A cat has a swollen conjunctiva in the left eye. Why?
Channel: Dr David Sing
Date: 2013-11-30

Injury

Something got stuck in the cat's left eye. The natural instinct is to rub to try and remove the object. Rubbing the object against your eye can easily cause a corneal scratch, which is known as a corneal abrasion. Corneal Abrasions can be REALLY painful and take some time to heal, and that’s assuming they don’t get infected. 

Eye rubbing is the least effective and most dangerous way to get anything out, but the cat does not know what to do. The vet will prescribe eye drops to remove the dust. Consult your vet early.

A corneal abrasion is going to feel much worse for much longer time. In this cat, the fluorescein eye stain test did not stain the cornea green. Hence there is no cornea abrasion or ulceration. Eye injuries are emergencies.  Seek early vet treatment.
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A swollen left eye in a domestic shorthair cat.  The swelling is the upper eyelid conjunctiva. Something irritating e.g. dust fell inside the upper eyelid. The cat rubs his upper eyelid strongly and for long periods of time. You can see the hair loss above the upper eyelid of the left eye. 

Eye drops containing antibiotics with anti-inflammatory drugs given over 7 days reduced the conjunctival swelling. I syringe some normal saline to flush out the dirt. I also gave an anti-inflammatory injection. The cat recovered after 7 days.     

Video link
https://youtu.be/MCDXtqTMMss

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Educate, Engage, Entertain. Is it possible to do all these 3 in veterinary practice?

EDUCATE. A thorough physical examination includes opening the eyelids, using a torchlight to check for foreign bodies and corneal ulcers. The 2nd part of the external eye examination should be the fluorescein eye stain test. This involved the use of fluorescein eye drops to confirm the absence or presence of ulcers as was done in this case (Educate). Green corneal surface indicates corneal injuries or abrasions.

ENGAGE. The two lady owners used their smartphones' torchlight to shine onto the left eye (engage the customer). Explain the fluorescein eye stain test (educate the customer). The vet visit seemed enjoyable for the two ladies when one of the owner's smartphone's torchlight app malfunctioned (entertain the customer). The vet may use his own torchlight app to be efficient and productive, but there would be no "memorable torchlight malfunction" as in this case.

I gave the cat an anti-inflammatory injection and he should recover the next day. E-collars to prevent eye rubbing  are not practical in some cats and is not necessary in this case.

Intern Clara Chua did an excellent videography by closing up the relevant area of examination of the cat in the Toa Payoh Vets' consultation room. This makes the video fun to watch rather than a boring documentary on "how to examine the injured eye of a cat". 

More vet educational videos are at www.toapayohvets.com/videos.htm