Discharges from the eye of dogs are a very common problem and can be indicative of either an infection, an allergy or even glaucoma. But if left untreated, persistent eye problems might also result in either blindness or even the loss of the infected eye. There are three types of dog eye discharge that takes place and each is symptomatic for an illness of the eye. Thus eye discharges which are:
- Clear are generally either caused by allergies or dust particles or other physical impurities getting into the eye,
- Watery discharge or even mucus is also indicative of the presence of a foreign body inside the eye and
- Yell-green pus like discharge always indicates a serious eye infection which needs to be treated immediately.
Causes for eye discharge
There are several causes for eyes discharging fluids. Some of the more important reasons are:
- Conjunctivitis: This is a very common condition of the canine eye which leads to an inflammation particularly of the linings of the eye of a dog. There are many reasons for the occurrence of conjunctivitis and symptoms include:
- Extreme red eyes,
- Inflammation,
- Squinting,
- Excessive blinking and pawing of the eyes etc.
In order to treat this it is very important to understand the reason for the same. Some of the treatments generally followed include:
- Saline washes,
- Antibiotics and other pain medications,
- Antihistamines,
- Surgery etc.
- Epiphora: This condition also known as excessive tearing results in teary and watery eyes which stain the fur surrounding it and make it very smelly. There are several causes for this problem like the presence of abnormal eye lashes, allergies and inflammation, corneal ulcers, tumours etc. Treatment of the same involves the use of
- Steroids or tropical antibiotics for inflammation of the tear duct,
- Topical medications and antibiotics to treat corneal damages,
- Surgery for abnormal eyelashes, ulcers and even duct obstruction etc.
- Dry-Eye: The failure of the canine eye to produce tears can lead to mucus discharge which might be sticky and tenacious and inflammation of the eye. Generally this condition results from some trauma suffered by the eye or even due to the canine’s immune system attacking the tissues of the tear glands. This is quite a serious infection since it can lead to inflamed eyes which are quite painful, corneal ulcers etc. Treatment includes the use of artificial tears, antibiotic eye drops, immunosuppressant drugs or surgery.
- Glaucoma: This results because of the eyes suffering from the infliction of excessive pressure. Symptoms indicative of this eye condition are bulging and cloudy eye or eyes and even excessive tearing. Even though this condition does not cause much pain, surgery is usually recommended and medications can be orally had to help chance the ocular pressure.
A very interesting point to be noted here is that flat-faced dogs are more prone to dog eye discharge because their flatter faces result in protruding eyes due to the eye pockets being shallow. Some of the common breeds which face this problem are pugs, bull dogs, boxers, Pekingese etc.
Eye discharge is also indicative of many other serious problems which would be difficult to predict unless one visits the vet and ensures that their canine pets are taken care of regularly.
