Herpes in Cat's Eye Question

wrote:

So far, in this thread, I've read to avoid steroid treatments when
herpes virus is present, and when there is a scratch on the cornea. So,
how does the vet *know* that the herpes virus is present before
prescribing?

AFAIK, the only definitive test is to do PCR (polymerase chain reaction
- a molecular biology technique) with a secretion sample to detect the
DNA.

Is there a reliable test?
What sort of eye infections *do* they prescribe steroids for?

Steriods are to reduce the inflammation. It could be used for any
infection that was severe where you could rule out corneal abrasions
and Herpes (based on clinical symptoms and patient history), but in my
experience most opthalmic preps are antibiotic-only for cats with eye
infections. There may be other criteria I don't know about, too.

-L.

"-L." wrote in message
Steriods are to reduce the inflammation. It could be used for any
infection that was severe where you could rule out corneal abrasions
and Herpes (based on clinical symptoms and patient history), but in my
experience most opthalmic preps are antibiotic-only for cats with eye
infections. There may be other criteria I don't know about, too.


This makes me wonder- I have a 15 week old shelter cat who presented with
typical URI symptoms that included non productive conjunctivitis. He was
scoped for abrasions (none) then prescribed a steroid/antibiotic eye
ointment which helped. Once that tube was nearing empty I picked up another-
which did no good at all and even seemed to make it worse.

For a week I alternated the two tubes to see if I could discover why one
tube worked and the other did not. Only after a week did I get out a
magnifying glass and discover that the second (ineffective) tube was
antibiotic only with no steroids.
I got another tube of the steroid ointment and he cleared up- with the odd
flare up every two weeks or so.

I have had his eyes looked at by two different vets- and no mention was made
of 1) whether the URI was herpes or not- they just assumed it was, and 2)
that steroids were bad for herpes related conjunctivitis.

Has my cat been harmed?
Are these two vets not taking proper care with their shelter contract cats?
They make a mint being the shelter referral docs, as the shelter was billed
for every one of my many visits.

What else could cause conjunctivitis flare ups besides herpes?


--
Toni
http://www.irish-wolfhounds.com

["Followup-To:" header set to rec.pets.cats.anecdotes.] On 2006-02-01,
-L. penned:

wrote:

So far, in this thread, I've read to avoid steroid treatments when
herpes virus is present, and when there is a scratch on the cornea.
So, how does the vet *know* that the herpes virus is present before
prescribing?

AFAIK, the only definitive test is to do PCR (polymerase chain
reaction - a molecular biology technique) with a secretion sample to
detect the DNA.


For humans, there is a blood test to identify whether you have either
herpes type 1 or type 2 in your system, even if there's no outbreak.
They can also culture lesions to test for it (don't know how this is
done; maybe it's the same as the PCR thingie).

--
monique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully

pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca

Toni wrote:

This makes me wonder- I have a 15 week old shelter cat who presented with
typical URI symptoms that included non productive conjunctivitis. He was
scoped for abrasions (none) then prescribed a steroid/antibiotic eye
ointment which helped. Once that tube was nearing empty I picked up another-
which did no good at all and even seemed to make it worse.

For a week I alternated the two tubes to see if I could discover why one
tube worked and the other did not. Only after a week did I get out a
magnifying glass and discover that the second (ineffective) tube was
antibiotic only with no steroids.
I got another tube of the steroid ointment and he cleared up- with the odd
flare up every two weeks or so.

I have had his eyes looked at by two different vets- and no mention was made
of 1) whether the URI was herpes or not- they just assumed it was, and 2)
that steroids were bad for herpes related conjunctivitis.

Herpes causes keratitis which is degradation of the cornea. That's why
you want to avoid steriods - they can make the keratitis worse. Are
you sure it wasn't an anti-viral preparation? There may be some
steroids that are ok for use with Herpes - I don't know. Phil P. might
know more about it. I know we did not prescribe steriod preps for
Herpes at the feline pracrtice where I worked. But 99% of the cases we
saw involved severe corneal abrasions.



Has my cat been harmed?

Probably not. How is he doing now?

Are these two vets not taking proper care with their shelter contract cats?
They make a mint being the shelter referral docs, as the shelter was billed
for every one of my many visits.

What else could cause conjunctivitis flare ups besides herpes?

A lot of conditions - rhinoviruses, foreign material. Are you sure
they thought he had Herpes?

-L.

"Toni" wrote in message
.. .

What else could cause conjunctivitis flare ups besides herpes?

.......all I can offer you is this:
http://www.animaleyecare.net/disease...unctivitis.htm
http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/in...m/bc/30200.htm

.........And how the heck are you Toni? Long time no see!

buglady
take out the dog before replying

Monique Y. Mudama wrote:
For humans, there is a blood test to identify whether you have either
herpes type 1 or type 2 in your system, even if there's no outbreak.

IIRC about 70-90% of the human population tests positive for Herpes of
one type or the other.

They can also culture lesions to test for it (don't know how this is
done; maybe it's the same as the PCR thingie).

I think they grow it in HeLa cells and then have a chemical assay that
tests for it. I'm not sure PCR can differentiate between types 1&2
without sequencing the fragments (it is possible it can if there is
enough polymorphism between the two types - I don't know if there is,
though.).

-L.

CatNipped wrote:

How contagious is herpes in a cat's eye? What degree of contact would it

Hi, hope someone was able to help with this.

I wanted to comment, did you know that a fever blister on a human lip
is herpes too?

oh yeah

["Followup-To:" header set to rec.pets.cats.anecdotes.] On 2006-02-01,
Mr Tibbs penned:

CatNipped wrote:

How contagious is herpes in a cat's eye? What degree of contact
would it

Hi, hope someone was able to help with this.

I wanted to comment, did you know that a fever blister on a human
lip is herpes too?

oh yeah

Er, can be. Not all are.

--
monique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully

pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca

Monique Y. Mudama wrote:

Er, can be. Not all are.

you got one? wishing you didn't have herpes?

yes they are

im not talking about a can't **** bump

im talking canker sore - it be contagious herps

On 2006-02-01, Mr Tibbs penned:

Monique Y. Mudama wrote:

Er, can be. Not all are.

you got one? wishing you didn't have herpes?

yes they are

im not talking about a can't **** bump

im talking canker sore - it be contagious herps

You a doctor? Wish you were one?

Canker sores are by definition inside your mouth. I recently had one
and wanted to find out for sure what it was. I went to my doctor's
office. They swabbed the sore for testing, assuring me that it was
almost certainly herpes.

Well, guess what? Lab results came back. Not herpes. Just a sore.
Actually, all the websites I've found on canker sores said that they
are non-contageous and no one knows where they come from. Women and
teens are more prone to them.

Fever blisters on the outside of your mouth are probably herpes, but I
don't see why they couldn't be other things, too. But they're not the
same thing as canker sores.

http://familydoctor.org/613.xml

--
monique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully

pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca