Corneal ulcer in a 2 week old chick

[renay]

Is there something I can give for pain management? The ulcer is obvious and she does keep that eye mostly closed. She is keeping up with her hatch-mates and her mother, eating and drinking, and everything is normal that way.

 

[coach723]

Are you using anything in the eye? You can use plain neosporin (no pain killer) or terramycin eye ointment which is available at most Tractor Supplies and many feed stores. Tiny tube, it may be locked up and you have to ask for it. Put that in the eye twice a day, that will prevent or take care of infection, and give it a chance to heal.

 

[renay]

Thanks.
I have a new tube of polysporin with lidocaine and lots of expired BNP... Shoot. It's going to be at least until tomorrow night before I can get into town to look for something better. I doubt I'll be able to get the terramycin where I live - they keep the good stuff for prescription only.
There's nothing I can give for pain?

 

[coach723]

Sorry, what is BNP? Where are you generally? Helps in giving suggestions for things.
You can give aspirin if necessary, no ibuprofen or tylenol, just plain aspirin. Dose is generally 25mg per pound of weight each day, I usually don't give pain meds and have never to a chick that young. You can divide into two doses and give every 12 hours, just don't exceed the total amount per day. It's going to be a tiny dose for a 2 week old. Aspirin is OK unless there is bleeding, as it's a blood thinner. Once you can start treating the eye itself the pain should resolve quickly as the ulcer heals.

 

[renay]

BNP is pretty much prescription neosporin...same ingredients. Made by Vetquinol. Prescribed for my cat.

I'm in Ontario.

I'll hold off on the aspirin - she weighs nothing. Unless, of course, she absolutely needs it.

I think she was born with it or got a scratch within a couple of days. She's often held that eye closed, I just couldn't catch her to get a good look in the daylight until today.

Thanks again.

 

[coach723]

Then it would probably be OK to use, expired or not. Usually expired just means it may not be full strength anymore. Unless it's really expired I would probably use it until I could get something else. I've used expired terramycin before until I could get a new tube, it worked fine.

 

[renay]

All I could find without lidocaine was polysporin for conjunctivitis. The antibiotics in it are gramicidin and polymyxin B. Non-medicinal ingredients are alcohol, benzalkonium chloride, poloxamer and propylene glycol.

I'm not so keen about putting alcohol and propylene glycol in my own eyes let alone a baby chick...

Is this better than the expired bnp/neosporin that I have been using?

Her eye does seem better, but I am a glass-half-full kind of person so it might be the same as it was yesterday. It's definitely not worse.