Dog Eye Infection

Dog eye infection can affect the healthiest of dogs, as any foreign object or pathogen can invade their delicate eyes. The eye lashes, eye lids and tear are the protective gear of eyes, but they cannot protect the eyes from every dust particle, pathogen or abrasion. This leads to swelling of the eyes, discharge and redness that irritates the animal. There are a few common eye infections in dogs, that will be covered in this article. Let us get into the details of canine eye diseases.

Eye Infection in Dogs

The following causes of dog eye infections will help you understand more about the dog eye problems and various symptoms that will help you seek prompt medical intervention.

Conjunctivitis
The most common eye problems in dogs is conjunctivitis. This is caused by either bacteria like Streptococcus or Staphylococcus or viral infection. The other causes of conjunctivitis in dogs are:

• Inflammation of tear sac
• Herpes
• Lyme Disease
• Dog eye discharge
• Foreign object logged inside the eye

Symptoms of Conjunctivitis

• Redness or Pink eye
• Dryness in the eye
• Inflammation
• Thick exudate

Treatment of Conjunctivitis
You should try to clean the discharge from the dog's eyelids with a clean, soft and wet cotton ball. Use lukewarm water and soak the cotton. Squeeze the excess water and gently wipe the discharge. You can repeat this home remedy, twice or thrice a day. You can even use a OTC scrub to help ease the infection. The scrub will help the dog shed some tears and wash away the causative agent. You can even apply a compress and cover the dog's eyes with a warm compress for about 5 minutes. If your dog has long hair, dog grooming becomes important. You should cut the hair around the eyes short, as hair may irritate the eyes. Many times hair around the corners of the eye can lead to canine conjunctivitis.

Glaucoma
Glaucoma is a serious dog eye infection that may lead to blindness. There is increased pressure on the eye balls due to the blockage of fluids in the eye from draining.

Symptoms of Glaucoma

• Redness
• Cloudiness
• Enlarged pupils

Treatment of Glaucoma
The vet may administer aqueous formation suppressors, hyperosomotic agents, neuroprotection agents, etc. The vet may advice common drugs like Methazolamide to ease corneal pressure and trimolol opth solution or trusopt ophthalmic solution to decrease the pressure, etc.

Keratoconjunctivitis Sicca
This is one the many serious canine eye problems that is also known as dry eye in simple language. There is inadequate production of tears and it leads to inflammation of the cornea. Dry eye is characterized by erosion of the cornea that leads to ulcers. This is caused by abnormalities in the tear ducts, herpes virus, trauma, disease of tear ducts, facial nerve paralysis, etc.

Symptoms of Keratoconjunctivitis Sicca

• Eyes become too dry
• Cornea may be damaged
• Ulcers on the eyes
• In some cases, development of a chronic eye infection

Treatment of Keratoconjunctivitis Sicca

The vet may administer artificial tear drops that are similar to the natural tears. Tear stimulants, anti-inflammatory eye drops and oral anti-inflammatory medications may be prescribed by the vet.

Juvenile Cellulitis
Juvenile cellulitis or puppy strangles is caused by bacterial infection. The main symptoms of juvenile cellulitis are blisters around the eyes. The blisters are also seen around the lips, mouth, nose and ears. The dog eyes become irritated, due to the blisters and then these blisters develop into ulcers. The secondary symptoms observed include enlarged lymph glands and anorexia.

General Infection Symptoms

A dog suffering from an eye infection will show several symptoms that can affect one or both eyes. The following are a few general symptoms that you may observe in your dog:

• Eye Discharge: You may observe a thick greenish or yellow discharge from the eyes.
• Reddish, swelling in the eye: The eyelids and the area around the eyes swell and become red indicating a dog eye infection.
• Bloodshot Eyes: In case of an eye infection in dogs, the eyes become bloodshot red.
• Squinting: A dog with an eye infection will squint as his eyes have developed an infection.
• Frequent Pawing of the Eye: The eye infection in a dog will make him paw the affected eye, due to irritation and pain the dog may experience.

Home Remedy

There are many medical treatments available to treat dog eye infection, that can be prescribed by a veterinarian. You can try some dog eye infection home remedies that can help ease the pain and irritation your dog may be suffering. If you notice any symptoms, the first thing to do is wash the dog's eye with saline water. Just add 1 teaspoon salt in a glass of mineral water and wipe the dog's eye with a cotton ball dipped in this saline water. This is one of the best remedies.

You can wash the dog's eyes with cool Chamomile tea. Dip a cotton ball in a cooled boiled water of Chamomile and clean the dog's eyes. You can even soak a bag of Chamomile tea in cool water and apply it as a cool compress over the dog's eye for a few minutes. You can apply the compress 3 - 4 times a day. This will help reduce the redness, swelling and discharge. You can even try an herbal eyewash for your dog. You need to add a quarter of a teaspoon of salt to mineral water and add 10 drops of herbal extracts like eyebright, calendula, chamomile, red clover or St. John's wort. You can administer this herbal solution into the dogs eye 3 - 4 times a day, using an eye dropper.

If you find none of the above methods help reduce the infection in a few days, visit the veterinarian. The cause of the eye infection in dog may be just more than a simple bacterial infection. Many dogs suffer from cataracts and that may lead to clouding of the lens and the dog may turn blind over time. It may also happen that some foreign body has lodged into the eye tissue which is causing constant irritation and redness of the eye. Many times there may be a gradual detachment of the retina in older dogs, which may lead to blindness. Therefore, follow the advice of the vet and help save your dog's eyes. Dog eye infection is one of the common dog illnesses that can turn grave if proper precautions are not taken.

Make sure you feed healthy dog food to your pet dog, as a healthy dog will have a stronger immune system to fight infections and diseases. Just as john Steinbeck says, "I've seen a look in dogs' eyes, a quickly vanishing look of amazed contempt, and I am convinced that basically dogs think humans are nuts." I hope you take care of your dog's eyes so that your faithful friend never loses this look.