One morning last summer, I spotted a troubling green discharge in the corner of my dog, Baby’s, right eye. I spend the best part of each day thinking, researching and writing about other dog owners’ canine health and behavior questions. Weirdly, this means I often take my own dog’s hardiness and well-being for granted. For several heartbeats, I experienced the same mixture of indecision and panic that I imagine drives most dog owners straight to use their own human eye drops as eye drops for dogs.
I’ve written enough about dog eyes to recognize the verdant hue of the sludge accumulating in Baby’s eye should be a source of concern. I didn’t know what the problem was, but I marched instinctively to see what over-the-counter eye wash I might have to try and deal with it. Should I reach for Visine or whatever human eye wash or ointment I might have ready at hand? Can human eye drops be used as eye drops for dogs?
What is GenTeal Tears Lubricant Gel for Severe Dry Eye Relief, 10 g? GenTeal Tears Lubricant Gel is a lubricant eye gel (sterile) for Severe Dry Eye Relief.
Use as directed by your veterinarian.
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GenTeal Tears Lubricant Gel is a lubricant eye gel (sterile) for Severe Dry Eye Relief. It delivers long-lasting relief of dry eye symptoms and helps prevent irritation and relieves dryness.
Dealing with dog eye allergies
As Dogster‘s own resident veterinarian, Dr. Eric Barchas has written, “allergies are not a terribly common cause of eye problems in dogs.” Nonetheless, they can occur, and, like my own dog’s eye health issue, tend to be most frequent in the summer months. Like the two conditions we’ve described above, inflammation, redness and watery discharge in one or both of a dog’s eyes might be the result of an environmental allergen or irritant.
Dr. Barchas also notes that the vast majority of canine allergies are, in the first place, caused by fleas, and, in the second, manifest themselves in irritated skin and relentless scratching. Have you started using a different kind of cleaner in the house? Just switched to a scented cat litter in a room where your dog also spends time? Did you just give your dog a bath using a new shampoo? For dogs dealing with a newly arisen eye problem, try to rule out external causes before potentially causing the dog extra difficulties with medicated eye drops or washes.
FAQ
Can you use GenTeal eye drops on a dog?
What eye drops are OK for dogs?
Can you give dogs human eye drops?
Importantly, medication for humans, including eye drops, are generally not the same for dogs. You should never treat your dog using human medication without consulting a pet care specialist first. Using the wrong eye drops could cause significant pain, damage and blindness.