Question:
Hi
We're really worried about our thoroughbred labrador puppy, 6 months old who has been diagnosed with uveitis. By the time we got medical attention from a vet opthalmologist in our area, our puppy's eyes were cloudy and milky looking. we are on a regimen of deltasone started at 60 mg and is now down to 20 mg, pred acetate drops, an injection in the eye, amoxicillin 400 mg, and atropine drops. last tuesday when he was on 40 mg he could see. i had a follow thru check today and he couldnt see because of the cloudiness. My question to you, sir, is, Is this something that happens every once in a while? Is it possible that with a lowered steroid dosage his eye will clear up and his vision restored? or are we looking at something that has happened that seems to be irreversible? please do write to let us know; we are frantic.

Answer:
Please contact your breeder and inform them of what is happening with the pup. I have no experience with this problem, sorry.

Heather and her 3 Golden Girls

Answer:
I never heard of uveitis, but found some info, although it pertains to older dogs. You really need to contact this breeder.

"Uveitis is often associated with a systemic illness leading to immune system problems in older dogs. Unfortunately this can be almost any systemic illness, although infectious diseases like ehrlichiosis, fungal infections, leptospirosis and others have most commonly been associated with uveitis. It can occur secondarily to cancer in some cases. There is a condition "uveodermatologic syndrome" in which uveitis and skin disease occur together (usually affecting mostly the face) but this usually occurs in young dogs of the northern breeds (Akitas, Siberian huskies, etc.). Hormonal diseases may be able to induce uveitis, too. Uveitis also occurs for no discernible reason in dogs.

It is a good idea to make sure a good ophthalmic exam, general bloodwork and chest X-rays are done on any dog with uveitis. It is a lot harder to figure out which infectious diseases to test for but eliminating the fungal, parasitic, viral and bacterial possibilities that are common in your area may be worthwhile.

Most of the time, vets like one disease that explains all the symptoms but that might not happen in your dog's case. Hypothyroidism and Cushing's diseases might cause both the eye and skin signs and dogs with cancer can have almost any set of clinical signs but it is more likely that there is a second disease causing the skin symptoms. There are a lot of possible causes of skin disease. Allergy is the most common cause of hairloss in my practice area, followed by parasitic skin disease -- but then there are a lot of other possible causes."

Answer:
I know exactly what you're talking about! However uveitis itself doesn't generally cause clouding. It can cause the iris to appear mis-shaped so to speak. Affect clarity of vision and make the eyes very sensitive to lights. So if you walk the dog do it when it's not very bright outside and for tolerance of pain keep the lights in your home lowered.

How did the diagnosis come? Did the opthalmologist use a slit-lamp microscope or dilate the dogs pupils? Were you there during the exam, can you explain what the doctor did?

I am confused as this generally does not happen to both eyes at the same time.

Did the vet take pressure readings of the eyes, if you don't know ASK...and ask what they are and what the normal readings should be.

Careful with the steroids, they can cause crystalization and over usage can cause visual disturbances.

It can be something the dog will recover from. I'd be more interested in finding out the cause, the root of this as uveitis is usually a symptom of a much greater problem.

Had the dog been ill just preceeding your noticing the visual troubles?

Answer:
thank you for your responses..its so heartening to know that you all care enough to respond.
The opthalmologist actually performed titer tests to rule out the possibility of tick borne diseases and Lyme, since our pup had an elevated WBC and lowered RBC's , which could also be due to the fact he was on cortico steroids. However all the results came out negative, so we dont know what the cause is and why the uveitis occured. Of course the reason we are in the frantic state today is because the inflammation went untreated so long and we werent seen by a qualified opthalmologist,and our vet couldnt diagnose the problem, but thats another story..
it is not an inherited disease, so the breeders, even though they are very much engaged and forthcoming in this situation, are not responsible..
the blueness has not gone away, and the cloudiness is very worrying, and the dog still cannot see, it makes us feel so bad, he certainly is handling it much better than all of us..
his ocular pressure in the affected eye is 8, the other eye is normal. I have put him on a strong holistic vitamin therapy, lets see if that works. the vets have a wait and watch approach, so by next tuesday, we'll see what transpires.
Any thoughts will be most appreciated. He is on 20 mg pprednisone now, and i do realise thats the steroids arent particularly great, but for the inflammation to die down, it seems that its the only way to go..
pray for us! from my stalking on the net i gather that with all other factors negative, uveitis may be indicative of something allergic in his environment, but we still dont know what it is..its so frustrating since we have tried our very best to get him treated as quickly as possible but the vets wouldnt see him , and when they did they completely misdiagnosed it. it makes me heartsick..

Answer:
sorry, i neglected to mention, that yes, the vet opthalmologist did use a slit lamp microscope and a tonometer to check the puppy's eyes, and also, no, the puppy has been really active and a true joy to all of us, retrieving and training so well and being a wonderful family dog, until this episode with the eyes. there were no illnesses prior to this..

Answer:
Quite often virus can inflammation can affect the eyes but it's unusual it would affect both. Thats what has me baffled!

Is the prednisone in the form of eye drops?

IOP is normal on the one side yet they still think it's uveitis/iritis? hmmm

I'd reduce inflammation then through holistic means as you seem to be doing.

Vaccinations can cause many conditions, so I wouldn't rule out vaccines. If the dog is scheduled for any 'don't give them' while sick!!


Belladonna seems to be great at reducing inflammation in the eye area. Maybe learn more about it and consult a naturopathic vet!

Answer:
I will mention what you said about lowered OP in the affected eye and normalcy in the other eye, as well as your comment as to why, in a viral condition is it only affecting one eye, to the puppy's opthalmologist and see what he says when I see him next thursday. However two different opthalmologists have confirmed that it is indeed Uveitis. Meanwhile he is on 10 mg prednisone tablets by mouth, as well as the pred acetate suspension that I am putting in his eye.We are decreasing the steroidal dosage everyday until next thursday, august 5th, when he will be on 5 mg prednisone every OTHER day. His predacetate eye drops decrease to 4 times a day starting tuesday next versus 6 times a day right now..lets hope the inflammation goes down and the problem doesnt recur..
Meanwhile I'm socking the vites to him, and will confer with a holistic vet shortly after this crisis blows.
regards, and many many thanks for your response. I cant tell you how appreciative I am for your input.[/color]

Answer:
Well I have to tell you and don't laugh I had this condition myself after a viral infection and I didn't take the dosage your dog is on.

For some reason prednisone is over rx'd by vets, like a catchall for anything they don't know about. I would like for you to also ask why the oral prednisone is being administered. Prednisone can be beneficial in many cases yes but it's danger scares me.

I have told many people to try holistic treatments and sometimes they work a little sometimes they work a lot. I tried it myself with wonderful results for me and on my dogs.

If there IS a viral/bacterial cause for any inflammation or increased IOP then I would suggest you try a holistic approach to attack that. You can do this with oil of oregano. It's very strong and tastes bitter and has a hot bite to it. BUT you can hide this with some yogurt or unsweetened applesauce.

Fortunately since the demand for it has increased over the past couple of years the price has come down. When I first started taking it the price was 60bux a bottle, now it's more like 20bux.

If you're interested in trying this, I can't see it hurting / harming the dog. You can give a couple of drops 2x a day in some yogurt/applesauce. It will or should attack and kill any harmful viral infections and may help with inflammation as well. It's worth a try anyway You can buy it at health food stores.

Hows puppy feeling? Have you tried soothing the eyes by leaving lights turned down low and doing your outings/walk in the evening when its not so bright. That will help a lot!

Keep an eye on your dogs balance as well, it could show you neurological problems.

Answer:
Hi ,

I have good news, our puppy seems to be doing better, and his pupil is getting clearer, and he could see from the affected eye, so we have come a long way from last week. What a time.. This little fella being our first puppy, we were so wrapped up in the problem,and, I admit, I had no idea how much his condition could affect me. the truth is, I was absolutely freaking out. Thanks all of you who came up with wonderful suggestions and put up with my sos queries !! I am still giving him his prednisolone but its only every 24 hrs now and this thursday he finishes up with that. the predacetate too we need to finish up by thursday.so hopefully he'll be on his way to good health. I am going to continue with his vites and the oil of oregano is something I will try, Thanks so much Luba. You have been such a help!
I'll be on this forum too, hopefully I can help someone else like you all have helped me.

Answer:
THAT is wonderful news

Way to go, you did great!!! It's lovely to hear of happy things happening...I'm so very please pup is doing better.

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