# any help with the start of possible cherry eye / third eye lid thing



## chombiekay (Jul 15, 2014)

hi! thanks for reading this. last night i noticed my dog would have a puffy inner eyelid when looking at me. he's a 18m bichon/shihtzu. i looked it up and i compared it to what i thought was cherry eye possibly.

it's NOT sticking OUT of his eye, but i can see it when he looks up at me or if i pull down his lower eyelid on his left eye.

i went to the vet and they couldn't tell me anything conclusive. said it wasn't a scratch and looks like the start of cherry and and gave me some eye drops (steroid and anti-biotic) to put in his eye twice a day.

also tried doing the massage thing which hasn't really worked.

is this something that can actually go back down? like i don't know if it's something of an inflammation or whatnot.

or is this something that we're going to have to start saving up for as an eventual but inevitable surgery?

thanks guys and gals!


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## gingerkid (Jul 11, 2012)

That's something you should be discussing with a vet. Cherry eye often requires correction via surgery, and if it's another type of eye problem, well... I don't mess around with eye issues.


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## Hiraeth (Aug 4, 2015)

I'm going through the same thing with my Great Dane puppy. No scratches, I also am doing the eye drops. I'd say, since the vet has already seen him, keep him on the drops for the full cycle and make sure the eye doesn't cloud or worsen.

It doesn't look like full blown cherry eye to me (my puppy's actually looks worse than your dog's), so I wouldn't worry too much about surgery. Just observe and maintain the eye drop schedule, then analyze after 10 days.


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## chombiekay (Jul 15, 2014)

hi. how is it going with your dane pup?

so far it's day seven and we've been using the drops as instructed. honestly there is no change. nothing better, but nothing worse yet.

i wonder if it's not really coming out, if we should even think of surgery?




Hiraeth said:


> I'm going through the same thing with my Great Dane puppy. No scratches, I also am doing the eye drops. I'd say, since the vet has already seen him, keep him on the drops for the full cycle and make sure the eye doesn't cloud or worsen.
> 
> It doesn't look like full blown cherry eye to me (my puppy's actually looks worse than your dog's), so I wouldn't worry too much about surgery. Just observe and maintain the eye drop schedule, then analyze after 10 days.


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## Hiraeth (Aug 4, 2015)

chombiekay said:


> hi. how is it going with your dane pup?
> 
> so far it's day seven and we've been using the drops as instructed. honestly there is no change. nothing better, but nothing worse yet.
> 
> i wonder if it's not really coming out, if we should even think of surgery?


Thanks for asking! Same with my puppy - drops don't seem to be taking the swelling down at all. It looks less red and irritated, but otherwise still the same. 

Not sure about the surgery. Your vet could probably give you better information, but as minimal as that looks, I'd probably lean on the side of holding off unless the eye shows symptoms of being irritated, glassy or really dry. I think my puppy's will need surgery if it doesn't correct itself, sadly.


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## chombiekay (Jul 15, 2014)

aw man. i'm genuinely sad that your dog may need surgery to correct it. it's a bit irritating considering how much it costs! i've already asked around and ballpark is $500 - $1200.

too be honest, i'm not even sure what the drops were for. i did some research and looks like no dog ever really got the cherry eye reversed from it.

also just a note, i heard that if it happens to one eye, there is a chance it could happen to the other. sigh.




Hiraeth said:


> Thanks for asking! Same with my puppy - drops don't seem to be taking the swelling down at all. It looks less red and irritated, but otherwise still the same.
> 
> Not sure about the surgery. Your vet could probably give you better information, but as minimal as that looks, I'd probably lean on the side of holding off unless the eye shows symptoms of being irritated, glassy or really dry. I think my puppy's will need surgery if it doesn't correct itself, sadly.


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## Hiraeth (Aug 4, 2015)

chombiekay said:


> aw man. i'm genuinely sad that your dog may need surgery to correct it. it's a bit irritating considering how much it costs! i've already asked around and ballpark is $500 - $1200.
> 
> too be honest, i'm not even sure what the drops were for. i did some research and looks like no dog ever really got the cherry eye reversed from it.
> 
> also just a note, i heard that if it happens to one eye, there is a chance it could happen to the other. sigh.


Yup, I'm definitely carefully watching his other eye, just in case. Fortunately I have insurance, so my out of pocket costs will be rather low. I'm more worried about him being put under at 7 months of age, but all I can do is keep my fingers crossed. I'll hope for the best in your situation, as well! Maybe we'll both get lucky


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## gingerkid (Jul 11, 2012)

chombiekay said:


> aw man. i'm genuinely sad that your dog may need surgery to correct it. it's a bit irritating considering how much it costs! i've already asked around and ballpark is $500 - $1200.
> 
> too be honest, i'm not even sure what the drops were for. i did some research and looks like no dog ever really got the cherry eye reversed from it.
> 
> also just a note, i heard that if it happens to one eye, there is a chance it could happen to the other. sigh.


Not all treatments are meant to reverse/cure something... sometimes they just prevent it from getting worse. Maybe that is the case with the eyedrops. Don't know for sure, because I'm not a vet, but it would make sense that if it doesn't require surgery now, but will require surgery if it gets worse, that they'd try to prevent it form getting worse, even if you can't reverse the damage that's already occurred.


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

I can't really comment on your dog's specific condition, but I will say that I had a foster dog with double cherry eye who we did surgery on and within a week or two, it failed in one eye and may fail later on the other. It is a risk. The cherry eye only affected her cosmetically and needing some eye drops from here on out; the eye drops are fairly inexpensive I believe. So I would suggest talking with your vet about the risks/benefits/likely outcome of surgery if it is indeed cherry eye. I think if it were my dog and it was "only" cherry eye, I might only do eye surgery if the dog needed to go under for something else like a neuter or teeth cleaning; BUT that depends on the eye condition overall I am sure,


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## chombiekay (Jul 15, 2014)

just a follow up to all this. the strangest thing happened. i didn't really notice the cherry eye coming out the past day or so.

this morning i pulled his bottom eyelid a bit and noticed it was gone. what i did see was what looks like a scab? it was black/brown and looked to be where the cherry eye was. i am confused how this could have happened or what it is. i guess i could go see for a follow up for my vet but it is... gone.


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## chombiekay (Jul 15, 2014)

sigh. it came back today. haha. i guess as long as it doesn't get worse i'll just have to get used to this.


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## chombiekay (Jul 15, 2014)

an update. sometimes the cherry eye will come back randomly, then after a night or so it will disappear. i think i may have noticed what may cause it.

1) dog looking out car window.
2) stress?
3) hyperactivity.

these are just my thoughts regarding it.


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## Jen2010 (Feb 12, 2013)

I would continue with the drops your vet gave you.

My dogs have gotten eye infections that look similar to the first picture you posted. What I did to cure them was make a cup of tea (chamomile usually or earl grey) and allow the bag to cool completely. Then place the bag gently over the eye and hold it there as long as your dog will tolerate it. I'm not a vet, but that worked for me both times.


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