Eye abrasion? Think it will ever heal?

I see my cattle at least once a day, generally twice this time of year. I take a complete inventory in the morning and feed in the afternoon. So, I was horrified when I saw her eye one afternoon. She was deep in the woods that morning, so didn't get a close look, but fine the day before. My initial thought was an eye abrasion from a honey locust thorn or branch while she was in the woods. Pinkeye? I suppose it's possible, but she's been vaccinated with an autogenous that targets moxarella bovis, moxarella bovoculi and mycoplasma bovis for 10 years. And that fast? Regardless of what happened, she clearly needed treatment ASAP.

Naturally, the herd was in the south pasture, and the corral/chute in the central pasture & the barn were both a mile away. Until I could get her in a chute for a thorough exam, my neighbor came over with his pole syringe. The plan was to dump cubes and administer the shots while she was occupied. Fail. Tried to move the herd to the north and they weren't having it. Tried again the following morning and afternoon. With just me in the Polaris, only the hard-core cows into the cubes would follow. I was going to give it one more try the following morning before I resorted to asking for help. I'll be damned. Just as I was heading out, something caught my eye and there she was, standing right next to the path in the woods that leads to the barn. Turned around, opened the gate to the barnyard, and she came right down. Divine intervention? Or did she finally realize she needed my help?

Got her in the chute, flushed her eye thoroughly with Vetericyn. Didn't see any debris or obvious abrasion(s). Squirted mastitis cream under her eyelid, gave her a hefty dose of Macrosyn (generic Draxxin), eye patch and Banamine Transdermal for pain. While I was cleaning around her eye before applying the patch, she went perfectly still and even shut her other eye, like it felt really good.

I've never had pinkeye or an abrasion this bad and have also never used a patch. I guess I was expecting a miracle when the patch started coming off. It does look like it's getting a little better. Or does it? Instead of almost a solid yellow, there is now some red. Anyone ever have something like this? Preferably with a good outcome.

I think it will heal to some degree. It doesn’t look like it will rupture. Not sure how well her vision will return.

It does look a little rough. The last pic almost looks like a rupture.
Any chance she missed her vax?

I can't find the pics right now, but a friend had one that almost blind. Hit her with draxxin twice and she finally got over it. At least she can see now. It was a couple month long ordeal!

MurraysMutts said:

It does look a little rough. The last pic almost looks like a rupture.
Any chance she missed her vax?

I can't find the pics right now, but a friend had one that almost blind. Hit her with draxxin twice and she finally got over it. At least she can see now. It was a couple month long ordeal!

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No chance she missed getting vaccinated. But may be worth another round of Macrosyn.

I showed my vet pics when I took Shaft in for his BSE and she mentioned the possibility of cancer eye, given her age. But again, that fast?? My only other cow with cancer eye had a very small wart-looking lesion on the corner of her eye. I caught it early enough my vet was able to remove her third eyelid for a full recovery (until she stifled 7 years later).

SBMF 2015 said:

I think it will heal to some degree. It doesn’t look like it will rupture. Not sure how well her vision will return.

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I think she'd do fine with only partial vision. If I come up to her from the side, I make sure to talk to her first, so she recognizes my voice (and subsequently stops lowering her head in the warning position).

I need to cull but I'd hate to cull an otherwise fabulous cow - and get docked, even with higher prices. And as you already know, I'm selling some private treaty as "yard art", but I don't think the funky eye qualifies as art. She's no Picasso! ;)

That is a pretty good one TC. If you google desmetocoel it might give you a few clues. The outer layers of the cornea are gone leaving the thin basement layer to bulge out like that. You have done all of the recommended treatment but all of what you have done the patch is probably what has done most good and I would keep it patched for a bit or better still get the eyelids sutured together which will give a bit of support from the front. It is surprising how they will heal if they avoid rupturing but I would expect some scarring and pigmentation in the area. I would suspect pinkeye even though well vaccinated or something caustic spilled into the eye like a plant sap to cause that much emulsifying of the cornea.
I had a heifer with pinkeye over summer when they were right up the back along the border and I couldn't get to her. Her eye looked terrible especially in profile, very bulgy like that and I was resigned to her losing the eye however she recovered and I can't tell which eye it was now. I did get to put a tube of mastitis cream in it before she went up there and I thought she would be right, well she was right in the end.

Ken

wbvs58 said:

That is a pretty good one TC. If you google desmetocoel it might give you a few clues. The outer layers of the cornea are gone leaving the thin basement layer to bulge out like that. You have done all of the recommended treatment but all of what you have done the patch is probably what has done most good and I would keep it patched for a bit or better still get the eyelids sutured together which will give a bit of support from the front. It is surprising how they will heal if they avoid rupturing but I would expect some scarring and pigmentation in the area. I would suspect pinkeye even though well vaccinated or something caustic spilled into the eye like a plant sap to cause that much emulsifying of the cornea.
I had a heifer with pinkeye over summer when they were right up the back along the border and I couldn't get to her. Her eye looked terrible especially in profile, very bulgy like that and I was resigned to her losing the eye however she recovered and I can't tell which eye it was now. I did get to put a tube of mastitis cream in it before she went up there and I thought she would be right, well she was right in the end.

Ken

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Wow, lots of good info, Ken. Thanks!

"Something caustic". Would 50+ mph winds plus residual ash after a pasture burn from an adjoining ranch qualify?

TCRanch said:

so she recognizes my voice (and subsequently stops lowering her head in the warning position).

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She may be lowering her head so she can see from the corner of her eye.
We’re feeding out a str that was born mostly blind. He holds his head kind of cocked and seems to see a little bit.

I'd suspect pinkeye too, and like @wbvs58 suggested, keeping the eye covered for a good while yet, and maintain the Draxxin for a bit longer too.

Suggestion for the future, get yourself a dart gun. Easy to treat those hard to contain critters. Draxxin works well in the darts... concentrated dosage, thin bodied antibiotic. The downside? Kinda costly, particularly if you miss and the dart ejects the meds anyway! (As I've been told by a friend...:ROFLMAO:)

I am not a vet but for soft tissue problems like the eye i have better luck with LA 300.

kenny thomas said:

I am not a vet but for soft tissue problems like the eye i have better luck with LA 300.

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La300 used to be the pinkeye cure-all around here. The new nasty strains of pink eye just laugh at oxy tetracycline. We’ve had to switch to draxxin and have had good results.

Get a pump up dart rifle (Pnue). Rifle is more accurate than a pistol. B has a CO2 pistol. I watched him bounce 2 darts off calves. That gets expensive in a hurry. Big advantage to treating early and a dart is easy on you, the critter, and the entire herd.

SBMF 2015 said:

La300 used to be the pinkeye cure-all around here. The new nasty strains of pink eye just laugh at oxy tetracycline. We’ve had to switch to draxxin and have had good results.

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My vet used to push LA for eye treatment but is now going with Draxxin (or whichever generic). Probably because we have so many strains in/around the county and why they offer the autogenous.

TCRanch said:

I think she'd do fine with only partial vision. If I come up to her from the side, I make sure to talk to her first, so she recognizes my voice (and subsequently stops lowering her head in the warning position).

I need to cull but I'd hate to cull an otherwise fabulous cow - and get docked, even with higher prices. And as you already know, I'm selling some private treaty as "yard art", but I don't think the funky eye qualifies as art. She's no Picasso! ;)

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The damage is already done and culling her won't do anything if she can produce and raise a good calf.
But damn, that's an ugly eye.

the eye is slowly turning red, unless it ruptures, it will get well, when it all turns red it will be well ,, the red part is blood vesels growing in from the periphery [WHITE PART) 2 weeks

I have had a few over the years that looked that bad. Even ones the bulged out into a little volcano shaped ulcer. Surprisingly they all eventually healed for the most part. When they were that bad they did end up with some scaring that looks like a small cloudy area in the eye, but they seem to see just fine. I have to remember who they are, so I don't waste my time treating them unnecessarily. I made that mistake last summer when we had some pinkeye and respiratory issues turn up in the herd. We were giving the calves nasal and BVD vaccines and checking eyeballs and temperatures on the whole herd. I saw this cow come through and gave her a shot of LA300. When I was recording things later, I saw the note on that cow that said. "tiny scar on right eye from old case of pinkeye".

It is getting better with a significant reduction in redness. I'll have to take another pic and post.

Getting better!

Looking a lot better. May just end up having a small spot at worse. I tried Draxxin a couple years ago and may have been too far along, but it didn't help much. Some strains get over faster than others.

Holy cow! Waaaay better!