Eye problem

[yankydoodle]

Hi folks,
I need some advice please.

Once a month my dogs go for a check-up and get a bath as well. Their eyes, noses, skin and teeth are checked, and they get a pedicure as well. This was this morning.

My one dog has had some liquid in her left eye for a while now, and when she spends some time outside (in the sun), it seems to disappear. However, some mornings it looks really bad, like her whole eye is covered up.

I got the following message from my vet just now, and this was the first time I got this message, as it appears to be serious now.

"Princess has a severe shortage of tears in her LEFT eye, without artificial tears 6-8 x day in the eye, the eye will stay gunky and infected. I feel she really needs the drops (chronic). Without it, she can eventually lose her eye if it continues."

I just want to read some people here who had this experience with their dogs. Princess is very difficult when you try to do something near her face. So, I'm facing an uphill battle with regards to the eye drops.

I give both my dogs plain yoghurt and cheese as a treat. I wonder if perhaps the dairy has an effect on the eye ? The other eye is fine. Princess is pure bred, and my other one is not. So, they come with their own issues. My other one does not have eye issues.

I would really appreciate any experiences shared and additional advice regarding this situation. Princess had eye drops before, but this was years back, and the vet saw no problem for years and years until today.

I've been using this vet for the most part since I've had my dogs, and they've been really good, but on the odd occasion, they've been trying to tell or sell me stuff, that later I found out, they were just trying to make money, with regards to my dogs health. And I rejected it.

Princess is going on 10 in a couple of months, just so I mention her age. My other one going on 9.

Not saying the eye thing is a con, but I just want good and correct information. So, taking that also into account, I would like to know opinions etc, please.

Thanks for any help
Princess thanks you as well.

 

[helsonwheels]

I just tagged you to a thread. Also it can be an eyelash. Vet needs to do the yellow dye in the eye to see whats happening. If not, you got your answer to seek elsewhere or a specialist. Jake had 2 eyelashes sticking out n under laser they counted 7 eyelashes. That was about 3yrs ago. Stopped leaking. Lately once in a while he has one eye that can get wet. I put him human eye drops with zinc in it n stops. Other drops didn’t work but the zinc did. 🤷🏼‍♀️

 

[1Chumly]

I would check with an ophthalmologist. They have all the necessary equipment to check the eye properly that a GP vet does not. If her eye is gunky, then I would definitely say some type of drops are in order.

After going through what I went through with Buster, I would ALWAYS advise to err on the side of caution and see a specialist. I can also say that all my bulldogs have been on drops of some kind or another during their lives with me (rescues). Monty had dry eye only but was an absolute nightmare to dose the drops. Buster had so many problems and eventual blindness. Bob had entropion on both eyes a couple of weeks after we got him and will be on prescription drops forever because of dry eye and some damage from the eyelashes.
As for trying to sell you something, I think that is probably the norm! I would take the eye situation seriously, however.
Good luck to you and Princess

 

[paw7004]

Porkchop developed "dry eye" around age 11. His eyes would have gunk in them. I used Gentle Tears (sp?) for a few days until I could get him to the vet. The vet did a test on how much tears were forming and also did the dye test. With so little tear production, it was causing inflammation and the gunk would form. He was placed on an ointment, Optimmune, with the prescription reading "Once a day FOREVER". I got it filled at Walmart as it had the best price. This med helps to increase tear production somehow. It wasn't cheap but it was worth it.

 

[yankydoodle]

Thank you everyone. Appreciate everyone's thoughts.

 

[oscarmayer]

Optimune Ointment is the very best medication for treatment of chronic dry eye. It's way more difficult to apply compared to drops. It was unavailable for a period of time and we switched over to Tacrolimus/Cyclosporine drops. It may still be hard to get...I don't know. The Tacro/Cyclo drops sting a bit and are best served cold. Hopefully, you can get by with artificial tears. They are much less $$$ and do not sting. We use Thera Tears Extra. The "Extra" is a thicker longer lasting formula-for humans, but they work well for animals too.

 

[2BullyMama]

good luck... I agree with everyone, eyes need quick attention. Lambeau developed an ulcer that just would not go away, various drops were not helping but our vet then decided to use Beau's own blood to create a drop... and that worked ... it cleared up in about two weeks, I think.