Persistene red eye

[coopersita]

My 9 year old lab cross has had a red eye (the other eye is fine) for the past 3 weeks or so. He doesn't seem to be bothered by it at all, and there doesn't seem to be any unusual discharge.

I took him to the vet, and he first gave him an antibiotic (eye drops), which I gave 3 times a day for a week. After a week, he didn't improve, so I took him back.

On the second visit, the vet did a full eye exam (eye pressure, checked for injuries, tear production, and others, which I can't remember). Nothing seemed to be wrong. He gave a steroid to administer along the antibiotic.

After 4 days of the steroid, he seemed finally fine. I took him to the vet again, and he told me to continue with both eye drops to complete the 7 days for the steroid.

I stopped giving him the eye drops (both) on Tuesday, and today (Friday) I noticed that the eye is red again...

If it's not an infection, eye injury, glaucoma, not enough tears, what can it be? I will call the vet again on Monday (in the mean time, I started the steroid again, since that's the only thing that seems to make a difference), but I'd like to hear other opinions.

Thanks

[hazelrunpack]

How red does it get? Pinkish, or blood red?

Was allergy ruled out? We have a dog with seasonal allergies that sometimes shows the reaction in just one eye. It usually is fairly mild, though--just more pink than the other eye. Easy enough to check--see if your vet thinks it's okay to dose with Benadryl for a few days to see if there's any improvement.

Did the vet check for entropion? It's a condition where the edge of the eyelid turns and the lashes rub against the cornea. Seems odd that the condition wouldn't show up till age 9, though.

Maybe it's just a persistent infection that needs the antibiotics and steroids for a longer time and the meds will clear it up this time.

Hope you get some answers soon! If your vet can't figure it out, is there a veterinary ophthalmologist you can be referred to? I was surprised to hear that there was such a thing, but sometimes the specialists can pinpoint a problem that a general practice vet misses. They see so many more unusual cases than a regular vet does...

[DarKevs]

how is that eye doing?

could your dog have wacked into something that resulted in a blow to that eye or orbital area?

Hugz to your boy!