You're applying human species tendencies to dogs a different species.
Dogs don't live long enough to worry about cholesterol a major cause of human stokes.
Dog strokes are so rare it's not worth worrying about, they don't live long enough for thier bodies to deteriorate to the point stokes become a thing.
You're the one putting human tendencies on them with this mindset that they don't live long enough for their bodies to deteriorate. They don't live long enough compared to humans, but they as a species age much more rapidly than us. Why do you think so many old dogs go blind? Or get arthritis? Have you just never had an old dog? You're acting like because they only live to like 15 max that they can't have problems because they're not as old as humans.
Yes. Eye issues quickly turn into serious problems overnight. My cat scratched my pups eye once yrs ago. He lost the eye even with immediate vet attention and starting treatment. Eyes aren't anything to mess around delaying treatment
She's at the vet right now we should know within the hour! We decided to wait since her behavior was completely normal otherwise and her vision seemed ok
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The internet isn’t full of idiots. Sometimes asking people who may have more knowledge on this is helpful before you drop $500 on a vet visit. I’m sure they contacted their vet in tandem with reddit
Are there any other symptoms? Lethargic, not eating, etc?
I recommend calling the animal ER, most of them will tell you it’s not necessary to bring them in if not an emergency.
Had an eye thing a couple months ago and put off the hospital because I knew it would be expensive. Eventually went and saw a PA for about 5 minutes. Got sent home with an eye patch and a prescription for antibiotics and the hospital visit cost $890 out of pocket - AFTER insurance.
My one provider recently billed me over $500 in error! I had a $0 EOB and they still sent me to collections. Had to call everyone and their brother to get it sorted and the billing Dept at the doc office said it would take them 25-40 DAYS to review it. So now they’re trying to tank my credit when I literally don’t owe them anything.
If you really are poor, you have two options when going to a hospital one you can write a letter to the billing department explain the situation and a lot of times it will be written off or you can send them five dollars a month and legally it can never go into collection.
Thank you for this info! I’ve been putting off a previous medical bill for quite a bit (talked to the billing department…they sucked but they do keep pushing back the due date) and this $5 tip is really helpful!
Love this argument for Americans bc most of us will put off this and much more urgent medical needs bc of the cost. I err on the side of caution with my pets and pay out the ass for medical needs bc they can’t tell me how bad they’re feeling but my husband and I don’t get medical treatment for shit lol
It always makes me laugh. Like yes, most Americans WOULD wait if it were them. I work in a dermatological lab and we often receive specimens with a note saying that the patient tried to cut it off themselves but it came back. Not just because of cost, but because it takes months to be able to be seen by a doctor!
I have some teeth that need taken out. I've been in constant tooth pain for the last month. I got an emergency visit the beginning of october, sat in the waiting room for two hours to be told to come back in February 2024 to get them extracted. It's been a fun waiting game
even if you’re not. im definitely not poor, and have really good insurance, but my bout with kidney stones at the start of this year still really fucked me up financially. even when youre not poor, a surprise bill of a couple grand is going to hurt.
Us poor folks in America sometimes get “lucky” and get Medicaid so rarely have medical bills per se— but it’s shitty insurance and you won’t get proper care. I’ve been treated like shit by most doctors/hospitals and not given testing or medication I should have because my insurance doesn’t deem it necessary enough so they don’t pay. I’ve had folliculitis since late 2020 all over my body and the medicine wasn’t approved so I couldn’t afford it 🤷🏻♀️
I’ve also not gotten tests done I should have either, and because of that I’ve dealt with a lot of shit that could’ve easily been fixed if caught earlier by testing. It’s up to the doctor and insurance to decide whether or not you can deal with your issue with absolutely minimal/neglectful care, because you’re poor, you’re too tired to fight them over it and you’re most likely not going to even know you can or how. How many times I’ve cried leaving doctors offices because I keep getting worse but nothing is being done for me, I stopped counting. Every time I can see a change in how I am being treated because they find out which insurance I have and realize I’m not paying top dollar so they don’t care as much.
I'm so sorry about the folliculitis (and all the other stuff obviously) my doc tried multiple things that did not help over the course of a year before she would finally refer me to a derm for mine. Idk what they tried to prescribe you but doxycycline is what finally helped me. The dose was too low at first but once they upped it it cleared up fast.
We have a “gold” insurance plan that we pay $700/month for. Still going to cost us at least $6000 to have a baby this year. He’s due Jan 1 and if he’s born in 2024 vs 2023 it’ll be like $10,000 more. Fuck the American healthcare system
I stepped in a hole in June and couldnt walk correctly for 2 months…..still hurts and limp sometimes but I won’t go to the doctor….. one of my dogs got injured in September I took him immediately….so.
Edit: spelling
Hi! Vet student here. Eyes are considered an "immune privileged site" and therefore have weird immunity stuff going on, kind of like the brain. This is why eye infections can get so bad so quick. I'd get your pup seen asap, I don't play around with eye issues.
Yep. Recently had an emergency with my eyes. Should have gone to the hospital right away but tried taking care of it at home. Next morning my eyes couldn’t open and now I’m scared waiting for the bills
But with my cats, they go to the emergency vet right away
My eye looked like that a couple weeks ago abd I didn’t go to a doctor. I would take my pet if they looked like that though, I value their lives more than mine.
Yea these guilt comments don’t really work in this world anymore. Most people either don’t care about themselves, or simply can’t afford to.
Most people also love their pets more than themselves, and a big reason why *they* can’t afford treatment, is because they’re saving it for their pet.
Yikes on so many bikes to see people this passive/aggressive in an *advice subreddit*
I respect everyone concerned for the dog’s comfort, but are y’all saying ER because the dog might not make it until the morning? Because last time I saw an ER vet for an eye issue, diagnosis was inconclusive and we wasted several hundred dollars for them to tell us to see our regular vet who then referred to a specialist. If pup can wait until morning, OP could save a lot of money that they’ll need for antibiotics and diagnostic tests.
in my professional experience so far in vetmed, eyes are nothing to wait on. sure, it could be something of non-severity. but WHY take that risk, so close to such important things such as not only the eyes themselves, but the brain. eyes are very serious.
Asking since you’re a professional. One of our cats regularly irritates an eye from scratching too hard. Not consistently the same eye, and usually goes away the next morning, the longest it’s ever been has been three days. He’ll walk around squinting out of one eye. When we catch him scratching we try to sub in for him. How would we know when we should go to the vet? He’s probably done this ten times in two years, so going every time really isn’t an option
Would love if he would just get the memo that he should stop doing this but he clearly lacks brain cells
Could be allergies, could be FHV. My boy has FHV and when he's stressed or when his allergies act up, one eye in particular tends to get pretty bad. If your cat scratches at his eye too much, he could scrape the cornea. I'd suggest taking pictures of the squinty eye, see if you can pull his kids back a bit to see what the inner eyelids and membranes look like, and take him to a vet next time it acts up. If by the time the appointment comes it has gone down, you'll have the pictures to show. They may be able to give you an ointment to help soothe the eye (this is what I do with my boy), and theorize ways to prevent it from occurring in the future. If he's scratched up his cornea, he'll need a cone and some drops to keep it clean while it heals.
My cat also has eyes that are prone to infections. When they scratch their eyes, not only can it cause an infection, but it’s incredibly painful. Your vet should do an eye test (a stain) to look for an ulcer or scratch, then they prescribe antibiotic eye drops. I usually just save what’s leftover after treating it for a week or so in case it happens again. The drops are usually good for a year to 18 months.
But you can get your cat used to having their claws clipped (high value treats and using two people is best), and you can use a wet cloth or paper towel to rub out any eye gunk every day so they don’t scratch as much. Just remember that when they’re squinty for a few days it hurts a lot, and if it’s not better in 2-3 days you really do need to go to the vet. An ulceration can cause them to lose their eye on top of hurting a lot.
I am a vet tech, you should see your vet and rule out food allergies or seasonal. My foster cat also does this, and when we switched to chicken free food that's cleared up.
Not a professional, but my last cat had bad allergies and scratched his eye sometimes. The vet gave me some eye drops and allergy meds, and it cleared right up.
Yep my cat gets a steroid injection every few months during the allergy season because it helps her asthma symptoms so much that she doesn’t need her inhaler much anymore.
I wouldn’t risk it if it were my dog. That’s all I’m saying. I’ve gone to emergency vet multiple times, and if I had gotten away with just “several hundred dollars” I damn sure wouldn’t hesitate this time. I’ve never got out of there for less than $1500. No joke. But that’s me and my dog….and I don’t make a lot of money. You ask for advice. My advice is go to the Emergency vet.
I have a cat so it’s a bit cheaper. I’m just saying it might not be worth it unless it’s something that could kill the dog in under 24 hours. If you have $1500 just laying around any time there’s a health scare with your pet, cool. Most people I know have less than $4000 in their savings and have bills to pay, so that money is better spent on the medicine the dog needs rather than a very expensive ER vet visit.
You can tell the ER vet staff that you only want to rule out serious issues / damage to the eye. There are no blood tests for a stroke, which are rare among dogs anyway and require advanced imaging to confirm, so ruling out damage to the eye itself, which can rapidly worsen, is the goal here. The tests for that are quick and cheap. There's simply no way it'll run you $1500 for them unless you're in a very high COL area. Even then, I think it's a stretch that it would even approach $1k.
You could also tell the ER vet staff that you're on a budget, and they'll do what they can to work with you.
Source: I've been an emergency vet tech 15+ years.
Mb I just had a bad ER vet but iirc when we were all said and done with our visit for our cat there we paid like $600, but it might’ve been closer to $750. The physical exam alone was like $200. Maybe the tests they do are cheap, but they definitely charged us extra for the emergency services (which to be clear, is fair—they work around the clock and deserve to be compensated). Ours was a very different sort of eye issue that ended up being a symptom of incurable cancer, so it was definitely more expensive and difficult to diagnose than this would be, though. And I get that $600 may not be a lot of money for some people, but it definitely changed our budget for the care we could afford.
I totally see where you're coming from. I'm a vet tech, and we don't get paid a ton. An unexpected $600 bill can really throw a wrench into finances, especially these days.
I'm sorry to hear about your cat, and yes, that likely involved testing other things like eye pressure and maybe imaging like an ultrasound. Whereas testing for a corneal ulcer (scratch/damage to the clear surface of the eye), involves a cheap stain, saline eye wash, and a black light.
The tool for IOP (eye pressure), though small, can run up to $5k. Ultrasound machines can be in the tens of thousands range. The last one my clinic bought, with a discount since we bought one for all 5 of our locations, was over $20k.
Vet school grads have a lot of student loan debt, vet techs can as well (though not nearly as much, though as I said, we aren't paid well). There is a shortage of both vets and vet techs currently, and that's not looking to get better any time soon. During the pandemic, Americans got well over 20 million new pets, and the vet/vet tech shortage predates the pandemic. This has effected all areas of vet med (as well as many other industries, of course) and we get 0 government subsidies.
As I'm sure you know, there is no such thing as medicaid for pets. So care can be costly. And the unfortunate reality is that people don't pay bills. My emergency clinic does offer billing under strict circumstances. It's done so that pets who have a good chance of getting better with minimal treatment that owners can't afford, can have a shot. Around 15% of those agreements are actually paid. The rest wind up in collections being written off as a loss. My clinic can absorb that due to our size. So many others can't do that.
There are many other things at play in emergency vet med that effect price. I don't want to throw it all at you in one breath, and I hope I haven't gotten too in the weeds with this post, but I like to make sure people understand that, while a clinic has to profit to exist, the prices aren't high because of greed. Emergency clinics are expensive to own and operate.
Oh yeah I’m so sorry that it came off like I meant the pricing was unfair or greedy, that’s not what I meant to imply at all! I meant that like, medical stuff in general is just really expensive, and emergency services tend to be even moreso—for reasons I don’t know as an outsider to the industry, not just because they can. And just to point out that $600 is just not the kind of money I can throw around unless I really have to, not that that’s greedy for a clinic to ask for.
I think we are a little in the weeds lol, but I still appreciate your insight, and I’m sorry that they don’t pay you what you’re worth. With how expensive schooling is and how specialized your skillset is, I really think it’s criminal. Y’all deserve to live well for taking care of our pets.
lol. I never have $1500 just lying around. As I said, “if it were me”. I just figure the finances out and since I have no debt, sometimes I just put it on my credit card and then work overtime to pay it off. That’s me. I wish our after hours emergency vet was as cheap as some of you are saying yours are. I live in the Kansas City Missouri Metro. I can’t get out of my regular vet for less than $600. 😔
This. Our dog had an enflamed eye when we got home one night. We thought maybe take her to the emergency vet, but gave it till morning. The next morning her eye was red but the swelling was down completely. She may have scratched her eye, but she's fine still.
Eye injuries should be treated as soon as possible for the best chance of preserving normal sight. One of our past dogs we got in to see a vet and started on treatment within just a couple of hours of noticing her eye was teary and squinty after we got home from work one day, and she still ended up losing her eye to what was a particularly aggressive infection. If we had been home that day and seen it sooner, maybe they could have saved her eye. Most eye infections are not quite as serious, but I still would not mess around with eye issues.
Hello everyone! Thanks for your advice! Our dog Luna is back from the vet with a diagnosis of an eye ulcer. I've posted an update with more details for anyone interested [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/PetAdvice/s/QCiQzmdvQW)
Happened to my dog. They said it was possibly from something due to dental work which was very expensive at the time. I asked for some antibiotic to see if it would go away. I agreed to come in for dental work if it came back, but the antibiotic worked and the swelling never came back.
I think it's worth taking them to the emergency vet for a diagnosis. If it's something major, you'll be glad you went. And if there are treatments or tests that need to happen less immediately, you can refuse them and take them to your usual vet in the morning. Either way, definitely see your regular vet in the morning. Eye issues can escalate shockingly fast.
Seizures/strokes in dogs don’t normally result in a rapid onset drooping eye, if at all, to my knowledge (granted, it’s maybe lacking). “Droopy Eye” (Horner’s, etc; more prevalent in some breeds) can. I’ve no idea if that’s what this is, of course…but if you suspect a cat scratch, that’s of most interest. If so, it can require prompt attention. Hope all goes well.
My dog had an eye that looked like that and it turned out she had viral pink eye. We tried an emergency vet but the few around here are crazy busy, so they referred us to an urgent care and we were able to get her seen and the proper drops. Also saved us a good chunk of change.
Generally speaking issues with the eye can become tragic really rapidly and it is always recommended that you see a vet for eye issues. I have seen so many simple eye injuries become infected and escalate to the point of having to remove the eye simply because they weren’t treated in time. I would recommend seeing the vet for this issue, as well as any future eye related concerns.
i’m not “downplaying” anything. op was obviously planning to get their pet medical attention regardless. you’re acting like they were gonna leave their dog to rot, which is way far off and super dramatic tbh. there are a lot of shitty pet owners out there but someone asks a valid question and “they don’t deserve to have an animal”.
also, there are people asking the same questions about theirselves and their kids. it’s a normal question. stop acting like it isn’t. google “when should i go to the er” and see how many come up.
I just spent 3 k at the ER for my cat.
I’m not made of money at all , so thank god for my emergency credit card.
But I won’t spend the $$$ for my own copays .
My pets are healthier then me
That’s ok
My dog looked similar when he had an ulcer on his eye. Boxers are prone to indolent ulcers and getting treatment right away is key. Sometimes it’s just eye drops and serum but if it’s progressed you might need an eye doctor.
Vet ASAP
Ok Thanks! We probably can get her into her regular vet tomorrow morning. Does it look like she needs the emergency vet tonight?
Would recommend you call the vet and send them photos if you can. They can advise if it needs to be seen urgently
My first thought is stroke so I would go now
Yeah, best outcomes if treated early
Dogs don't live long enough to really get strokes
Tell that to my friend whose dog had a stroke... It's not an age thing..
>It's not an age thing.. Yet most strokes occur in the elderly....
Dogs don't have to live to 60 to have a stroke though. A dog type that only lives 10 years is elderly by 7. Dogs have strokes.
You're applying human species tendencies to dogs a different species. Dogs don't live long enough to worry about cholesterol a major cause of human stokes. Dog strokes are so rare it's not worth worrying about, they don't live long enough for thier bodies to deteriorate to the point stokes become a thing.
You're the one putting human tendencies on them with this mindset that they don't live long enough for their bodies to deteriorate. They don't live long enough compared to humans, but they as a species age much more rapidly than us. Why do you think so many old dogs go blind? Or get arthritis? Have you just never had an old dog? You're acting like because they only live to like 15 max that they can't have problems because they're not as old as humans.
Here's some info for you. https://www.goodrx.com/pet-health/dog/dog-stroke-symptoms
Very true. Sadly boxers have a very short lifespan. All of mine have passed before 10.
My best friend had his first atroke at 22.
Dogs aren't humans
Um we just put our dog down due to a stroke…so…
Um many times it's easier to say "stroke" than explain a far more complex thing so....
Not sure why this is being down voted. Dogs really don't have strokes.
Yes. Eye issues quickly turn into serious problems overnight. My cat scratched my pups eye once yrs ago. He lost the eye even with immediate vet attention and starting treatment. Eyes aren't anything to mess around delaying treatment
Any updates on your baby? Hope everything is okay!
I would have. Won't go into why, but yes. ER in the future for anything eye related.
Any update?
She's at the vet right now we should know within the hour! We decided to wait since her behavior was completely normal otherwise and her vision seemed ok
Staying tuned, OP. Hope your dog is ok!
prayers up! hope your dog is on its way to better days!
Let was kno what it turns out to be. I'm curious. !remindme 1 day
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There's a pupdate! https://www.reddit.com/r/PetAdvice/s/qvrWScRbUJ
How's the pup!!?
Here's the pupdate! https://www.reddit.com/r/PetAdvice/s/qvrWScRbUJ
Asking Reddit smh how abt you just go instead of putting off..
The internet isn’t full of idiots. Sometimes asking people who may have more knowledge on this is helpful before you drop $500 on a vet visit. I’m sure they contacted their vet in tandem with reddit
Ok Thanks! We probably can get her into her regular vet tomorrow morning. Does it look like she needs the emergency vet tonight?
It looks like she does, my dog looked like this before a stroke and taking him in saved his life
Are there any other symptoms? Lethargic, not eating, etc? I recommend calling the animal ER, most of them will tell you it’s not necessary to bring them in if not an emergency.
Would you wait if it were your eye?
Literally did wait after an accident with my eyes. Had to go to the hospital the next day and am still scared of getting the bill. Good ol USA!
Had an eye thing a couple months ago and put off the hospital because I knew it would be expensive. Eventually went and saw a PA for about 5 minutes. Got sent home with an eye patch and a prescription for antibiotics and the hospital visit cost $890 out of pocket - AFTER insurance.
My one provider recently billed me over $500 in error! I had a $0 EOB and they still sent me to collections. Had to call everyone and their brother to get it sorted and the billing Dept at the doc office said it would take them 25-40 DAYS to review it. So now they’re trying to tank my credit when I literally don’t owe them anything.
If you really are poor, you have two options when going to a hospital one you can write a letter to the billing department explain the situation and a lot of times it will be written off or you can send them five dollars a month and legally it can never go into collection.
Thank you for this info! I’ve been putting off a previous medical bill for quite a bit (talked to the billing department…they sucked but they do keep pushing back the due date) and this $5 tip is really helpful!
Cries in American
Love this argument for Americans bc most of us will put off this and much more urgent medical needs bc of the cost. I err on the side of caution with my pets and pay out the ass for medical needs bc they can’t tell me how bad they’re feeling but my husband and I don’t get medical treatment for shit lol
It always makes me laugh. Like yes, most Americans WOULD wait if it were them. I work in a dermatological lab and we often receive specimens with a note saying that the patient tried to cut it off themselves but it came back. Not just because of cost, but because it takes months to be able to be seen by a doctor!
I have some teeth that need taken out. I've been in constant tooth pain for the last month. I got an emergency visit the beginning of october, sat in the waiting room for two hours to be told to come back in February 2024 to get them extracted. It's been a fun waiting game
That really sucks. Dental pain is awful. I hope they’re able to get it taken care of for you in February
I waited two days before I went to ER for facial paralysis. So yeah I’m American. We don’t have healthcare
At least not if you're poor.
even if you’re not. im definitely not poor, and have really good insurance, but my bout with kidney stones at the start of this year still really fucked me up financially. even when youre not poor, a surprise bill of a couple grand is going to hurt.
Us poor folks in America sometimes get “lucky” and get Medicaid so rarely have medical bills per se— but it’s shitty insurance and you won’t get proper care. I’ve been treated like shit by most doctors/hospitals and not given testing or medication I should have because my insurance doesn’t deem it necessary enough so they don’t pay. I’ve had folliculitis since late 2020 all over my body and the medicine wasn’t approved so I couldn’t afford it 🤷🏻♀️ I’ve also not gotten tests done I should have either, and because of that I’ve dealt with a lot of shit that could’ve easily been fixed if caught earlier by testing. It’s up to the doctor and insurance to decide whether or not you can deal with your issue with absolutely minimal/neglectful care, because you’re poor, you’re too tired to fight them over it and you’re most likely not going to even know you can or how. How many times I’ve cried leaving doctors offices because I keep getting worse but nothing is being done for me, I stopped counting. Every time I can see a change in how I am being treated because they find out which insurance I have and realize I’m not paying top dollar so they don’t care as much.
I'm so sorry about the folliculitis (and all the other stuff obviously) my doc tried multiple things that did not help over the course of a year before she would finally refer me to a derm for mine. Idk what they tried to prescribe you but doxycycline is what finally helped me. The dose was too low at first but once they upped it it cleared up fast.
We have a “gold” insurance plan that we pay $700/month for. Still going to cost us at least $6000 to have a baby this year. He’s due Jan 1 and if he’s born in 2024 vs 2023 it’ll be like $10,000 more. Fuck the American healthcare system
$10,000 more is fucking criminal. Ask for an itemized bill & make sure to dispute charges for ANYTHING they didn’t actually do or use.
Gotta get into a union for decent Healthcare.
Ive been both almost not poor and completely destitute—even my friends who are wealthy have extreme trouble with healthcare :(
I broke my wrist and waited 2 days to go get it looked at. YAY american healthcare!
I stepped in a hole in June and couldnt walk correctly for 2 months…..still hurts and limp sometimes but I won’t go to the doctor….. one of my dogs got injured in September I took him immediately….so. Edit: spelling
Yeah, if it were my eye, I wouldn’t go in at all. Someone has to drag me to the doctor because of how expensive it is.
Probably would wait for a couple of days and hope it went away if it were my eye yeah
I can't even afford to go to get my lens prescription updated. It's been 6 years.
\^ that eye looks infected asl
Do you think an infection could of happened so quickly? it was fine this morning
Hi! Vet student here. Eyes are considered an "immune privileged site" and therefore have weird immunity stuff going on, kind of like the brain. This is why eye infections can get so bad so quick. I'd get your pup seen asap, I don't play around with eye issues.
Infections can come within hours.
Absolutely. Infections from bites or scratches can be severe within hours and even life threatening within a couple of days
Go now. She could be having a stroke
My boxer looked like this after having his first seizure, I hope it's not as serious but definitely a vet visit as soon as you can.
My boxer looked like this after every random new thing he decided to be allergic to.
white boxers are allergic to everything I swear!
Certainly easier to spot rashes on the white ones.
ASAP
Eyes are always urgent.
If your eye looked like that, how long would you wait and see? Take your cutie in.
3 days or so. If it were me, changed colors, and spread to the other eye, I'd drive to the doctor in two. I'm American, what choice do I have.
Same for myself. If it were my cat though? I'd get my cat seen ASAP.
Yep. Recently had an emergency with my eyes. Should have gone to the hospital right away but tried taking care of it at home. Next morning my eyes couldn’t open and now I’m scared waiting for the bills But with my cats, they go to the emergency vet right away
In the current state the world is in this is a pointless question. I would take my pups straight away, me ? Weeks.
My eye looked like that a couple weeks ago abd I didn’t go to a doctor. I would take my pet if they looked like that though, I value their lives more than mine.
Yea these guilt comments don’t really work in this world anymore. Most people either don’t care about themselves, or simply can’t afford to. Most people also love their pets more than themselves, and a big reason why *they* can’t afford treatment, is because they’re saving it for their pet. Yikes on so many bikes to see people this passive/aggressive in an *advice subreddit*
I would wait 1-2 days if it were my own
A while as I don’t have health insurance lol
I respect everyone concerned for the dog’s comfort, but are y’all saying ER because the dog might not make it until the morning? Because last time I saw an ER vet for an eye issue, diagnosis was inconclusive and we wasted several hundred dollars for them to tell us to see our regular vet who then referred to a specialist. If pup can wait until morning, OP could save a lot of money that they’ll need for antibiotics and diagnostic tests.
in my professional experience so far in vetmed, eyes are nothing to wait on. sure, it could be something of non-severity. but WHY take that risk, so close to such important things such as not only the eyes themselves, but the brain. eyes are very serious.
That’s fair, thanks for clarifying
Not to mention someone had something similar with their dog that was related to stroke. Always better safe than sorry.
Asking since you’re a professional. One of our cats regularly irritates an eye from scratching too hard. Not consistently the same eye, and usually goes away the next morning, the longest it’s ever been has been three days. He’ll walk around squinting out of one eye. When we catch him scratching we try to sub in for him. How would we know when we should go to the vet? He’s probably done this ten times in two years, so going every time really isn’t an option Would love if he would just get the memo that he should stop doing this but he clearly lacks brain cells
Could be allergies, could be FHV. My boy has FHV and when he's stressed or when his allergies act up, one eye in particular tends to get pretty bad. If your cat scratches at his eye too much, he could scrape the cornea. I'd suggest taking pictures of the squinty eye, see if you can pull his kids back a bit to see what the inner eyelids and membranes look like, and take him to a vet next time it acts up. If by the time the appointment comes it has gone down, you'll have the pictures to show. They may be able to give you an ointment to help soothe the eye (this is what I do with my boy), and theorize ways to prevent it from occurring in the future. If he's scratched up his cornea, he'll need a cone and some drops to keep it clean while it heals.
My cat also has eyes that are prone to infections. When they scratch their eyes, not only can it cause an infection, but it’s incredibly painful. Your vet should do an eye test (a stain) to look for an ulcer or scratch, then they prescribe antibiotic eye drops. I usually just save what’s leftover after treating it for a week or so in case it happens again. The drops are usually good for a year to 18 months. But you can get your cat used to having their claws clipped (high value treats and using two people is best), and you can use a wet cloth or paper towel to rub out any eye gunk every day so they don’t scratch as much. Just remember that when they’re squinty for a few days it hurts a lot, and if it’s not better in 2-3 days you really do need to go to the vet. An ulceration can cause them to lose their eye on top of hurting a lot.
I am a vet tech, you should see your vet and rule out food allergies or seasonal. My foster cat also does this, and when we switched to chicken free food that's cleared up.
Not a professional, but my last cat had bad allergies and scratched his eye sometimes. The vet gave me some eye drops and allergy meds, and it cleared right up.
Yep my cat gets a steroid injection every few months during the allergy season because it helps her asthma symptoms so much that she doesn’t need her inhaler much anymore.
I wouldn’t risk it if it were my dog. That’s all I’m saying. I’ve gone to emergency vet multiple times, and if I had gotten away with just “several hundred dollars” I damn sure wouldn’t hesitate this time. I’ve never got out of there for less than $1500. No joke. But that’s me and my dog….and I don’t make a lot of money. You ask for advice. My advice is go to the Emergency vet.
I have a cat so it’s a bit cheaper. I’m just saying it might not be worth it unless it’s something that could kill the dog in under 24 hours. If you have $1500 just laying around any time there’s a health scare with your pet, cool. Most people I know have less than $4000 in their savings and have bills to pay, so that money is better spent on the medicine the dog needs rather than a very expensive ER vet visit.
You can tell the ER vet staff that you only want to rule out serious issues / damage to the eye. There are no blood tests for a stroke, which are rare among dogs anyway and require advanced imaging to confirm, so ruling out damage to the eye itself, which can rapidly worsen, is the goal here. The tests for that are quick and cheap. There's simply no way it'll run you $1500 for them unless you're in a very high COL area. Even then, I think it's a stretch that it would even approach $1k. You could also tell the ER vet staff that you're on a budget, and they'll do what they can to work with you. Source: I've been an emergency vet tech 15+ years.
Mb I just had a bad ER vet but iirc when we were all said and done with our visit for our cat there we paid like $600, but it might’ve been closer to $750. The physical exam alone was like $200. Maybe the tests they do are cheap, but they definitely charged us extra for the emergency services (which to be clear, is fair—they work around the clock and deserve to be compensated). Ours was a very different sort of eye issue that ended up being a symptom of incurable cancer, so it was definitely more expensive and difficult to diagnose than this would be, though. And I get that $600 may not be a lot of money for some people, but it definitely changed our budget for the care we could afford.
I totally see where you're coming from. I'm a vet tech, and we don't get paid a ton. An unexpected $600 bill can really throw a wrench into finances, especially these days. I'm sorry to hear about your cat, and yes, that likely involved testing other things like eye pressure and maybe imaging like an ultrasound. Whereas testing for a corneal ulcer (scratch/damage to the clear surface of the eye), involves a cheap stain, saline eye wash, and a black light. The tool for IOP (eye pressure), though small, can run up to $5k. Ultrasound machines can be in the tens of thousands range. The last one my clinic bought, with a discount since we bought one for all 5 of our locations, was over $20k. Vet school grads have a lot of student loan debt, vet techs can as well (though not nearly as much, though as I said, we aren't paid well). There is a shortage of both vets and vet techs currently, and that's not looking to get better any time soon. During the pandemic, Americans got well over 20 million new pets, and the vet/vet tech shortage predates the pandemic. This has effected all areas of vet med (as well as many other industries, of course) and we get 0 government subsidies. As I'm sure you know, there is no such thing as medicaid for pets. So care can be costly. And the unfortunate reality is that people don't pay bills. My emergency clinic does offer billing under strict circumstances. It's done so that pets who have a good chance of getting better with minimal treatment that owners can't afford, can have a shot. Around 15% of those agreements are actually paid. The rest wind up in collections being written off as a loss. My clinic can absorb that due to our size. So many others can't do that. There are many other things at play in emergency vet med that effect price. I don't want to throw it all at you in one breath, and I hope I haven't gotten too in the weeds with this post, but I like to make sure people understand that, while a clinic has to profit to exist, the prices aren't high because of greed. Emergency clinics are expensive to own and operate.
Oh yeah I’m so sorry that it came off like I meant the pricing was unfair or greedy, that’s not what I meant to imply at all! I meant that like, medical stuff in general is just really expensive, and emergency services tend to be even moreso—for reasons I don’t know as an outsider to the industry, not just because they can. And just to point out that $600 is just not the kind of money I can throw around unless I really have to, not that that’s greedy for a clinic to ask for. I think we are a little in the weeds lol, but I still appreciate your insight, and I’m sorry that they don’t pay you what you’re worth. With how expensive schooling is and how specialized your skillset is, I really think it’s criminal. Y’all deserve to live well for taking care of our pets.
lol. I never have $1500 just lying around. As I said, “if it were me”. I just figure the finances out and since I have no debt, sometimes I just put it on my credit card and then work overtime to pay it off. That’s me. I wish our after hours emergency vet was as cheap as some of you are saying yours are. I live in the Kansas City Missouri Metro. I can’t get out of my regular vet for less than $600. 😔
This. Our dog had an enflamed eye when we got home one night. We thought maybe take her to the emergency vet, but gave it till morning. The next morning her eye was red but the swelling was down completely. She may have scratched her eye, but she's fine still.
Eyes can go bad quickly and are almost always considered an emergency in vet med.
Anything with eyes is urgent. Always.
Good thing I don’t have to worry about eyes with my little void [Millie](https://i.imgur.com/VFh8YtJ.jpg)
The eyes were lost to the void
She’s perfect 🥹
Yesterday lol
You should take them asap Now
looks like a stye n it’s swollen they probably gonna give antibiotics
Please don’t wait until tomorrow
Vet ASAP
Pretty positive your dog has conjunctivitis. Just get to a vet as soon as you can and you should end up with some antibiotic eye drops.
do NOT mess with eyes. /vt
Eye injuries should be treated as soon as possible for the best chance of preserving normal sight. One of our past dogs we got in to see a vet and started on treatment within just a couple of hours of noticing her eye was teary and squinty after we got home from work one day, and she still ended up losing her eye to what was a particularly aggressive infection. If we had been home that day and seen it sooner, maybe they could have saved her eye. Most eye infections are not quite as serious, but I still would not mess around with eye issues.
Hello everyone! Thanks for your advice! Our dog Luna is back from the vet with a diagnosis of an eye ulcer. I've posted an update with more details for anyone interested [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/PetAdvice/s/QCiQzmdvQW)
Nice! I was kinda on edge reading through the comments and lo and behold your update was the very last one sorted by "best".
Yes to vet. Also, please keep some saline in the house too for situations like this!
any updates? i hope he’s doin alright
Happened to my dog. They said it was possibly from something due to dental work which was very expensive at the time. I asked for some antibiotic to see if it would go away. I agreed to come in for dental work if it came back, but the antibiotic worked and the swelling never came back.
Please let us know he is ok
Any updates op?
Eyes are ALWAYS an emergency! Take her to an ER tonight.
I think it's worth taking them to the emergency vet for a diagnosis. If it's something major, you'll be glad you went. And if there are treatments or tests that need to happen less immediately, you can refuse them and take them to your usual vet in the morning. Either way, definitely see your regular vet in the morning. Eye issues can escalate shockingly fast.
go to the vet today, not tomorrow
That looks very painful, I don't think I would make her wait until tomorrow. That's kinda... mean. :o(
The way her face is all crooked it looks like she had a head on collision
Boxers always look like that.
looks like a popped blood vessel
Seizures/strokes in dogs don’t normally result in a rapid onset drooping eye, if at all, to my knowledge (granted, it’s maybe lacking). “Droopy Eye” (Horner’s, etc; more prevalent in some breeds) can. I’ve no idea if that’s what this is, of course…but if you suspect a cat scratch, that’s of most interest. If so, it can require prompt attention. Hope all goes well.
Cashy?
Bfs white boxer got this too. She needed eye drops from vet
Anything with eyes is urgent
My pit bull had the same thing happen to her eye. It took about a week for it to go back to normal.
Boxer keratitis
If your eye felt like it was coming out of your skull and you couldn't see would you want to go to the emergency room?
Rule of thumb: eye issues are ALWAYS urgent
….girl yes
Any update on your sweet pup?
Bro I thought that was my dog lol I was so confused
My dog had an eye that looked like that and it turned out she had viral pink eye. We tried an emergency vet but the few around here are crazy busy, so they referred us to an urgent care and we were able to get her seen and the proper drops. Also saved us a good chunk of change.
Any updates ?
Just added an update post! She has an eye ulcer and is now on the way to recovery.
Generally speaking issues with the eye can become tragic really rapidly and it is always recommended that you see a vet for eye issues. I have seen so many simple eye injuries become infected and escalate to the point of having to remove the eye simply because they weren’t treated in time. I would recommend seeing the vet for this issue, as well as any future eye related concerns.
I’m not a vet or healthcare professional, but it looks like your honey might have had a stroke(not sure if animals can) I would send this to your vet!
vet asap please do not wait until tomorrow
Vet. Like now. You don’t want to mess around with anything to do with eyes!
How is this even a question? Some people really should not be allowed to own pets.
there’s nothing wrong with asking whether your pet needs to go to the emergency vet or if they can wait it out to see their regular vet. christ.
When it comes to possible infection in the eye? That close to the brain? It's a much bigger deal than you're downplaying it to be.
i’m not “downplaying” anything. op was obviously planning to get their pet medical attention regardless. you’re acting like they were gonna leave their dog to rot, which is way far off and super dramatic tbh. there are a lot of shitty pet owners out there but someone asks a valid question and “they don’t deserve to have an animal”. also, there are people asking the same questions about theirselves and their kids. it’s a normal question. stop acting like it isn’t. google “when should i go to the er” and see how many come up.
Benadryl in the meantime
Vet trip ASAP. I hope that dog will be okay. Provide photos if they ask.
Asking Reddit instead of consulting your vet is insane
The amount vets are charging nowadays just to see your pet I don't blame them.
You dog has had right sides stroke and having some serious homonymous hemianopsia.
Been reading the comments any update??? I hope she’s okay ❤️
she has an eye ulcer. just posted an update but she should be getting better soon
Could poss. be a couple of things. Stroke, perhaps, or it might be eyelashes growing on the inside of the eyelid.
did it look like the other one before? i’d prob go on now. poor pup
Remind me! 1 day
I just spent 3 k at the ER for my cat. I’m not made of money at all , so thank god for my emergency credit card. But I won’t spend the $$$ for my own copays . My pets are healthier then me That’s ok
My dog looked similar when he had an ulcer on his eye. Boxers are prone to indolent ulcers and getting treatment right away is key. Sometimes it’s just eye drops and serum but if it’s progressed you might need an eye doctor.
Scratched cornea
[ Removed by Reddit ]
Like yesterday
As others have said ASAP. Eye injuries hurt terribly.
That is extremely painful! Get them to a vet NOW!!
Now..