What are the Causes of Eye Discharge in Dogs
Eye discharge in dogs can be caused by a number of different factors. According to PetMD, excessive eye-watering is linked with various conditions that range from harmless to severe. The most common causes of eye discharge in dogs are:
Since the eyes are so sensitive, many things can cause issues. While these problems may not be common, they are potential reasons for a dog with uncomfortable eyes:
If your pup is producing yellow or green eye discharge, this can be a sign of an infection. Eye redness and visible discomfort typically accompany green or yellow eye discharge. Sometimes, eye infections are the central issue, but many times yellow or green discharge is a result of another ailment such as dry eyes.
In some cases, yellow or green discharge that appears to be from an eye infection is actually a sign of infections or illnesses within the respiratory tract, nervous system, and other parts of the body.
Dry eye, also known as keratoconjunctivitis sicca (KCS) is a condition that occurs when a dog’s immune system assaults and damages tear glands. Tears produce much-needed moisture for your pup’s eyes to function properly. If there are fewer tears, your dog’s body will produce mucus in an attempt to lubricate the eye.
The overproduction of mucus then leads to red and often painful eyes that can develop ulcers. If dry eye is left untreated, your pup can become blind. If there is gray or white mucus amassing around your pup’s eyes, your veterinarian can perform a “Schirmer Tear Test.” This procedure is used to discern KCS from other diseases.
Conjunctivitis (often called pink or red eye) may cause eye discharge in your pup as well. Conjunctivitis refers to the inflammation of the conjunctiva. This is a thin mucous membrane that covers the eye. Another condition that can cause eye discharge is uveitis. This refers to the inflammation of the interior portion of the eye.
There are two types of conjunctivitis in dogs. Infectious conjunctivitis, or pink eye, which is caused by a viral or bacterial infection. Infectious conjunctivitis is rare. Non-infectious conjunctivitis is much more common and can be caused by allergies.
Certain dogs are genetically predisposed to eye problems that result in excess tears. Particular breeds, such as brachycephalic breeds, spaniels, and terriers, may generate excess tears and reddish-brown mucus in the corner of their eyes. The short snouts of these breeds may cause complications for the eyes, such as shallow eye sockets, compressed tear ducts, corneal ulcers, and abnormal eyelash growth.
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Dr. Peter Dobias, DVM has 30 years of experience as a veterinarian. His love of dogs and passion for natural healing and nutrition led him to writing, teaching and helping people create health naturally, without drugs, chemicals and processed food.
Eye discharge is one of the most common problems in dogs. Whenever a client came in with concerns about their dogs eyes, the first question I asked was what they felt was happening. Most people replied that they were concerned about their dog having an eye infection and this made me realize I needed to write a blog to clarify some misconceptions.
First, I’m not planning to rediscover the universe here, neither am I eager to make things more complex. What I would like to do today is bring more clarity to what you may call conjunctivitis, eye discharge, redness or an eye infection.
Did you know that 90 percent of all canine eye conditions end up being simple conjunctivitis (inflammation of the conjuctiva) and varied eye discharges?
What needs to be done first before we jump to the conclusion of conjunctivitis is a thorough examination. I don’t recommend taking chances, so I always perform an eye exam personally or have it done by another practitioner such as when I was providing advice via remote consultations.
A routine eye exam includes ophthalmoscopy, which is a term for light examination of the structures of the eye, a fluorescein dye test, which rules out any scratches, ulcers or obstruction of the cornea and intraocular pressure measurement to rule out glaucoma if your pet is in obvious discomfort.
If these tests come out negative, you can use a very simple treatment that will not cost you a lot of money, neither will you need to be using antibiotics or steroid medications, which are commonly overused. If you do feel pressure from your veterinarian to use antibiotics, remember you are in charge of the decision and any vet should be giving you recommendations only, not make you feel guilty because your decision is different than what he or she would choose.
In several of my blogs I have mentioned that healing should be ideally simple. If you see discharges, especially in puppies most of the time means some sort of form of cleansing unless your veterinarian discovers a scratch, corneal ulcer, inverted eyelashes, hair falling in the eyes because it is too long, obstructed tear ducts and other conditions mentioned above.
Most of the time, you can follow these three simple steps to treat dog eye discharge concerns:
Most of the problem conditions that are seen in daily practice relate to the conjunctiva, eyelids and cornea. Conjunctiva is the layer of tissue on the inside of the eyelids that connects directly to the cornea, the clear layer covering the eye.
The inner structures of the eye are a little more complex. The sequence of the parts of the eye are as follows: cornea, anterior chamber (the space in front of the lens), the iris, the lens that is attached to the eye by a very sophisticated focusing system, called an iridocorneal muscle, then there is the posterior chamber, filled with a clear translucent mass, called vitreous body and beyond is the retina, the canvas of the eye that is connected to the optic nerve conducting the visual s to the brain’s visual center and the cortex.
This cleansing process is usually manifested by increased local inflammation and redness that is often misperceived as an infection. Most of the cases my clients consider an eye infection are actually cleansing reactions of the body and have nothing to do with bacteria and infections.
This fact is often ignored and the most common conventional prescription for eye redness is, you guessed right, antibiotics and steroids. It may also surprise you that for the majority of cases this medication is unnecessary or even contraindicated.
Conditions that affect the infrastructure of the eye are not necessarily the main topic of this article, however, I would like to mention them briefly because they often resemble conjunctivitis.
I mentioned before that most cases of redness could be related to the cleansing processes. I will repeat once again that the most common causes are from diet, vaccines, imbalances, digestive tract problems, toxin buildup and the effect of a collar that is too tight.
Yes, believe it or not, a collar that is too tight can be a reason for your dog’s eyes to be congested, full of discharge and red. All you need to do to is to grip your neck and tighten your hands around it as if you were trying to strangle yourself. You will feel the blood stagnation in the head, which will decrease drainage of conjunctiva and can cause discharges. Sometimes all we need to do is loosen our dog’s collar so it doesn’t obstruct the cervical veins that drain blood from the head. Many dogs suffer because of human ignorance. I put choke chains, prong collars or even shock collars on the same level as medieval torture devices that should only be used for demonstration on those people who put them on their dogs. Harnesses are the way to go.
Many people believe that if a bag of processed food is labeled organic or natural it must be good. That isnt true because even mainstream pet food companies jumped on the bandwagon of natural foods, while the quality and nutritional value of such food are poor. A quality raw or cooked diet is the best you can do for your animal friend. A healthy digestive tract, liver and immune system are the key to reducing eye discharges.
My favorite cleansing formula for most dogs is this liver cleanse protocol.
Rinsing and flushing Another important part of the cleansing process is
If your dog has been vaccinated, it is possible that the greenish discharge is in fact related to vaccine side effects. I’ve had countless cases where health issues completely disappeared after administration of Thuja 200 C. This homeopathic remedy is known to neutralize the side effects of vaccines and I usually give two doses 12 hours apart.
If these simple steps do not resolve the problem I highly recommend you see your veterinarian.
No matter what you do, try not to suppress the immune system with steroids because they have a long-term negative effect on the immune system and the body on a deep level. Using corticosteroids can be compared to removing the light bulbs from your car’s dashboard when your cars engine is overheating.
Besides a wholesome and complete diet, I recommend providing your dog with what he or she needs with a good selection of high-quality supplements.
There is a huge difference between synthetically-made supplements and those that are grown and designed by nature. Did you know that most of the vitamins on the market are made from chemicals? These supplements need to be replaced with natural ones in order to cleanse the body and stop eye discharges.
Here are the supplements that my dog Skai gets:
No matter if you feed organic or non-organic veggies, nutrients, especially mineral depletion is highly likely without all-natural supplements. Eye discharges may in many cases be a sign of deficiency or the presence of toxic heavy metals. Here is what you can do:
Find out your dogs mineral and heavy metal levels by getting a HairQ test done.
You will be surprised how many dogs’ eye discharges get better just with taking these above steps.
WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF EYE INFECTION IN DOGS
Eye discharge may not be the only sign of an eye infection. It is possible that you have a crafty pup that is able to clean its eyes fairly well before you spot any discharge. Because of this, attentive owners should also be cautious of:
Glaucoma is caused by excessive pressure in the eye and can be discerned in several ways. Cloudy eyes, bulging eyes, and excessive tearing are all symptoms of Glaucoma. This ailment can cause serious pain which may require surgery.
Often, light-coated pups generate a reddish-brown discharge around the corner of their eyes. Tears contain a pigment called porphyrin that turns reddish-brown when exposed to air for extended periods of time. This reddish-brown eye discharge is normal and shouldn’t cause any concern.
How can I treat my dogs eye infection without going to the vet?
When you wake up in the morning and your furry friend rolls over next to you, there’s a good chance he or she has some discharge in their eyes. Just like us, dogs can experience a build-up of discharge after waking up. Fortunately, there is an abundance of home remedies to help dogs with excess eye discharge.
Since many cases of eye discharge aren’t serious, home remedies can be a good solution. Plus, they are often inexpensive and may already be in your home. Discharge is healthy and normal, but there are cases that can be severe. The best way to tell the difference between normal eye discharge and potentially dangerous discharge is by doing proper research and paying careful attention to your pup.