Eye discoloration -- any thoughts?

[g8erjackie]

So I noticed that Ruckus has some discoloration, more like a dark spot coming off of the colored portion of one of his eyes. It appeared within the last week -- I went back and looked at pictures I've taken in the last month and studied them to be sure. But honestly I'm up in face playing and giving him kisses (yeah yeah I like bulldog smooches) all the time so I don't think I'd have missed it.

Has anyone seen something like this? I'm going to have the vet check it, but thought I'd crowd source it also.

 

[oscarmayer]

Brown pigment migrating into the sclera(white) is normal in most cases. As long as it's not raised I'm thinking it a normal occurrence. If it stays about the same size it would be fine to wait until your next Vet visit to ask, IMO.

Google "Melanosis in canines" for more info.

BTW, he has beautiful eyes.

 

[brutus77]

Brutus has this as well. I assumed it was normal because the vet never said anything and he checks his eyes regularly.

 

[TyTysmom]

Tyson has it on one eye towards the bottom though kinda on his lid. Vet said its nothing, so we never worried about it.

 

[2BullyMama]

Banks had those too.... our vet said it was not to be concerned about

 

[g8erjackie]

Thanks, guys! I was letting my paranoia run rampant and convince myself that it was s tumor behind his eye....I've calmed down after some more research and a cal to the vet. We see the vet next weekend for some booster shots so she'll check it out then.

 

[g8erjackie]

Hey everyone! Just a quick update: The vet said she thinks it's normal and some dogs get it. She said the discoloration didn't look "deep" -- which is something she looks for when evaluating if a dog might have a tumor or growth. She gave me the names of a few veterinary ophthalmologists in case I wanted to get it checked out further.

Something I realized I didn't mention before is that we had started Ruckus on a relatively new drug called Apoquel. After a long, long fight with interdigital cysts, I finally agreed to try medicine. Let me tell you those cysts disappeared. No more puffy paws. However, I've read some disturbing articles (and some not disturbing that totally tout the drug) regarding side effects and long-term use.

My initial reaction was that maybe the Apoquel caused the discoloration. The vet and I agreed to take him off the medicine and see if the discoloration cleared up. So....I take him off of it and BAM cysts are back with a vengeance.... I'm so torn.

 

[Old School Dropout]

Our 10 year old Shih Tzu has this in both eyes, our Vet has said it is nothing to be concerned about. His vision certainly seems fine and he has been a super healthy guy overall his whole life.

 

[1Chumly]

Chumly had a couple of them towards the end of his life in one eye. They looked kind of like dark 'floaters' and they did move. One of them eventually covered his iris and I was scared he would be blind in that eye but the vet was never concerned and he seemed to be able to see OK. It was very worrying at first though.

 

[rjisaterp]

If it was a broken blood vessel...I would say it is a sub-conjunctival hematoma. It is interesting what the vet said. Besides the cysts coming back did the discoloration clear up [MENTION=7373]g8erjackie[/MENTION] ?

 

[helsonwheels]

Thanks, guys! I was letting my paranoia run rampant and convince myself that it was s tumor behind his eye....I've calmed down after some more research and a cal to the vet. We see the vet next weekend for some booster shots so she'll check it out then.

At lease you're keeping an " eye " on him! :D

 

[oscarmayer]

The side effects we've experienced from Apoquel are...we haven't noted ANY side effects! That is, on the rescues that we've placed. If there are long term SE I can't imagine they could be any worse than long term use of Prednisone. Our Dozer was a major allergy boy. We had him tested and gave him shots all his life...along with a moderate dose of Pred. Without the Pred his life would have been misery. I'm confident that dosing the Pred to him shortened his life. How much? I have no idea..a day, a week, a year?

Was his quality of life improved while he was with us? YOU BETCHA! This has to be considered when opting for a medication that may cause SE from long term use. Dozer passed a little over a year ago at the age of 9. He grew old a happy, itch-free boy. Had Apoquel been available in his time, I would have used it without hesitation.

 

[CCandMurray]

Poor Ruckus I'm sorry I don't have any experience with this type of thing but Murray and I send healing thoughts and prayers your way!!!

 

[nubonics]

Chumly had a couple of them towards the end of his life in one eye. They looked kind of like dark 'floaters' and they did move. One of them eventually covered his iris and I was scared he would be blind in that eye but the vet was never concerned and he seemed to be able to see OK. It was very worrying at first though.

The floating ones are cysts - my frenchie mix has a couple of them in his eyes. We took him to an ophthalmologist and he said that the only long term concern is glaucoma but even if we had them removed, we are still high risk for glaucoma.


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[g8erjackie]

I'm so behind on my own thread! Thanks for all of the advice -- it makes me feel better that others have seen the discoloration and it hasn't been anything to worry about.
[MENTION=11639]rjisaterp[/MENTION] the discoloration hasn't seemed to go away at all, but it hasn't gotten any bigger from what I can tell. The cysts have actually calmed down a bit. Maybe they surged after stopping he Apoquel, not sure if that's a thing.