Opaque mustard-coloured eye - what the?!

31 Jan 2013, 15:28

If it was mine I'd first gently try with a clean finger.

31 Jan 2013, 15:43

Tiaris wrote:If it was mine I'd first gently try with a clean finger.

Ditto - me too... or maybe a damp cotton bud. Can't hurt to try.

31 Jan 2013, 16:38

looks like a seed husk to me too as he/she cant blink with it there as well....I would try the above..

31 Jan 2013, 17:08

I would say that it is most likely to be pus in the anterior chamber of the eye (that is between the cornea and the iris)
It is unlikely that the eye will be saved and it would usually result in permanent blindness.
There could be a number of causes, but I would suspect a penetrating injury as the most likely.

Cheers
Brett

31 Jan 2013, 17:17

Thanks for everyone's input. I may try the cotton bud, but also...

Brett, if it's pus, what type of topical antiseptic could be appropriate to try? He's an old bird, but I'd like to try and resolve it for him if I can. Also, if it's pus, would that not be expected to self-resolve/drain/reabsorb with time? However Niki's bird has shown this symptom, unchanged, for 2 months.

31 Jan 2013, 17:26

BrettB has the right idea - this is within the eye, not external to it. Is it bothering the bird? There doesn't seem to be a lot of irritation or inflammation so I doubt that antibiotics will make any difference. The eye will be non functional but if the bird is still functional then leave it be - you are unlikely to fix it but you can very easily create a secondary problem if you start scratching the cornea or glugging it up with ointment..

31 Jan 2013, 17:55

Finchy wrote:I have peered very closely at it and don't think it's a seed husk...but I am far from certain. My next thought is what to do about it if it does prove to be a seed husk - how to get it out? It's so perfectly covering the entire visible eyeball. Any ideas? Tweezers and a steady hand? I would hate, though, to damage the cornea by doing that, in case it's actually something organic and curable.

Niki, did your vet nurse friend see your Zebbie up close, in person, or was it advice at a distance?

Next I think I will get my mini 45X microscope out (coolest device!) and see what that reveals.

Hi Finchy, yes she had a look at him in person. Just checked my records, and it appeared 10 weeks ago- I had previously checked him 1 week prior, and he was perfectly fine then. In my birds case, it is definitely not a seed husk. He can still move the eye normally, and blink, and there is no sign of injury to the eye itself, or surrounding tissue.

31 Jan 2013, 18:21

OK, I got the 45x LED magnifier out and can see that the issue is within the eye, where our medics suggest. It's not a husk. There is no obvious penetrative damage visible on the cornea. The yellow material appears quite thick and opaque, and is a surprisingly bright Turmeric-yellow. It's pooled more in some areas than others - actually slightly more toward the edges and top of the chamber.

The eye is also now becoming inflamed around the outside.

31 Jan 2013, 19:06

Brett, if it's pus, what type of topical antiseptic could be appropriate to try?

You can now purchase Chloramphenicol eye drops over the counter. It is a broad spectrum antibiotic, but I have no idea of its safety in birds or even if it would penetrate the cornea to get to were the infection is. It is applied four times daily, which is quite an ordeal for the bird.
Perhaps I will defer this question to the avian vets.

Cheers
Brett

01 Feb 2013, 07:48

I don't believe it is a seed husk. The movement seems to occur with movement of the eyeball or when the third eyelid comes across the eye.

From the video it appears to be a nasty keratitis- a thick film formed over the surface of the eye- the cornea. This usually results from trauma to the surface of the eye. If it has penetrated through into the eye then this can cause a nasty infection and reaction inside the eye (inflammation) which can be quite painful.

It is fairly mature and would be difficult to treat successfully at this stage. It would need careful debriding (cleaning up) under local anaesthesia and probably some pain relief and/or antibiotics/antifungals depending on what the film on the eye contains.

You can try flushing it with saline eye wash and applying an eye ointment but most need a prescription.

Good luck with him.