Summer Sores

By Dr. Rustebakke

   This is a "Summer Sore" in the corner of the eye causing the eye to be very sore and inflamed. It is caused by a tiny worm called "Habronema muscae" which is carried by flies, and burrows into the tissue; they can occur anywhere on the body, but we commonly see them in the eye. If you have a horse with a sore, swollen and runny eye, or a sore that will not heal we always need to rule out summer sores this time of year.
   Prevention is the best medicine; fly control including fly mask, repellent, anything you can do to keep flies off the horse. Once they are established we use oral Ivermectin or Quest dewormer to kill the parasites, try to remove the necrotic debris from the sores, and use corticosteroids to reduce the inflammation.