HELP! (swollen face/bloody clouds in eyes)

Hello everyone, I came to this message board looking for some advice and information. Here is the situation.
My dog Bear is a 2 in a half year old lab mix (we believe he's mixed with newfoundland but we're not sure)
He has had some symtpoms including a severely swollen back leg (which returned to normal size a few days ago) a severely swollen face, and swelling in his mouth 'lips' but not his gums or tongue. He also has some swelling around the area of his testicles (he has been neutered over a year ago)
About a week ago he had grayish blue clouds in his eyes, near the bottom. This went away and his eyes were normal for about 3 days, after that time the clouds reappeared, this time as clouds of blood. His vision is distorted, it seems as if he sees everything slightly to the right of where it actually is.
He has possibly had contact with wild cats and/or a variety of insects including mud wasps. He also walked through fallen debree including branches plants and possibly ticks...
His apetite is fine and so is his level of thirst. He has not been vomiting and he does not have diarrhea. His urine seems to have an extra dark color.

If you have any ideas about what could be the cause of this please let me know. Also I would love any ideas about how to reduce the swelling without medication (nothing from the vetrinarian has worked)

Please help me if you can. I need to find answers about what could be going on with my little bear.

 

I have heard before that cloudiness can be caused by liver probem (or cataracts in olderdogs). But it could be some sort of allergy (considering everything else) I hope he gets better. Take him to a vet though, it sounds sorta rough.

 

So the vet has seen Bear for these problems? the swelling and examined the eyes?
Do you know exactly what the medication was called? Im thinking with the wasps around and the swelling coming and going at different times that could well be an allergic reaction, the eyes....you say he fell through some debris, twigs etc, the eye problems could a result of an allergic reaction but also they could have sustained scratches from the debris...may even still have something in there which would continue to cause irritation and possible further damage if not treated. Might also be unrelated to the allergies.....I really think you need to keep up with the vet on this. Whatever the cause of the swelling, if its severe enough around the mouth it can spread to the tongue and throat, nose, they can suffocate and die....Not trying to panic you, just wanted to let you know.

 

that sounds serious, I would get Bear to the vet asap

honeybear

 

I agree--that all sounds serious...what did the vet say?? Did he do blood work?

Could he have been bitten by a snake? Dark urine could be liver problems or a hemolytic episode that could be due to bug or snake bite.

Poor Bear...please keep us informed!

 

Hello again....update on my pup

Bear has of course already been to the vet! Tests were done including a urinalysis, bloodwork, and supposedly a biopsy. I am here mainly because I am not sure I trust the vet - they changed the diagnosis and neither time they made a diagnosis did they bother to give information about the conditions they said he had. Not even the 'type'. Right now I have not mentioned the diagnosis because I am hoping for feedback and ideas about alternative ailments he might have. I wanted to hear some without peoples responses being influenced by what the vet said.

To those wondering about the med given for the swelling...it was prednisone.

Now I have a more specific question. Does anyone know of the different kinds of biopsy tests, methods, and the accuracy of the results?

Thanks for all your input so far.

 

Theres a few different ways to have a biopsy done...and at different levels, a minor one would be a fine needle aspirate, not really a biopsy but the findings could determine whether or not to go ahead and take a biopsy and send to be tested.
A fine needle aspirate is just with a syringe/needle, draw out some fluid and either examine it at the hospital under a microscope or send it in to a lab to be tested. Some of them dont need to be looked at under a microscope, sometimes depending on what the vet suspects he may have his diagnosis confirmed...i.e. blood clots..pus.
Then there are punch biopsy's, depending on the dog sometimes a local anaesthetic can be used, the tool used looks like the end of a pencil with the eraser tip missing, (kind of) that'll cut down into the area, then snip it off, one or 2 sutures and send it to the lab. Usually with a significant amount of tissue, or if its deep, general anaesthesia is done.
Some hospitals have laboratory testing equipment and can get quicker results, just as accurate as sending the samples to the lab, some will do a preliminary test but still send off to a lab for more extensive/additional tests. A lot of hospitals now can do their own in house blood tests...but may still use a lab for additional tests.
If Bear had a biopsy done...unless it was a fine needle aspirate Im sure you would know. It should be on your bill and there should be some sign of it somewhere on Bear, we usually shave the area as it has to be cleaned properly before we cut anything away or cut into the skin.
Pred is commonly used for inflamation, rashes, irritation from allergies but there are other drugs like diphenhydramine that are used more commonly if its just a sudden allergy....(with ongoing allergies that result in dogs tearing themselves up from scratching Pred would most likely be given) ...one of my dogs kept breaking out in hives, we didnt know the exact cause and it was on a daily basis, if I was home and could watch her I just used diphenhydramine, if I had to go out and couldnt watch her Id give her that and a shot of pred, pred last a couple of hours longer.
I think with most vets though its personal preference, there are side effects with both these drugs, pred is more if its used long term, diphenhydramine 'can' cause vomiting, diarrhea, sluggishness and in some cases agitation.
From what you said in your first post, an allergic reaction to a bug bite or something...with the swelling on the body....the eyes maybe an allergy or maybe not (usually with the eyes its more of swelling, watery, redness, blinking a lot or keeping them closed....the blue cloudiness threw me off with that though) sounded highly likely but most vets can pick up if its an allergic reaction within a couple of minutes of getting a quick history and feeling around the swollen areas, are they hot, lumpy, sensitive...being able to touch the areas and examine the dog thoroughly the vet may suspecting something completely different.
If its something like food allergies as opposed to a bug bite it could warrant blood tests or skin tests.
Your obviously not happy with the information the vet has given you, sometimes vets get too technical, tell you too much, too quick and assume you totally understand what theyre talking about....sometimes they dont actually have a diagnosis and you end up even more confused than before, some vets that Ive worked with are about the best there are...at their work but their 'people skills' leave a lot to be desired.
If I was you I would contact the vet again and ask him/ her exactly what the 'name' is of the dignosis' or suspected cause, and where do you go from here....or get a second opinion from another vet.

Dont know if that all helps a little. Keep us updated though if you can.

 

"Bear has of course already been to the vet!"

bearsmama, you wouldnt believe how many people come here with questions like this that wont go to the vet for some reason or other.

it sounds like it reaction, like you mentoined to a maybe a cat bite/scratch, or wasp sting

is he okay now?

 

Is there another vet where you can go for a second opinion? My gut reaction is that your vet has no idea and doesn't want to admit it. A top priority for any vet or doctor that treats my family is that they tell me if they don't know and then we go from there. Making things up is not acceptable.

 

Like Honeybears said, lots of folks come here instead of going to the vet. That's why we asked. :wink:

There's also a shave biopsy. That's not as deep as a punch biopsy and usually doesn't require stitches. And also--in humans anyway--a fine needle aspirate is often done on the liver. But that's done under CT guided imaging. My dog had a punch biopsy on her foot and it was sent to a lab for staining/etc. I would wonder myself if a biopsy was "checked" in the office and there were results immediately unless it was as Delauk said--pus or a clot. But that's probably because I work in a lab LOL.

My other question to you is what part of the world are you in? (We have posters from all over the world) I know that there are a few parasites that can cause symptoms like this. Especially moving to the eyes.