# Eye infection



## maryjane (Jul 15, 2006)

One of my Charlies didn't come to the food dish today and I went to check him and saw his right eye shut and a bit pink. There doesn't seem to be any obvious injury to it. I brought him in, he seemed fine yesterday, weight is normal, and pretty feisty otherwise. I happen to have some triple antibiotic eye ointment, that was prescribed for one of the puppies, and I also have liquid Clavamox. Should I give him the Clavamox? I know the dosage for tablets the same for the liquid? Anything else I can do for him? I have heard of "eye colds" too, what is that? Thanks for info.


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## pdpbison (Mar 15, 2005)

Hi maryjane,


I think I would just go with the Triple Antibiotic Eye Ointment...and see how things go...


Just put a little 'squig' on a fresh Q-Tip, and gently 'roll' the Q-tip so it does not drag when transfering the 'squig'...apply it high on the eye Lid, since it melts and distributes itself from there...


They can scratch their Eye sometimes, someone's claw or some dust or grit or something blown in from someone else's Wings making some fast Air, or whatever...and get a mild injury or slight infection, and the Ointment should clear it up nicely.

Just apply some each day for a few days...


"Eye Colds" I do not know anything about, so, others will have to say on that possibility, but your description does not sound like an Eye Cold far as I recall...


Good luck..!


Phil
l v


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## Birdmom4ever (Jan 14, 2003)

I've dealt with both injury to the eye and "one-eye colds," which in reality are respiratory infections. If it's an injury, just the eye will be affected. I would use the eye drops prescribed for your puppy. The medication our vet prescribed for Simon when his eye got punctured was the same med I think you would use on other animals. We were to administer the drops 2x a day. 

If it's a respiratory infection, on the other hand, the bird will show other symptoms as the illness progresses: wheezing, rattling, discoloration and discharge from the cere. If that's the case, Doxy-T is your best bet for treatment.


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## maryjane (Jul 15, 2006)

Thank you, his respiratory sounds normal and he is feisty and healthy, not wanting me to touch him at all which is normal for him.  He obviously forgets who took him in! (many years ago from a falling-down loft where the nasty lady let her shepherds in because she thought it was funny to tease the birds.  ). This morning I put more eye ointment on, and noticed what I thought was a tiny round seed stuck to his eye. In fact it is a very small growth, almost smaller than the head of a pin, seems to be on the bottom of his top eyelid. I didn't notice it yesterday when I examined, maybe it wasn't there yet, or was tucked under the eyelid. Poor guy, we all know how much it hurts to have something bothering your eye. I put a generous amount of ointment on it, at least it will help the irritation. What could this be? 

PS) I honestly don't know what I used to do before I found this site. . .all the info and advice has saved me (and others!) probably thousands of dollars in vet bills over the years.  Thank you again everyone.


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## John_D (Jan 24, 2002)

Is it possible to see what color this tiny growth is?

i thought my temporary resident had a growth, like pox, but it turned out to be just a few dots of dried yellowish crust where his eye had been watering, sticking quite firmly until I gave his face a wash.

John


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## maryjane (Jul 15, 2006)

It is pinkish red, looks just like a tiny round seed that would come in wild bird seed but smaller. I tried gently washing it off in case it was a seed, with a warm wet cloth, but it didn't come off and I didn't want to irritate it further. Hopefully I'm wrong and it's just a seed, but I don't think so. Of course the word "pox" sends my heart into my throat. I know very little about it. I'm sure it's contagious, he is isolated now and his mate looks just fine, eyes clear. Pox appears other places than eyes, is that correct? How would I go about treating it? Of course I can take him to the vet if need be.


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## MaryOfExeter (Sep 30, 2007)

Pox can occur in other places, yes. Most of the time, the lesions come up around the eyes and beak. It can cause pretty bad tissue loss, but there's a good chance it will just clear up and no bad damage will be done, if any at all. It's a virus, so of course it can't be cured, and must run its course, just like our chicken pox. There are some things you can give the bird that can help it get over pox, but I'm not the one here to tell you just what those things are. I can tell you though, that if it is pox, it usually takes about a month or a little over, and once a bird has it...it's immune to it for life. My pigeon vet book mentioned something about 1/4 of a 200-mg Flagyl tablet and 1/2 of a 50-mg doxycycline tablet once daily to give a good control over any secondary diseases that may come up after the pox.

I'm not saying it is pox, but it could be from what it sounds like. If it is, that's about all the info I know about it 

By the way, one-eye colds can cause one eye to become swollen and watery, and in severe cases can look pretty ugly (where the bottom eyelid is hanging down pretty bad and it's all red and stuff  ). The eye is also normally half closed or completely closed, and sluggish. One-eye colds can be easily treated with One Eye drops from Foy's. All it takes is one drop, in one eye, one time. 

Well that's my bit of health info for the day (or at least for the time being  )


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## maryjane (Jul 15, 2006)

Thanks Becky.  The eye is looking better today, not as watery and he's not holding it closed like he was yesterday. The tiny growth is still there, hopefully it's not pox. He's still feeling good and feisty as ever.


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## Birdmom4ever (Jan 14, 2003)

If it were me I think I'd have a vet look at it after Christmas. Perhaps he or she could remove the growth. I haven't dealt with pox but I'd be surprised if it was pox and that was the only place he had it.


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