Realizing that your dog has eaten your eye drops can cause considerable worry. Once you realize that your dog has eaten your eye drops, you will want to know which effects the eye drops are likely to have, and what (if anything) you can do in the dog’s aid. Read on for answers.
How eye drops affect a dog depends on the ingredients in them. Therefore if my dog ate my eye drops, and they happen to contain ingredients such as imidazoline, then I would know that the dog is at great risk of severe poisoning.
The main determinants of the dog’s outcomes are the type of eye drops eaten, and the quantity ingested.
Take a case in which the dog licked eye drops bottle only. That surely has different implications from one in which the dog drank a whole bottle of the eye drops.
In some cases, a dog may ingest a certain type of eye drops and suffer no major harm. This may be the case if, for instance, the dog only eats saline eye drops.
But in some other cases, a dog may ingest another type of eye drops, and end up suffering life-threatening effects. This may be the case if, for instance, the dog eats imidazoline eye drops.
Whether my dog ate prescription eye drops or OTC eye drops may also be a relevant consideration.
Ultimately, if my dog ate my eye drops, and the eye drops contain ingredients such as brimonidine (which is an imidazoline), then I would rush him to the vet as soon as possible.
Can Eye Drops Kill A Dog?
Yet another question I am likely to have, if my dog ate my eye drops, is on whether eye drops can kill a dog.
And the answer is ‘yes’, eye drops can kill a dog.
If a dog happens to ingest a great deal of eye drop solution, then there can be severe poisoning. And that may lead to death.
Therefore it is possible for eye drops to kill a dog.
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.
What is Visine?
Visine is an OTC eye drop medication that’s used to relieve eye swelling, redness, or watering eyes. It can help eyes that are irritated by colds, allergies, or even sinusitis.
The main ingredient in Visine, tetrahydrozoline, is a vasoconstrictor. It works to narrow swollen blood vessels in the eyes, to reduce redness.
While this is an OTC medication, it still can have serious side effects when not used properly. The main ingredient is highly toxic when ingested.
But is Visine toxic to dogs?
FAQ
What happens if my dog eats my eyedrops?
Can eye drops make a dog vomit?
Will Visine eye drops hurt a dog?
Is contact lens solution poisonous to dogs?