Allergic Reaction

We had a fun day yesterday. Went for a long walk down past the duck pond all the way down to 35th Street and trolloped through the wetlands and down the new boardwalk at Sunset Park. After we got back, we decided it was time to clean Simone's ears (a very necessary Sunday afternoon ritual), and we noticed that her right eye was bulging out of its socket. Needless to say, we were freaked out and called the emergency vet's office. They felt it was necessary to see her right away, so we all hopped into the truck and sped down Philomath Blvd. to the clinic. We were seen within minutes of our arrival, and it was determined that Simone was having an allergic reaction to some unknown stimulus. Her other eye was starting to look puffy, as was her mouth, and the on-call vet pointed out the hives that were appearing on her skin. They used a fluorescent green dye to check out her eye and make sure there wasn't a foreign body in there, and cleaned it out with saline and a Q-tip. Simone was really good and held still while her eye was poked and flushed. The vet said her eye wasn't scratched and didn't show any signs of injury, which was a relief. Simone was taken back into the treatment room for an injection of a steroid (fortunately not prednosone, the evil steroid that caused her so many problems this past fall) to control the systemic swelling taking place, and also a large dose of benadryl. Within an hour, her eye was nearly back to normal, and her hives disappeared. We were so relieved to have a definite diagnosis and then actual cure within the space of 30 minutes. After our last traumatic veterinary experience, we weren't sure we were ready for another!

Now, back to the futon...