Looks like pinkeye's back . . .

[angus9259]

Last year was a tough year. Conditions drying out and flies coming back . . . the first case seems to have appeared today. 10 years w/o pinkeye and two years of problems. I use fly control, mineral, vaccinate . . .

Last year treatment wasn't much value - they mostly seemed to all end up having to work through it on their own. Anyone take that approach with Pinkeye?

 

[TexasBred]

Last year was a tough year. Conditions drying out and flies coming back . . . the first case seems to have appeared today. 10 years w/o pinkeye and two years of problems. I use fly control, mineral, vaccinate . . .

Last year treatment wasn't much value - they mostly seemed to all end up having to work through it on their own. Anyone take that approach with Pinkeye?

I don't vaccinate but have used the IGR mineral for several years now. Haven't had pinkeye in ages but when we use to have a case with holsteins a thick patch glued over the eye works about as well as anything. Would squirt some penn. in the eye as well although most on here say it doesn't work. It certainly didn't hurt anything.

 

[jcarkie]

salt in the eye seems to work once it is there it seems mean but it does clear it up. last year was awful and i have 2 cases this year already ahhhhh!!!!! i hate flies

 

[Amo]

Went to a seminal put on by the university. Talked about face, horn, and stable flyes. Cant remember for sure, but I think they say the stable fly is attracted to the colors blue and black. Of course they don't cause much pink eye but anyway thought it was interesting. So they had some material with eyelets sown in them and attached to small pvc pipe. Soak the cloth in permethrin or what ever. They say according to LSU research it will reduce the flyes greatly.

I got rubs on my salt/mineral boxes. Plus vaccinate. Ive never used IGR. I think it works, just I think the flyes go farther than what the feed companies claim they do. I do think a good mineral program helps. I know no data. Reseach says up here that most of what we need is in our mineral and water, and is aviable. So I tried the extension agents recomendations. The mix was like 60% rock salt. Little A,D,E, copper and zinc. Worst mess of pink eye Ive ever had. Treated 60% Id guess by the time its done. Other people use that mix and get along great. I went back to mineral, and yes that year they pretty much had to work through it. When I do treat I use a patch along with Tetradure or Durmiacine. Biomyacine 200 or what ever would proably work as well. I also put some on the eye. Like TB said proalby won't work 1cc isn't going to break ya even if most of it gets washed out right away.

 

[brimmer X]

I like the use of salt. We also use de-icer. It is mostly alcohol. Hold the eye open and give it several sprays. Don't knock it till you try it.

 

[piedmontese]

had it real bad last yr but only 1 yearling bull so far and he cleared up pretty quick.i vac'd every1 with 20/20 in the spring so i guess thats helping.

 

[Amo]

What makes the salt work?

 

[Suzie Q]

I would say there is a huge difference between a saline solution and salt.

Remember the saying about rubbing salt into someones wounds. It is a form of torture.

Do nothing and most cases will come good as well from what I have read on this forum in the past.

 

[TexasBred]

I would say there is a huge difference between a saline solution and salt.

Remember the saying about rubbing salt into someones wounds. It is a form of torture.

Do nothing and most cases will come good as well from what I have read on this forum in the past.

Balony....many lose sight in the affected eye.

 

[dun]

I would say there is a huge difference between a saline solution and salt.

Remember the saying about rubbing salt into someones wounds. It is a form of torture.

Do nothing and most cases will come good as well from what I have read on this forum in the past.

Balony....many lose sight in the affected eye.

Yup. It's like anything else, benign neglect works fine in some cases, proactive response is required in others.
Milky eyed animals get really hammared at sale time even if the eye has completely healed up. Even old kill cows get hammered

 

[Roadapple]

I've never seen one heal by doing nothing,but when I see one with cloudy eye, if caught quickly, a shot of LA cures it pretty quick.

 

[piedmontese]

had one last summer that i did not catch until she was completely blind.didnt think it would help but went ahead and treated her with LA200.She ended up regaining her sight and with no cloudy eye.dont know how good her sight was but it was good enought to get her sold with no dock.i would never intentionally just let go and hope for the best.i also would not use salt in the eye.thats gotta hurt like he!!.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

I would never ignore. A mild case can quickly blow up into a blind cow/calf. We treat all - mastitis treatment in eye (I know - doesn't last - but it gives it a quick dose), LA200/Biomyacin & patch over eye. So, far, 100% success. Rarely have any cases, but had MANY this early spring - long before flys - during our severe mud season.

 

[Lucky_P]

I call BS on both the salt and deicer. I'm gonna knock 'em, and I'm not gonna try 'em.
How would you like for someone to do that to you - even without a corneal ulceration?
That ranks right up there with smearing coal tar on a dog's head to cure 'the distemper', with regard to the likelihood of them being an effective treatment. It's BS; pure and unadulterated. I guess some old spouse's tales just won't die.
If you've used these 'treatments' and your cows recovered uneventfully, I can assure you that they did so IN SPITE of you throwing/squirting this stuff into their eyes.
Your physician/ophthalmologist won't be throwing salt or squirting an alcohol solution in your eye if you have a corneal ulcer - why would any thinking person think that doing so to a cow would improve the situation?

Anything you spray or introduce into an animal's eye will be washed out in no less than 10 minutes due to normal tear action - and even more rapidly when there's a condition present that causes increased tearing - like pinkeye. So...even spraying nitrofurazone powder, or squirting mastitis treatment tubes into the eye, has a very very temporary effect.
I have some serious doubts about whether the subconjunctival penicillin injections they taught us to do in veterinary school really do anything once the needle hole seals and the penicillin stops leaking out. I quit doing those 20 years ago.
Best treatment is accomplished by using one of the long-acting tetracycline or other broad-spectrum systemic antimicrobial products that reach effective treatment levels in the tears, so that they eye is constantly bathed with an effective concentration of antibiotic.
I have sewn the third eyelid up to the upper lid to provide additional protection to severely ulcerated corneas, but haven't reviewed recent literature to determine whether or not that really helps or not.

 

[angus9259]

I'm rarely a fan of "doing nothing" myself - even when doing nothing is what I should do. That said, last year I treated it fast and hard and had very little effect. I used Tetradure 300 (bionic LA 200) sub Q with NF puffer into the eye and, for whatever reason, have very little success. But, it sounds like that was an anomaly as well. They're coming up to the front pasture next week - I'll get the LA 200.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

I think the patch on the eye does a lot of help. If I don't have commercial patches, I just cut a patch out of jeans. I glue (K-Mar patch glue) the top 1/2, so they can "see" out the bottom. By the time it falls off, I've never found one not cured. But, i do check to see if the eye is still "tearing" down their face. Guess I would retreat if that was happening, but never had to retreat that I can remember.
Lucky, I totally understand your remarks about anything put INTO the eye for treatment - like mastitis treatment - isn't really helping - but it makes me feel good and it's cheap.

 

[TexasBred]

I think the patch on the eye does a lot of help. If I don't have commercial patches, I just cut a patch out of jeans. I glue (K-Mar patch glue) the top 1/2, so they can "see" out the bottom. By the time it falls off, I've never found one not cured. But, i do check to see if the eye is still "tearing" down their face. Guess I would retreat if that was happening, but never had to retreat that I can remember.
Lucky, I totally understand your remarks about anything put INTO the eye for treatment - like mastitis treatment - isn't really helping - but it makes me feel good and it's cheap.

Same here. Old blue jeans work great. I get glue from the sale barn. Same stuff they use on back tags. As you said when it falls off they're ok. The patch keeps the bright sunlight away as well as flies, dust and any other irritants.

 

[hillsdown]

I call BS on both the salt and deicer. I'm gonna knock 'em, and I'm not gonna try 'em.
How would you like for someone to do that to you - even without a corneal ulceration?
That ranks right up there with smearing coal tar on a dog's head to cure 'the distemper', with regard to the likelihood of them being an effective treatment. It's BS; pure and unadulterated. I guess some old spouse's tales just won't die.
If you've used these 'treatments' and your cows recovered uneventfully, I can assure you that they did so IN SPITE of you throwing/squirting this stuff into their eyes.
Your physician/ophthalmologist won't be throwing salt or squirting an alcohol solution in your eye if you have a corneal ulcer - why would any thinking person think that doing so to a cow would improve the situation?

Anything you spray or introduce into an animal's eye will be washed out in no less than 10 minutes due to normal tear action - and even more rapidly when there's a condition present that causes increased tearing - like pinkeye. So...even spraying nitrofurazone powder, or squirting mastitis treatment tubes into the eye, has a very very temporary effect.
I have some serious doubts about whether the subconjunctival penicillin injections they taught us to do in veterinary school really do anything once the needle hole seals and the penicillin stops leaking out. I quit doing those 20 years ago.
Best treatment is accomplished by using one of the long-acting tetracycline or other broad-spectrum systemic antimicrobial products that reach effective treatment levels in the tears, so that they eye is constantly bathed with an effective concentration of antibiotic.
I have sewn the third eyelid up to the upper lid to provide additional protection to severely ulcerated corneas, but haven't reviewed recent literature to determine whether or not that really helps or not.

Lucky the only extremely severe case I have had of pink eye my vet treated her that way. By the time the stitches dissolved the eye was completely healed and she did not even have a dot in the eye. She is still in my herd and raises a heck of a calf every year .

Salt ,de icer, WD40 :? No way in he]] will I ever subject my cattle to that. I haven't had a case of pink eye in over 5 years ,I think upping my summer mineral program has really made a difference .

 

[Suzie Q]

I don't ignore either. We have a cream that you put in the eye for a couple of days, I am not sure what it is called.

Since we used the insecticidal ear tags we have not had a case of pink eye. TOUCHWOOD.

 

[Amo]

Hillsdown...what did you up in your mineral program?