How to Treat Dogs Eye Infection?

How to Treat Dogs Eye Infection? – Your dog’s eyes are one of its most important sense organs. Eye infections in your dog can be pretty easy to spot. Redness or discharge are some of the first signs of infection in your dog’s eye.

Certain medications may cause permanent damage to your dog’s eye or sometimes interfere with other medications taken by your dog. So it’s generally a good idea to use some at-home cures to ease the infection until you get the advice of a vet.

Eye infections are common in dogs just as they are in people. Home remedies can help in easing the pain and suffering of your dog but cannot treat the underlying condition. So, it is crucial that you take your dog to the vet at the right time.

Eye infections can occur in dogs due to several reasons. The most significant causes of eye infections are viral or bacterial. Other causes are allergens, irritants, fungus, or even foreign matters such as dust, hair, etc. Diseases like conjunctivitis can take several weeks to clear up.

Key Takeaway:

Eye infections in dogs can be serious. While mild cases may improve with home care, veterinary attention is often necessary.

This guide explores the signs of eye infections in dogs and offers information on both home remedies and professional veterinary treatments. It emphasizes the importance of consulting a vet to ensure proper diagnosis and care for your dog’s eyes.

How to Treat Dogs Eye Infection? – Common Signs that Indicate Eye Infection

Most eye infections tend to cause irritation and discomfort, so you will find your dog pawing its eye a lot more than usual. Some green mucus discharge is also a clear indicator of an eye infection.

It is best to have your vet take a look at your dog’s eye. Eye infections like conjunctivitis can range from mild to severe. Some other common symptoms are cloudiness in the eye, squinting, a swollen eye, or reluctance to let you touch the area around its eye.

It is impossible to treat an eye infection without the appropriate treatment properly. Using home remedies to speed up the healing process along with medicated eye treatment will give you the best outcome.

Simple Cures to Treat Eye Infection in Dogs

Depending on his diagnosis, your vet may choose to treat your dog’s eye condition with antibiotics, anti-inflammatories, antihistamines, or any other medications.

Here are some safe and effective measures you can adopt at home while waiting for your vet’s appointment.

Saline Eye Drops

Saline eye drops can be used to flush out any irritants from your dog’s eye. These drops will not hurt and provide adequate temporary relief to your dog’s inflamed eye.

Saline eye drops can be purchased online, from a pharmacy, or even from a pet store. These eye drops are not to be confused with contact lens rinsing solutions. Lens solutions have other substances and should never be used for a dog’s infected eye.

E-Collar

Putting an e-collar may not directly treat an eye infection. However, it will prevent any further damage to the eye. Dogs with itchy eyes have a tendency to rub their eye with a paw or rub their face or even scratch it, which can irritate them further.

An e-collar can prevent any such occurrences. E-collars should be big enough to prevent your dog from scratching its eye or rubbing it on the floor or furniture.

It’s easy to buy one online, from pet stores, or even from your vet. When put around your dog’s neck like a lampshade, it should reach two inches past your dog’s nose.

Cold Compress

A cold compress can provide adequate relief from inflammation. Dogs nursing a red, itchy eye can be helped using a cold, wet washcloth. This is the easiest way to apply a cold compress to your dog’s eyes.

Soft, cold compresses can be purchased online or from pharmacies. To decrease swelling and inflammation of the eye, you can apply a cold compress for several minutes several times a day. A cold compress may not treat the eye condition itself, but it will soothe your dog’s eye and make it feel more comfortable.

Artificial Tears

When compared to saline eye drops, artificial tears have a lubricant in them that can ease your dog’s eyes. If you find your dog’s eyes to be dry and irritated, artificial tears will provide added moisture. This will also not treat the infection, but it will ease and soothe your dog’s eye.

Rooibos Tea

This can be very effective even when it comes to clearing up an eye infection. Brew some tea, wait for it to cool, and then apply it to the infected eye using a cotton wool swab. Other herbal washes have also been found to be effective in treating eye infections in dogs.

Warm Compresses

These will also help in easing an eye infection in your dog. You have to place a damp, warm towel over your dog’s infected eye for several minutes, about two times a day. This will be very effective in removing the swelling and the pain.

 All of these at-home cures should be followed along with medicated eye drops or sterile saline prescribed by your vet. The vet may also prescribe anti-inflammatories for your dog as eye infections can be excruciating.

The home remedies can be used for as long as needed. If the eye is still not improving in three days, see the veterinarian for another check-up.

How to Flush and Treat Your Dog’s Eyes?

Flushing the eye is relatively simple. Take a pipette of sterile saline, and open your dog’s eye with the finger and thumb from one hand. Very gently place one drop of the solution inside the eye.

Do not place the drop on the area of trauma. Repeat this procedure several times a day. You will need someone to help hold your dog, as they generally tend to back away when you approach them with any eye drops.

In case you don’t have someone to assist you, make your dog sit, kneel behind them, lift their chin and gently allow the eye drops to enter your dog’s eye.

Other than medicated drops or saline eye drops, it is not advisable to use any substance directly in your dog’s eye. For most kinds of infections, it is unnecessary to flush your dog’s eyes.

How to Prevent Eye Infections in Dogs?

Eye infections are certainly not difficult to prevent. They can occur out of the blue. However, there are specific ways in which you can help improve the health of your dog’s eyes.

• Do not let your dog interact or play with other dogs who have eye infections. This is one way of preventing your dog from contracting the disease.
• Always keep your dog’s eyes clean by wiping them daily. This is very important if your dog has a habit of digging in the sand or swimming in dirty water.
• Improve your dog’s eye health by feeding a healthy, well-balanced diet full of antioxidants like Vitamin E.
• Treat any underlying eye conditions that include corneal ulcers, dry eye, eyelid abnormalities, and eyelash abnormalities. All of these conditions can cause pain, runny eyes, watery discharge, and mucus.

Preventions to Take to Prevent Eye Infections Spread

Some infections can be passed on from animals to human beings, so ensure you wash your hands well after attending to your dog’s eye condition.

Dispose of any material used to clean your dog’s eye. Also, remember not to use the same cotton swab on both the eyes because it will lead to infection in the other eye.

When to Take Your Dog to a Vet Due to Eye Infections?

All kinds of eye infections require a trip to the vet. This is because it is not easy. After all, it is generally difficult to distinguish between an eye infection and eye trauma.

Eye trauma can end up becoming a severe condition. During weekends or after hours, if your dog is not showing severe symptoms, home remedies can be used to treat your dog’s eye condition. Also, if the eye condition has not improved in three days, this calls for another vet visit.

Some infections, such as conjunctivitis, can take several weeks to clear up. Others can take days to weeks.

It is essential that you give your precious pup the right kind of treatment at the right time because eye infections, when left untreated, can have severe effects on your dog’s eye.

It can cause your dog to lose vision or, even worse, its eye.

If home remedies do not work instantly, you have to reach out to your vet if you see blood or pus or anything that seems abnormal.