Charlie's grass seed issue

Charlie is a fluffy, sometimes white, Maltese cross. His owner was unaware that he had any problems until he went to clip him. He noticed that Charlie had an extremely sore eye which was discharging a lot of pus.

The vet was surprised how tolerant Charlie was when having his eye examined as it must have been extremely painful. Once the discharge was cleared away, local anaesthetic drops were applied so the eye was less painful and could be better evaluated. On closer inspection, a large grass seed had become lodged in his eye, hidden by the eyelids. With the help of the veterinary nurse, the offending grass seed was carefully removed.

A special stain (fluorocein) was applied to the eye to highlight any ulceration. A large ulcer was seen on his cornea (the clear "window" at the front of the eyeball) caused from the grass seed rubbing. On further examination, the vet also found more grass seeds in one of his ears. These were removed without incident.

Charlie was sent home with various eye medications to reduce the inflammation and infection. He was rechecked several times afterwards to ensure that the ulcer was healing properly. We are happy to report that the ulcer healed well and his sight has not been affected. He also was sporting a nice new haircut when next we saw him. His owner plans on being more diligent with grooming him in the future.

Grass seeds are a common problem especially in the warmer weather when the grass goes to seed. Despite their size, they can cause severe problems depending on where they lodge. Commonest sites seem to be between dog's toes and in their ears or eyes but we have found them everywhere! (including stuck in mouths or up their prepuces or vaginas). They can cause eye problems (as with Charlie) which can lead to loss of the eye if left untreated; ear infections or ruptured ear drums and abscess formation. There is no simple solution apart from prevention of access to areas where grass seeds are, keeping the grass short and regular grooming to remove grass seeds before they become imbedded.