matted eyes

[deernana]

Does anyone out there have any preventative ideas for matted eyes in fawns? I have treated them with terramycin in the past but would love to figure out what is really causing it to begin with. Or do you have a better treatment. They usually don't develop this until they are several weeks old and I try to make very sure no formula gets in their eyes when they are fighting over a bottle.

[bigcountry]

Don't know what causes it, but we put penacillan in the eyes.

[Robbie]

Terramacyin or other OPTHAMALIC ointment, non-steroidal is about all you can do, unless you have full blown pink-eye, not just matting. Then, tetracyclene + sulfa is the most effective antibiotic treatment that I am aware of. Non-steroidal is important because if there is any scratch or abrasion on the eye that you are unaware of, steroid ointment will cause ulceration and more damage.

I wouldn't put something that isn't indended for opthamalic use in the eyes of anything. I sure wouldn't put it in my eyes. How do we know if there is an ingredient in an injectable formula that facilitates is effectiveness/ability to be absorbed and metabolized in the muscles and tissues that could burn, or be abrasive, or damaging to the eye somehow? I see a lot of people talk about using different drugs in ways they aren't specifically intended, IM vs. SC vs. oral, etc. and I just wonder if they have actually been advised by a vet or someone with pharmacology expertise to do these things, or if they are just making it up as they go along. Allen and I had a thread recently talking about pharmacology, this industry needs more of it, lots more of it.

[Thiex Deer]

We wash eyes with a solution of baking soda and water and it usually clears them up pretty quickly
Shannon

[LGode]

Baking soda sure is an interesting idea......I certainly wouldn't do it though as the active ingredient in baking soda is sodium bicarbonate....a fairly basic solution on the pH scale which can cause a chemical burn to the eye. Maybe if you mixed it with battery acid first to bring the pH to a more neutral range though.....nah, dont do that either.:eek:

I think I'd read Robbies post and follow her recomendations, it certainly sounds like a more proven method to me and less risky:D

[Scott Heinrich]

Baking Soda????? It is also quite abrasive and would scratch the eye. I like the battery acid idea to bring the ph up.

[Thiex Deer]

Dont know where it originated from but We have been raising fawns for 20 years now and have done this as long as I can remember. We have only had to do it for 1 fawn in the past couple of years but have never had a problem but it does clear them up very fast. I guess I will keep with what works for us.
Shannon Thiex

[Scott Heinrich]

You learn something every day, but I just cant get used to the idea of placing an abrasive in the eye.

[Wooden acres]

Any time I've had deer with that yellow matting in their eyes I feed Auromycin for a few days and it clears right up . Yup feed grade tetrocycline works wonders once in awhile . Hey I'll tell ya if Shannon says something works it has to work , he and Mike have been raiseing great quality deer for a very long time . Ever notice how many great bucks have Sam, Donnor or Tex in the pedigree some place ? Just a thought !!

[Antlershed]

I just had a bottlefed with an eye the would not clear up, it was matted shut every single morning, I used a creme from the vet (cant think of the name of hand) and it did not seem to clear it up any after 3 days of using it, so I gave her a shot of LA200 last night and it was clear this morning, and has been so far all day.