Do you use Visine? This is a very common OTC eye drop medication used by many around the world. It’s so common that you probably have a bottle in your medicine cabinet. While this is an effective treatment for some eye problems, can it make your dog sick? Is Visine toxic to dogs?
Imidazoline decongestants are topical vasoconstrictors (constricts blood vessels). Imidazolines (like oxymetazoline and tetrahydrozoline) are commonly found in over-the-counter eye drops and nasal sprays. When a bottle of product containing imidazolines is chewed, it can result in severe poisoning in pets – even death, when untreated. Even a small ingestion can cause clinical signs of vomiting, lethargy/depression or agitation, ataxia (incoordination), hypotension, and a life-threatening low heart rate. Immediate veterinary attention should be sought following ingestion. Please contact your veterinarian or Pet Poison Helpline for life-saving advice if your pet has ingested one of these common eye drops or nasal sprays.
Will Eye Drops Hurt A Dog If Eaten?
The moment I learn that my dog ate my eye drops, I would be keen on knowing whether the eye drops can hurt a dog.
This is a relevant question, whether the dog chewed eye drops bottle, or accessed them in any other way.
The true position is that eye drops can indeed hurt a dog, if eaten.
For instance, Visine ingestion in dogs can cause severe poisoning.
Similarly, if my dog ate Clear Eyes eye drops, I would know that he is at risk of severe poisoning.
That is because those contain Naphazoline, which is an imidazoline, capable of poisoning a dog badly.
And even if my dog ate my eye contacts solution, I would know that he is at risk of poisoning.
Thus any cases in which the dog drank contact solution or my dog drank eye drops of any type, I would know that the dog is at high risk of poisoning.
If you research on the is eye drops poisonous to dogs question, you see that the answer is mostly ‘yes’.
You can even go further, and take a specific brand – like, say, Refresh. Then research on the Is Refresh eye drops poisonous to dogs question?
You soon see a pattern, in which these eye drop products are mostly potentially poisonous to dogs.
What that then means is that any case of an adult dog or puppy ingesting eye drops can hurt the dog.
Are Eye Drops Bad For Dogs?
Upon learning that my dog ate my eye drops, one of the chief questions I would be having is as to whether eye drops are bad for dogs.
More specifically, are eye drops poisonous to dogs? Or are eye drops toxic to dogs?
These would still be the questions to ask if my dog ate contact lens solution…
Thus if my dog ate my contacts solution (which are essentially eye drops), I would still have these questions.
So, indeed, are eye drops bad for dogs? The simple answer is ‘yes’ – if dogs eat them.
For topical application to eyes, these eye drops can be good for dogs: if used under a vet’s direction.
Thus if, for instance, you ask your vet, can I use murine on my dog, the vet may, under certain circumstances, consent.
But if a dog eats eye drops, then that is a different matter. The eye drops may poison the dog badly. So eye drops are ‘bad’ for dogs to that extent.
FAQ
Will Visine eye drops hurt a dog?
Is polymyxin toxic to dogs?