Hello, I am sure there is probably already a thread on this, but I could not find it. My 22 week old chocolate boy Huxley has developed quite a lot of eye discharge just over the past week. His eyes are clear, bright, and focused, and he is happy within himself. Nothing in his diet or environment has changed, and he shows absolutely no signs of infection, so I guess it is normal? Or perhaps just a small local infection causing him no problems? At any rate does anyone know of any natural remedies? Having had horses I am trying to treat him in the same way as we treat them - stepped strong organic chamomile tea, applied with a sterile cotton pad, a few times a day. Can anyone recommend anything else? Also how to train specifically to allow me to do this? he is pretty good, I can get the cotton bad to wipe well over his eye if i distract him with tiny bite sized treats, but it is more that he is distracted rather than him actually allowing me to do it....if that makes sense...
I do understand your desire to treat this yourself but I would recommend seeing a vet. Certainly a vet will have access to the most effective treatment and will also be able to do a proper examination to check for inflammation or damage to the eyeball, which is something you can't assess yourself. If allowed to go on an infection can become harder to shift. It's also possible that this is an allergy symptom and that you need to think bigger than just the eyes. A vet can advise you on that. Eyes are not something you want to muck about with.... I've got a duck with an eye infection at the moment. She went to the vet last week and is on antibiotic eye ointment and an anti-inflammatory (she has a blocked tear duct and this may be due to inflammation). She's improved hugely. Modern drugs work!
I have a close friend who is a vet and has checked his eyes and says they are absolutely fine. He told me the only way they would treat an eye infection at the vet, or rather the discharge he has, is with a fairly strong medication and even he recommended that it was actually not a great idea. He said i may find myself in the situation where he comes to need the eye drops, when there is not a serious problem to treat right now. He agreed with my trying the chamomile tea wipes. So what I was asking was just if anyone knew of any other natural remedies, having said that there was no infection and his eyes are fine.
If you did use a 'prescription' medication that was actually a more effective than he needs right now it wouldn't make the medication less effective in future. Just clarifying that At times eye issues can just be irritation from things like pollen or dust. Washing the eyes with a simple saline solution can help (distilled or boiled water (cool or warm..) with a teaspoon of salt added per cup of water). I'd probably try that first. Squeeze the saline into the eye so it runs out, using a cotton pad. You can do it with the eye mostly shut which dogs usually feel better about. If that doesn't work then things probably need stepping up with antibiotics or possibly systemic allergy treatment. I know you didn't ask about that but that's what I think. It's ok if you don't have the same view
Ok great thanks, I will try the saline solution tomorrow and if it doesnt clear I will take him in for a proper vet check and possibly eye medication. Its not that im opposed! just want to try something natural first
I'd say that if you're just talking about a bit of discharge (so, nothing dramatic, no pus or anything) it's reasonable to try the simple bathing solution a number of times over a 24 hr period to see how it goes. Then, as you say, see the vet if it's not improving or gets worse. A very warm to hottish damp cloth held against the eye can be soothing too (about as hot as you'd find ok held against your eye). Hope it all clears up
I am afraid to "guess" with eyes. Discharge from the eyes is NOT normal. You can't know if it's infected if you don't culture the discharge. My boy's was conjunctivitis the first time. The Vet also checked for scratches on the cornea - that could have set up a discharge due to irritation and paved the way for infection later on. The second bout of discharge tested negative for infection so the Vet decided it was a reaction of brand new puppy eyes to pollens and things for the first time and it went away on it's own. Treatment the first time was antibiotic eye drops (which were more like an ointment) and cleansing gently with a warm water compress. I was told I could use Polysporin eye ointment the second time. I sat on the edge of my bath tub (bathroom door shut) with puppy between my knees and facing away from me. I could hold him with my knees (but he was 6 months old and maybe bigger than your pup) and sort of come at each eye from behind him. Worked. Oh, a thing you should watch for is puppy scratching at his eyes himself with his paws. There may not have been an injury to start but they can scratch their own eyes. And of course if it is conjunctivitis some kinds are contagious to you and other dogs. Good luck, hope it clears up qucikly.
Willow had gunky eyes this time last year. It turned out to be conjunctivitis, which was obviously pretty irritating for her. Even once that was cleared up, though, she continued to suffer with slightly runny eyes all through the pollen season. We get a lot of pine tree pollen where we are. The vet gave me some medicated drops to apply twice a day, but also little tubes of saline to apply three times a day. I have to say, I didn't do any training with her, but she absolutely loved the eye drops. It must have been really soothing for her. As soon as I got them out, she'd jump onto the sofa to have them applied. So, if Huxley has irritation, you may find that he actually enjoys the feeling of the drops. Just as an aside, I've recently changed Willow's food to a sensitive brand, to see if it helped her dry skin. Within just a couple of days, that completely cleared up (she's had it since a pup, although salmon oil helps, it never cured it), she has the best feeling and looking coat she's ever had and so far (very early days) has had no gooey eyes. We're on holidays at the moment, so I'm not prepared to put my life on the line to say that it's the food that's made the difference, as there are so many changed variables, but it's certainly something worth considering, if there are any potential allergens in the food he's on at the moment.
I have a very runny eyed rescue cat and I use homemade saline solution on her as even after antibiotics after a bad flare up she pretty much always has runny eyes. 1/4 tsp salt to 1 cup of warm water, then apply with a cotton ball wiping from inside eye to out. i assume this would be ok with a dog, but I would double check with your vet friend, as may be some reason why not?
A quick update - both of mine now have gooey eyes again. There has been lots of pollen around, so it's obviously their hayfever starting. I'll keep an eye on it and bathe them regularly, but if necessary will see the vet to get some antihistamine.
