Persistant Pink Eye

Greetings - turning to the experts in between vet visits.

Lucky (one of my many cats) started with pink eye mid-August. Took him to my normal vet, got some steroid/antibiotic eye drops and used those for a week or two.

No change, still icky and pink, so back to the vet. He did some glow in the dark test, thought his tear duct was blocked on the one side, so he sent us to the kitty eye doctor.

Saw that doc and he said it was for sure pink-eye, no blockage...it took 9 minutes for the glow in the dark stuff to run though and I don't think my vet waited near that long (no biggie, just FYI). He gave Lucky GenTeal eye drops with betadine in it which is supposed to be the anti-viral part and then also gave us Vetrachloracin ointment to be used w/the drops 4x/day. He also mentioned since we were following a steroid eye drop, we would likely be in for the long haul, as we have to un-do the work of the steroid and then let the new stuff take hold.

I work a weird schedule (I'm a paramedic) and I"m not home alot, so the 4x/day thing turned into 2-3x/day at best....since there wasn't much improvement, we went back to kitty eye doc, who gave me L-Lysine powder, to be given w/food 2x/day. Lucky LOVES that stuff, so we do eye drop, food w/lysine and then ointment...still only 3x/day on the drops though.

I checked him into my vet last Friday, and he got 4x Friday, 3x Sat, 2x Sunday and 4x Monday and Tuesday. Today, we're on 3x and that's about all I have time for, because it's bedtime!

I'm just wondering if any of you experts have an idea of how long the recovery period should be....Lucky goes back on 11/2 for a 3rd follow-up w/eye doc, but I"m getting antsy.

Today it's less pink and less puffy, so maybe we're turning the corner, but doesn't 2 months seem long to ya'll?

Any advice would be welcome!

Thanks - lauren in TX

Certain eye infections can take long periods to clear up. Especially if you can't give it as many times as directed. Drops are applied more times per day because they dont last as long in the eye as an ointment. Try to give the meds as often as needed, and be patient.

Sandie - I think you were right w/your advice about being patient...I've been doing the anti-viral drops 3-4x/day as directed (which means setting my alarm to get up while I"m asleep) and it seems we might be turning the bend...his eye is less pink (more pink after the drops, weird, eh) and not as near winky/droopy as it's been.

Hopefully when we visit the eye doc again on 11/2, he'll confirm my thoughts that this ordeal for Mr. Lucky is almost over!

Thanks again!
lauren and pinky winky lucky

From my experience with this, I say whatever you do, don't stop the lysine. It took awhile to clear my kitten's eyes when I first got her but her eyes have been clear and beautiful for several months now. All it took was 500 mg of lysine per day (one dose each day).

I am glad it's paying off. Just keep on top of it, and continue working with the vet. The medication can cause some initial irritation, but then clears up.