This eye disease is very common, and yet I didn't know about it, and if I had just known about it and its symptoms sooner, it could have saved my Emma a lot of nasty discomfort.
SNACK IN THE EYE , keep an eye on it.
Back to the beginning of her illness, because it is super important to get out quickly to ensure quick treatment.
One Friday morning there was some white stuff in one of her eyes, and I wanted to quickly grab it with paper, as I usually do. But it couldn't be removed, it was as tough as chewing gum.
Luckily I was able to get an emergency appointment at the vet. (When we go to the vet, it's just before I put on my swimsuit, because I'm sweating like after 1 hour of high intensive fitness – she fights like crazy, and I use all my energy to hold her in the harness – because yes, a beagle IS strong, all the while the vet stands there laughing at me – he finds it super entertaining) 😊
The vet looked at me with a serious expression, and I knew she was crazy. She had no - as in NONE - tear production and her eyes were completely dry.
The disease is autoimmune and is called KCS (Keratoconjunctivitis sicca). Her numbers were so bad that he couldn't ensure that she wouldn't lose her sight!!!
I was devastated, but those who know me know that I will fight everything I can for a cause, and I did.
There was a huge amount of work ahead of us, which we wanted to finish. She had to clean her eyes several times a day (there was lots of sticky glue in every corner of her eyes) – it had to be peeled away, her eyes had to be dripped several times a day with eye drops with hyaluronic acid – to bind fluid to the eye.
2x a day, a few hours after eye drops have been given - she should then have Optimmune eye ointment, where the active ingredient is ciclosporin, which is an immunosuppressant, so we can stop the immune system's attack on the eye.
At first I was ready to cry, because the dog would run as soon as she saw the tube or a piece of paper – and I knew how important it was that we didn’t skip a single treatment. We talked to the vet about ideas, and he suggested that we “copy” the vet’s table.
I bought a camping table in Harald Nyborg – and a non-slip bath mat to put on. I put it in the utility room (which she has no connection to), and here I could stand and hold her by the harness and cuddle her while my husband could fix her eyes.
It worked perfectly – she calmed down on the table, and we were allowed to handle her. It was definitely not voluntary handling, but it was “life” necessary, so we did it in the best sense. And of course, at the end of each time was LOTS of praise/sniffs and treats.
After a couple of months we went back to the vet for a check-up and I was like I was on an exam – stomach ache and close to tears. He put 2 Shirmes Tear Teststrips in my eyelids and I crossed my fingers that there would be just a slight fluctuation which meant that some tear production had been restored.
TA DAAAA…..it was where it was 0.00mm from the start, it was now at 15mm (normal is 14-25 mm) 😊 😊 😊 Got great praise from the vet, because he has never seen a dog with such poor numbers recover so well – all due to our persistence and no, absolutely no forgotten treatments at home.
Emma is now down to receiving Optimmune once a day – and she will have to do so for the rest of her days.
So – REMEMBER to TALK IN YOUR EYES for a long time = go to the vet and get it checked 😊
A little about the blogger.
Lotte is a customer advisor by day and spends most of her free time training with her dog Emma, who is a beagle girl of almost 9 summers. They have trained and competed in Schweiss's track. Agility without much success (you can't tempt them with treats) and now they train Nose Work 3-4 times a week, if they can get to it. They compete at NW3 level, and they have a party together when they apply.
Overlooked insidious serious eye disease KCS – here are the danger signs
This eye disease is very common, and yet I didn't know about it, and if I had just known about it and its symptoms sooner, it could have saved my Emma a lot of nasty discomfort.
SNACK IN THE EYE , keep an eye on it.
Back to the beginning of her illness, because it is super important to get out quickly to ensure quick treatment.
One Friday morning there was some white stuff in one of her eyes, and I wanted to quickly grab it with paper, as I usually do. But it couldn't be removed, it was as tough as chewing gum.
Luckily I was able to get an emergency appointment at the vet. (When we go to the vet, it's just before I put on my swimsuit, because I'm sweating like after 1 hour of high intensive fitness – she fights like crazy, and I use all my energy to hold her in the harness – because yes, a beagle IS strong, all the while the vet stands there laughing at me – he finds it super entertaining) 😊
The vet looked at me with a serious expression, and I knew she was crazy. She had no - as in NONE - tear production and her eyes were completely dry.
The disease is autoimmune and is called KCS (Keratoconjunctivitis sicca). Her numbers were so bad that he couldn't ensure that she wouldn't lose her sight!!!
I was devastated, but those who know me know that I will fight everything I can for a cause, and I did.
There was a huge amount of work ahead of us, which we wanted to finish. She had to clean her eyes several times a day (there was lots of sticky glue in every corner of her eyes) – it had to be peeled away, her eyes had to be dripped several times a day with eye drops with hyaluronic acid – to bind fluid to the eye.
2x a day, a few hours after eye drops have been given - she should then have Optimmune eye ointment, where the active ingredient is ciclosporin, which is an immunosuppressant, so we can stop the immune system's attack on the eye.
At first I was ready to cry, because the dog would run as soon as she saw the tube or a piece of paper – and I knew how important it was that we didn’t skip a single treatment. We talked to the vet about ideas, and he suggested that we “copy” the vet’s table.
I bought a camping table in Harald Nyborg – and a non-slip bath mat to put on. I put it in the utility room (which she has no connection to), and here I could stand and hold her by the harness and cuddle her while my husband could fix her eyes.
It worked perfectly – she calmed down on the table, and we were allowed to handle her. It was definitely not voluntary handling, but it was “life” necessary, so we did it in the best sense. And of course, at the end of each time was LOTS of praise/sniffs and treats.
After a couple of months we went back to the vet for a check-up and I was like I was on an exam – stomach ache and close to tears. He put 2 Shirmes Tear Teststrips in my eyelids and I crossed my fingers that there would be just a slight fluctuation which meant that some tear production had been restored.
TA DAAAA…..it was where it was 0.00mm from the start, it was now at 15mm (normal is 14-25 mm) 😊 😊 😊 Got great praise from the vet, because he has never seen a dog with such poor numbers recover so well – all due to our persistence and no, absolutely no forgotten treatments at home.
Emma is now down to receiving Optimmune once a day – and she will have to do so for the rest of her days.
So – REMEMBER to TALK IN YOUR EYES for a long time = go to the vet and get it checked 😊
A little about the blogger.
Lotte is a customer advisor by day and spends most of her free time training with her dog Emma, who is a beagle girl of almost 9 summers. They have trained and competed in Schweiss's track. Agility without much success (you can't tempt them with treats) and now they train Nose Work 3-4 times a week, if they can get to it. They compete at NW3 level, and they have a party together when they apply.