Steps for Applying Your Dog’s Eye Medication
Treatment for eye problems sometimes requires eyedrops or ointments, both easier to administer with a few quick tips:
First, take a good look at your dogs eyes. The pupils should be the same size and your dogs eyes should be bright, crust-free, with white around the iris. There should be little or no tearing, no squinting, and the inner eyelids shouldnt be visible. Gently pull down your dogs lower lids: they should be pink, not red or white.
If you see tearing, discharge, tear-stained fur, cloudiness, a visible third eyelid, closed or squinted eyes, or pupils of unequal size, something could be wrong. Its time to give your vet a call.
To help keep your canine companions eyes bright and healthy, keep long hair out of its eyes (take your dog to a groomer or use round-tipped scissors to trim the hair); keep irritants like shampoos, soaps, and flea medicine away from the eyes; and, finally, watch for signs that may indicate an eye problem, like redness, pawing, rubbing, and squinting.
5 Common Types of Eye Discharge in Dogs
Let’s take a look at five common types of dog eye discharge and what you should do about them.
Rinse your dogs eye with a saline solution by dipping cotton balls into the solution and wiping your dogs eyes with it. Use a clean cotton ball for each wipe to avoid reinfection. Monitor the dog for several days. If there are no more signs of green discharge, you have effectively treated your dog.
Put on the rubber gloves and examine your dogs eyes. Look for tissue damage or signs of injury. If you see such signs you should take your dog to a veterinarian. If there is no sign of injury and your dog is behaving normally proceed to Step 2.
Your dogs eyes should always be clear and bright. Green discharge coming out of a dogs eye is a sign of a health problem and is often a sign of conjuctivitis. Conjuctivitis is an inflammation of the conjunctiva, the tissue lining the eyelids and connecting to the eyeball close to the cornea. The conjunctiva can become irritated due to allergies or from infections caused by viruses or bacteria. It could also be a sign of dry eyes, glaucoma, or corneal ulcers. Regardless of the cause, you should treat this condition immediately.
Dip a cotton ball in this solution and wipe it across your dogs eye. Throw away the cotton ball immediately and repeat this process with a fresh cotton ball. Repeat this process until there is no more visible discharge.
Create an herbal eyewash for the dog. The following herbs have powerful anti-inflammatory properties: Chamomile, Golden Seal, Echinacea, and Gotu Kola. Infuse any of these herbs in warm water, wrapped in a coffee filter in a small bowl and add it to a saline solution.
Green goopy eye discharge in dogs and cats!
Dog eye boogers. There’s your normal, everyday eye boogers — the dryish ones that show up in the morning or after a nap — then there are kinds that indicate an eye infection.
The more civilized term you’ll hear your veterinarian say is “eye discharge,” of course. All dogs experience it for one reason or another. While common, sometimes types of eye discharge require a vet’s diagnosis.