Conjunctivitis in Horses

Much like humans, horses can contract conjunctivitis, also known as pink eye. It may due to several factors such as a dusty environment, an illness, or a viral or bacterial organism infecting the eye. It is also highly infectious.

Conjunctivitis is normally associated with a clear or yellow discharge in the eye. It may or may not contain mucous. At the same time, itching and irritation are also clear signs of the beginnings of conjunctivitis and these symptoms may appear before others symptoms arrive.

Symptoms and Types

• Redness of the eye
• Discharge (clear, yellow, or with mucus)
• Irritated eyelids
• Swollen eyelids
• Closed eyelids
• Adverse reaction to bright light
• Adverse reaction to dust or heat

Causes

• Infection of the conjunctiva
• Inflammation of the uvea (uveitis), the coating of the eye globe
• Numerous organisms responsible for injection – may be or viral (herpesvirus) or bacterial origin
• Secondary infection to an underlying illness
• Result of damage or trauma to eye
• Lack of or insufficient tear production
• Abnormally shaped eyelid
• Face flies (bacterial transmitters)
• Environmental Issues (i.e., dust, heat, dryness)

Diagnosis

A simple examination of the eye is often enough for a veterinarian to make an initial diagnosis of conjunctivitis in the horse, since the symptoms are outwardly obvious. Following that, your doctor will perform a thorough physical and ophthalmological exam on your horse, taking into account the background history of symptoms and possible incidents that might have led to this condition.

Some of the tests that may be used in the diagnostic process are cultures of the discharge that is seeping from the eye, tissue scrapings, and fluorescein stain, a technique that uses a non-invasive dye, which shows details of the eye under blue light. This latter method can be used to examine the eye for abrasions or foreign objects.