Molly Watson

It was a routine Saturday morning when Molly Watson came in for a consultation. Molly is a 5 year old, blue, Staffordshire Bull Terrier that is still very inquisitive even though she has finished puppyhood.

The afternoon prior, at Molly’s home, the laundry powder had fallen from the shelf and the lid had come off with powder covering the floor, with some still left in the container. Being the inquisitive one, she was quickly in the laundry to see what the noise was and ended up having laundry powder all over her face and eyes. It took a bath by owner Julian to get the majority of the powder off her, but he hadn’t realised the amount she had in her eyes and how much she had absorbed.

The next morning, Molly was presented at Greensborough with eye irritation. After applying a fluorescent eye stain it was evident that Molly had bilateral corneal ulcers. These superficial ulcers were on both eyes and covered almost the entire cornea. They would have been quite painful and Molly would have had extremely limited vision. The positive from this is that the cornea is the fastest healing membrane in the body.

A corneal ulcer is an open sore on the cornea. Molly’s had been due to chemical trauma but other causes can be due to infection, drying and exposure of the eye and in humans, overwear or misuse of contact lenses. Corneal ulcers are a serious problem and may result in loss of vision or blindness permanently if not treated.

Molly was sent home with an eye cream, anti-inflammatories and to be kept inside, away from the direct sunlight. Upon revisit, 48 hours later, the change to the ulcer was incredible. Both eyes were again fluoresced using the stain and the size change was dramatic. Molly is due for another check-up in 24 hours, but at this stage, by continuing with her medication and the aftercare she is receiving at home Molly should make a full recover. This shows how easily something so simple can turn in to a hazard, whether it is in the home or the garden shed.

This photo of Molly shows the green fluorescing stain on her first revisit. It does make her look a bit like an Alien!