Wednesday Woofs of Wonder: Dog Eye Boogey Treatment

When your pup is greeting you back home from work, looking into their eyes can be quite a heart warming experience. The last couple of days though, I’ve noticed my pup has had quite a bit of eye boogies!

My typical reaction is to just wipe it away with my fingers and think- tuh-dah, all better! Since this doesn’t seem to be quite doing the trick, I decided to investigate. Let the digging begin (excuse the pun).

From what I gathered in my research, there are about four different common types of eye discharge you can encounter.

1. Clear Discharge- this is probably due to wind blowing in the face or slight dust
2. Watery/Mucus like- evidence of a foreign body in the eye like an eyelash, or conditions like corneal ulcers or glaucoma, this can lead to Epiphora (excessive tearing)
3. Yellow-green/bloody/Pus like– infection, such as Conjunctivitis, from such causes as allergies, birth defects, injury, tear duct problems, tumors, distemper or dry eye
   1. Symptoms may also include red eyes, inflammation, intense blinking, squinting, crusty eyes, keeping eyes closed more than usual, pawing at the eyes

4.    Brown Dog Tear Stains- eye discharge mixes with bacteria or toxins on        the skin to make a brown-like stain, common to light colored dogs and smaller breeds

Eye Issues by Physical Makeup

Flat-faced dogs- Pugs, Boxers, Bulldogs, or Pekingese are more likely to have excessive discharge due to their shallower eye sockets, flatter faces and protruding eyes, which makes them more vulnerable to issues of the eye.

Loose facial skin dogs- cocker spaniels, Saint Bernards, bloodhounds, beagles and some terriers are more likely to have eyelids that roll outward, called Ectropion, where a gland in the eyelid falls out of position. Surgery is often needed to correct this breed’s issues.

White and/or light blonde hair- cocker spaniels, poodles, shih tzus, and are more prone to tear stains due to irritation from coarse fur

Always check with a veterinarian if you have a concern, especially because these incidences can escalate to blindness or even the loss of an eye!

Treatment

It’s quite dependent on the cause, but often it can be treated with saline washes, pain medicine, antibiotics, antihistamines, artificial tears, or if there’s a physical issue like a tear duct abnormality, surgery may be needed.

How To Apply Dog Eye Medication

1. Wearing rubber gloves, wipe away the discharge around the dog’s eyes with a cotton ball dampened by warm water.
2. Adjust your dog’s head back slightly and rest the hand holding the drops on the top of the dog’s head to avoid hitting the dog’s eye with the dropper, and squeeze the droplets on the upper region of the eye
3. For Eye Ointment: pull down your dog’s lower eye lid slowly as if to create a little pocket for the treatment and rest your hand as before, and squeeze the recommended amount into the pocket. Afterward close and hold the pocket a few seconds to allow the ointment to spread evenly.

Saline Solution Regiment

1. To clean an infected area and remove dirt and/or dust you can wash your dog’s eyes with a saline formula several times a day.
2. Mix ½ teaspoon of PLAIN table salt (not iodized or containing other compounds), with 8oz of lukewarm water. Pour this solution over the dog’s eyes a few times.

Aloe Vera Gel Application

1. Put a drop of aloe vera gel in your dog’s infected eye several times a day if there are signs of infection. This is an excellent natural topical treatment.

DO NOT: directly touch the surface of your dog’s eyes with your hands or gloves.

Prevention

1. Do your best to prevent long hairs from getting into your dog’s eyes. So especially be sure to keep the hair short around the eye
2. Put the dog inside when mowing the lawn, or outside when dusting and/or using toxic cleaners like ammonia or bleach
3. When bathing your dog be sure to use shampoos, soaps and flea medicines with caution around the eye area
4. Limit your dog’s habit of sticking their head out the car window
5. Lastly, make sure your dog is not performing an excess amount of pawing or rubbing at the eye

For More Information-

Sources:

http://pets.webmd.com/dogs/dog-discharge-from-eye

http://www.nationalpetpharmacy.com/landing/DogEyeDischarge.aspx

http://www.medicinenet.com/pets/dog-health/dog_has_discharge_from_eye.htm

http://www.petsadviser.com/pet-health/why-does-dog-have-mucus-eyes/

http://pets.thenest.com/clean-dog-eye-discharge-using-home-remedies-4420.html

http://www.howtocleanstuff.net/how-to-clean-your-dogs-eyes/