Anecdotal Pinkeye Experience

[Bright Raven]

I have never injected antibiotic in the membranes around the eyeball. I only use it systemically in accordance with the label. Every case I have treated systemically has fully recovered with no damage to the eye.

If anyone intends to inject around the eye, they should get some direction. I have always thought that LA200 or 300 must be somewhat unpleasant -maybe it burns or stings because when I use it - I inject in the loose skin behind the front leg - they don't seem to like it. Injecting it around the eye would concern me. I guess that is why the above posts are suggesting other drugs.

You should be injecting tetracyclines into the muscle in the neck.

Gcreekranch: LA200 and LA300 is Oxytetracycline Dihydrate. It can be given IM or SQ. Yes. BQA and the instructions say the neck but I prefer the loose skin right behind the lower part of the shoulder. The volume is one of the draw backs to the tetracyclines. The area behind the lower shoulder gives a little more room.

 

[ClinchValley86]

Yes. Pinkeye has been especially bad this summer. This is interesting, it has only occurred in the fall heifer herd. Zero in the bred cows/heifers and ZERO in the fall bull herd.

Do you vaccinated for pinkeye?

Ours are all in one group until we start weaning.

Have any of you noticed some cow families don't seem to get pinkeye? Or do I have too few years of observing?

 

[Bright Raven]

Yes. Pinkeye has been especially bad this summer. This is interesting, it has only occurred in the fall heifer herd. Zero in the bred cows/heifers and ZERO in the fall bull herd.

Do you vaccinated for pinkeye?

Ours are all in one group until we start weaning.

Have any of you noticed some cow families don't seem to get pinkeye? Or do I have too few years of observing?

Yes. I vaccinate with an autogenous vaccine prepared by Dr. Darin Stanfield, Tr-County Vet. It has a minimum of 12 local strains of Moraxella bovis and Moraxella bovoculi.

Yes. That is interesting that you mention cow families. I have a couple lines that never get pinkeye. Natural resistance I suppose.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Well, so much for the local autogenous vaccine!!! LOL
I don't use any pinkeye vaccine. Ones on the market are a "pig in a poke" - kind of wishful thinking - according to my vet & things I have read.
Anyway, yes we have flies, but people in NY don't have clue what real fly problems are like. I used to live in Kansas. I know how the cows can be completely covered with flies. Hate they. They are pretty bad "for out here" right now.
LA200/LA300 - Biomyacin (tetracyclines) should not be used for respiratory. They are GREAT for pinkeye & footrot. My go to drug is Biomyacin 300 (sp?)

 

[sim.-ang.king]

My pinkeye treatment method has always been a shot of LA, washing out the eye with saline, put a shuteye on, and forget about them as long as the shuteye stays on. Sunlight is your greatest foe in treating pinkeye.

 

[bball]

Bright Raven, I do not use the Pen and Dex without direction from the college vets. Very, very few people even try to inject into the membrane of the eyeball. But it is the perfect injection if you can do it. It's very hard unless you have done it several times and then it's ok. It puts the meds exactly where they need to be.

X2.
Had to do several last year and unfortunately, got pretty proficient with this injection process. The are a few crappy youtube videos out there, but not the best. Wished I had recorded one for the board here. The dex/pen combo worked very well. Heard of some vets sewing the eye shut too.

 

[Hootowl]

Bright Raven, I do not use the Pen and Dex without direction from the college vets. Very, very few people even try to inject into the membrane of the eyeball. But it is the perfect injection if you can do it. It's very hard unless you have done it several times and then it's ok. It puts the meds exactly where they need to be.

Should have added that, I forget there are those that eat Tide Pods today.

We restrain the ani n chute and tie their head around with a halter so the eye needing treatment is on top and rolled down of its own volition. A 22 gauge needle is used. The membrane can be carefully picked up and injection given. If animal struggles retreat and wait until still again.

As I have said before I have an Imobolizer so no holding, tying, struggling. They stand there frozen while I give the shot in the outer membrane. Sure is easy on both the cattle and me.

 

[Hootowl]

I agree that either a patch or sewing the eyelid really helps.

 

[gcreekrch]

Bright Raven, I do not use the Pen and Dex without direction from the college vets. Very, very few people even try to inject into the membrane of the eyeball. But it is the perfect injection if you can do it. It's very hard unless you have done it several times and then it's ok. It puts the meds exactly where they need to be.

Should have added that, I forget there are those that eat Tide Pods today.

We restrain the ani n chute and tie their head around with a halter so the eye needing treatment is on top and rolled down of its own volition. A 22 gauge needle is used. The membrane can be carefully picked up and injection given. If animal struggles retreat and wait until still again.

As I have said before I have an Imobolizer so no holding, tying, struggling. They stand there frozen while I give the shot in the outer membrane. Sure is easy on both the cattle and me.

With all due respect, I will never use one of those dam things. Each to his own. :cboy:

 

[farmerjan]

We have done most different treatments. LA300, 200, pen/dex in the eyelid, mastitis treatment in the eye, old blue jean material with glue around the eye to give it a break from the sunlight and flies bothering the animal. Use Draxxin in the dart gun since you don't need as much as LA200 or 300. The early caught ones respond well to LA and a little squirt of mastitis med under the eyelid so they have to blink and it helps to distribute it on the eyeball. Try to use the dry cow treatment like Tomorrow, as it seems to last a little longer ( my imagination?). It is also non-irritating. Never use LA in the eyelid it is very painful/irritating as it is. The bad ones get the pen/dex and a squirt of mast med, a shot of LA or Draxxin, and a blue jean patch glued on with something like heat patch glue. Some will last 2 days, some a week or 2. They usually rub them off so no running through the chute to remove most times.
Also one thing I do is give an A&D vitamin shot.

Yes we have cow families that do not seem to get pinkeye and we do cull for it. If a family seems to get it often, we don't keep heifers from them. Have tried to cull more over the years for things like pinkeye susceptibility, bad feet, needing worming, etc. Trying to have cows that work in our environment. We nearly always see it in calves of bought cows. I do think they build up a resistance to pinkeye and it is heritable. If the bought cow is good enough and raises a nice calf and stays, we watch her calves closely and any heifers we like that don't get pinkeye, are candidates to keep. Sure we cull for other reasons, but resistance to pinkeye is definitely one.

 

[kenny thomas]

Should have added that, I forget there are those that eat Tide Pods today.

We restrain the ani n chute and tie their head around with a halter so the eye needing treatment is on top and rolled down of its own volition. A 22 gauge needle is used. The membrane can be carefully picked up and injection given. If animal struggles retreat and wait until still again.

As I have said before I have an Imobolizer so no holding, tying, struggling. They stand there frozen while I give the shot in the outer membrane. Sure is easy on both the cattle and me.

With all due respect, I will never use one of those dam things. Each to his own. :cboy:

I understand that you might think the Immobilizer us hard on them but to me it's much easier on both the animal and the person doctoring the eye. I work alone and I couldn't do it without it

 

[sstterry]

I understand that you might think the Immobilizer us hard on them but to me it's much easier on both the animal and the person doctoring the eye. I work alone and I couldn't do it without it

What kind of headgate or squeeze chute do you use?

 

[Bright Raven]

Quoted from Lucky_P . He was responding to a question from Kenny in a previous thread about 2 years ago.

"kenny. 
I'm not convinced that the subconjunctival injections do anything once the needle-(puncture) seals over (in just a few minutes) and the injected antibiotic stops leaking out. In my mind... better to go with a systemic drug so that its presence in the tear film is essentially 'bathing' the eye constantly... until therapeutic drug levels tail off."

 

[kenny thomas]

Quoted from Lucky_P . He was responding to a question from Kenny in a previous thread about 2 years ago.

"kenny. 
I'm not convinced that the subconjunctival injections do anything once the needle-(puncture) seals over (in just a few minutes) and the injected antibiotic stops leaking out. In my mind... better to go with a systemic drug so that its presence in the tear film is essentially 'bathing' the eye constantly... until therapeutic drug levels tail off."

BR, I think he was responding to putting the meds in the 3rd eyelid. I'm putting it behind the outer membrane of the eyeball right where the pinkeye is active.

 

[kenny thomas]

I understand that you might think the Immobilizer us hard on them but to me it's much easier on both the animal and the person doctoring the eye. I work alone and I couldn't do it without it

What kind of headgate or squeeze chute do you use?

I use a WW but once the Immobilizer is hooked up it really doesn't matter. They never move

 

[Bright Raven]

Quoted from Lucky_P . He was responding to a question from Kenny in a previous thread about 2 years ago.

"kenny. 
I'm not convinced that the subconjunctival injections do anything once the needle-(puncture) seals over (in just a few minutes) and the injected antibiotic stops leaking out. In my mind... better to go with a systemic drug so that its presence in the tear film is essentially 'bathing' the eye constantly... until therapeutic drug levels tail off."

BR, I think he was responding to putting the meds in the 3rd eyelid. I'm putting it behind the outer membrane of the eyeball right where the pinkeye is active.

The tissue on the outer surface of the eye is the sclera. Are you going under that? To go further, if you see a white area in the area of the cornea, do you insert the needle right under that white area? I can certainly see why you use an immobilizer. I am assuming that Gcreekranch is doing a subconjunctival shot.

 

[kenny thomas]

injection! "The bulbar conjunctiva is the thin membrane that covers the white part of the eye ball itself. When the injection is given a bulge is seen over the ball. Injections into the eyelid are not thought to have any value in treating pinkeye.)" Quote
I'm not really good at explaining. Does this quote help. This is from VA Tech . I learned it by attending a class just for this.

 

[kenny thomas]

It can be done without the Immobilizer but not by one person. One person has to hold the eyelids open and the other give the injection. They must be very restrained as he said.

 

[Bright Raven]

injection! "The bulbar conjunctiva is the thin membrane that covers the white part of the eye ball itself. When the injection is given a bulge is seen over the ball. Injections into the eyelid are not thought to have any value in treating pinkeye.)" Quote
I'm not really good at explaining. Does this quote help. This is from VA Tech . I learned it by attending a class just for this.

I gotcha. Yes. That is totally different than what I thought you were talking about. The problem with eye infections has always been getting enough antibiotic there. Your procedure would do that. My question would be, " is it necessary?" I have always had them recover in 2 to 5 days with a systemic injection. Thanks.

 

[kenny thomas]

I agree it may not be needed in every case but I especially use it in calves I'm gonna sell. The difference I see is much less pinkeye scars afterwards. If you were selling a registered bull or heifer wouldn't a pinkeye scar hurt the sale?