tests or treatment, you need to know how frequent the episodes are. Further investigation is advised if seizures are particularly severe, need emergency treatment to stop them, or if they are increasing in severity or frequency.
Cats that are normal between seizures are more likely to have idiopathic epilepsy, accounting for between 30 and 60 per cent of cases. Idiopathic simply means that after extensive investigations, including MRI scans in some cases, nothing abnormal is found.
The good news is that up to 80 per cent of these cats respond very well to treatment, often without having any further fits.
The most useful thing you could do in the future to help your vet diagnose the problem is to video any seizures when they occur.