Accidentally Got Liqiud Antibiotic in Morty's Eye

amberkenn2016

Post   » Thu Apr 23, 2020 5:08 am


Hey all!

It might seem like a very stupid and small issue, but tonight while I was giving Morty a liquid antibiotic (Albon suspension), he moved his head slightly enough to where I squirted a drop on his eyelid on accident and it went into his eye.

I took him out of the cage right away and used a baby wipe to get it off, but I didn't touch his eyeball in fear of making it worse.

Is it safe and I'm just overreacting? Or is it going to hurt him?

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Sef
I dissent.

Post   » Thu Apr 23, 2020 6:55 am


Flushing the eye with filtered water would be my suggestion. I don't know how caustic Albon is, but do watch for redness or swelling, squinting or excessive discharge. How long ago did this happen?

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Thu Apr 23, 2020 6:58 am


Ditto Sef. Flushing the eye with water (sterile saline would be my guess as the best choice) would be what a human would do for their eye and what you could do for your guinea pig at the time it happened. How does the eye look right now?

amberkenn2016

Post   » Thu Apr 23, 2020 7:30 pm


It happened at roughly 4 am this morning, but it didn't seem to bother him. We've been keeping an eye on him and there has been a little bit of clear discharge however I don't see inflammation. He has mostly an all black face but I looked at the white in his eyes and both sides look the same. No redness from what I can see.

amberkenn2016

Post   » Thu Jan 14, 2021 6:33 pm


Hello again! It's been some time, but in that time Morty was diagnosed with an enlarged heart in October I believe. Up until this week, Morty has been receiving 0.25 cc Furosemide as his diuretic 2x a day and 0.3 cc Enalapril once a day. The reason why I'm asking for advice, is because we've had to up his doses and increase the times we give them to him. Now he is on 0.15 cc Enalapril (it is a stronger form) 2x a day, and he takes 0.3 cc Furosemide every 8 hours. His original symptoms were coming back (drooling and a slight decrease in activity). His appetite is really good, and he's behaving normally, however sometimes he can't decide where he wants to go.

Right now, although he's still pretty active for the most part, our vet we see for his heart told us at his last checkup that his heart rate and respiratory rate is very concerning, hence the need for the increased meds. She's wanting to put him on another med as well (I believe she said it was Vetmedin?). We're really concerned for him and we want to make sure he isn't suffering because, obviously he's a very loved pig in our household. He's also a little over 4 years old, so he's not necessarily a spring chicken in my opinion.

I'm very indecisive when it comes to end of life decisions, because I want all of my pigs to enjoy their lives as long as possible. And I don't want to give up on Morty at all. But his symptoms aren't improving as expected, so I would like to hear any suggestions that can be thrown our way and if there are other options we could try to help him stabilize if possible.

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Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Thu Jan 14, 2021 8:24 pm


I wish I had a medical/veterinary background and could give you sound advice. I take it you've read over the heart page thoroughly? There is also a sticky where people describe the kind of treatment their guinea pig has been getting. I do not know what amount and combination of medications will work for your guinea pig but when you say he is pretty active, it sounds like he is doing fairly well. How stable is his weight? Four years old isn't all that old. I could likely live much longer.

As a lay person, I wonder if heart and respiratory rate vary some and might increase during the stress of a vet visit. Respiratory rate you can time yourself at a calm moment at home. Is breathing labored? Has he had an xray to determine if there is fluid in his lungs or anywhere else it should not be?

Heart page:
https://www.guinealynx.info/heart.html

Heart sticky:
https://www.guinealynx.info/forums/viewtopic.php?t=25375

amberkenn2016

Post   » Thu Jan 14, 2021 8:47 pm


Lynx- Yes, he has had an x-ray, although it was at the time he was diagnosed. They found a bit of fluid in his lungs and the enlarged heart, but I can't say if it's really bad. And yes, while I have been spending alot of time with him this past week, I've also been trying to research in my free time, so I have seen the heart page. I timed his resting respiratory rate at 70-100 a minute give or take, which I've seen the normal variation to be 42-105 in most pigs.

As for his breathing, I wouldn't say it's very labored if at all, but he was having a difficult time with a bad hooting episode last night that last for a couple of hours. The hooting stopped later last night, and he's been fine in that regard today. He's still a very tenacious pig, the little guy still tries to fight me when I pick him up to weigh him and wipe off his chin. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for sure that he'll start feeling more like himself.

User avatar
Lynx
Celebrate!!!

Post   » Thu Jan 14, 2021 9:18 pm


I am hoping people who are more familiar with heart pigs will post here. I seem to remember guidelines for judging the effectiveness of a particular dose -- when one might increase it or when to cut back, until you find the right dose.

It sounds like respirations are okay.

bpatters
And got the T-shirt

Post   » Thu Jan 14, 2021 9:49 pm


You could contact Talishan or pinta through the mailer and ask them to check in on this thread. Both have quite a bit of experience with heart pigs.

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ItsaZoo
Supporter in 2023

Post   » Thu Jan 14, 2021 11:50 pm


We have a dog with a heart murmur and he gets furosemide and VetMedin. The vet explained that the VetMedin helps the heart work more efficiently so it doesn't have to work as hard.

Furosemide has a wide range of dosages, and if there is fluid on or around the lungs, that will put pressure on the heart. Once the fluid is gone, they sometimes adjust the amount down a bit for maintenance.

My personal opinion from what I've seen is that VetMedin is a wonder drug. Our dog is still very active and has no exercise-related issues. But I noticed after the first week or so using VetMedin that he was sleeping better and just seemed more happy and comfortable. I can see a difference in his respiratory rate and his pulse rate. The vet said using both medications together will also help him to eat better. They have trouble eating when they can't catch their breath and their heart is stressed.

amberkenn2016

Post   » Fri Jan 15, 2021 12:03 am


ItsaZoo- I believe she said it was Pimobendan, and I've seen that's also another name for Vetmedin. So many names! I appreciate you sharing your dog's journey with the drug. I'm hoping Morty will have a better time on it than what he's taking for now. I was told that they needed to get an estimate from a third party pharmacy to make it and I couldn't give the vet the confirmation and payment over the phone before they closed, so that's the first thing I'll do tomorrow morning. Morty is still holding up good now as we speak, so I have high hopes that he'll get through.

amberkenn2016

Post   » Fri Jan 15, 2021 3:22 pm


Small Update-

Morty just wheeked and I haven't heard him do that in a very long time. He has a very distinctive wheek and he usually only does it when he's happy/excited from what I can tell. I almost cried!

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