Swollen Eye

[bulldoggin30]

My husband and I went camping over the weekend and Dutchie stayed at home with our daughter. When we returned late last night, Dutchie's right eye was slightly swollen and his inner eye lid (nictating?) was very pink. Before we left he had started showing his usual seasonal allergy symptoms-mild scratching and licking, so I started his daily Benadryl. My daughter said she gave it to him every day except 1. Do you think it could be from allergies? It's not watering more than normal but I can tell it itches. I began benadryl 2x/day and gave him an oatmeal bath tonight. If it's not improved by tomorrow I'll have to call the vet. Any ideas?

[gmacleod]

Well, allergies could be one possible explanation (though one might think it more likely to affect both eyes in that case). An infection such as conjunctivitis seems another strong contender though, so if it gets any worse, or isn't gone in a day or two, a vet visit is very much the order of the day ;)

[bulldoggin30]

Yes, I thought about that; just affecting 1 eye. So I called the vet but can't get him in until Friday. Is there anything I can do to help relieve the symptoms until then? I have Visene Allergy drops for my eyes. Would it be safe for his?

[French Queen]

Hi Amy - there are a few things that can cause swellings like insect bites for instance, if you have a magnifying glass have a look to see if there is any tiny bites or cuts, but like you said, it's probably his allergies. I bet he has been having a good old scratch & rubbing his face, some of then are crafty & go out the way to have a scratch in private. The oatmeal bath will make him feel more comfortable.

I'm not familiar with Visene allergy drops, are they on prescription or can you buy them over the counter ? I have used many over the counter eye drops & never had a problem, you could ring the vet & ask if these drops are ok to use till you see him.

On odd occasions our Fern would get hives all over from nettles, if she had any swelling near her eye I would put freshly used tea bags in the fridge for a while then apply to her eye for a couple of minutes then get another one from the fridge & apply again, it helps to take the heat out of the hives. You could put a cold face cloth across his eye if you don't want to try a tea bag.

I use Optrex eye wash on my lot if they have sticky/runny or sore eye's but if I dont have any of this is in I use a very weak solution of cold tea. I fill a cup with boiled water & pop the tea bag in for a couple of seconds then let it cool then apply to the eye using a eye dropper, I always test it before I apply it . I use this on my own eye's, it's very soothing.

Our Fern had severe allergies she was on Medrone V, she was on one tablet every other day, if she missed one then you new about it, the itching would come back with vengeance.

French Queen & the little clowns :)

[bulldoggin30]

Thanks for the info French Queen! I am happy to report that his eye looks much better today. I gave the oatmeal bath, doubled the Benedryl, and added fish oil to his food. Visene is over-the-counter. I like the tea idea, do you use black or green?

[French Queen]

Hi Amy - sorry about the late reply but our Ky decided he wanted to pay the vets a visit (it's only been nine days since his last visit) I'm going to have a serious talk with my lot, they like going to the vets too much :lol:

It's good to hear the swelling has gone down on Dutchies eye.

I have always found regular teabags to work well, I've never tried green. You could try them yourself, if your eyes look puffy put a green one on one eye & a regular one on the other eye, see if there is any difference. You may get some funny looks from your Dutchie, the first time our Samara saw me do this she started to bark & jump on me, when I showed her one she tried to eat it :eek: I don't drink tea myself I only buy it for the dogs eye's & mine.

If you try the green teabags let me know if it stains your eyes green :lol:

French Queen & the little clowns :)

[imogene]

Hi Amy

Sorry to hear that Dutchie has some eye issues. As you know thanks to Belzie I have had to learn a lot about frenchie eye issues.

You can use over the counter eye drops without worry - just make sure to use natural tear drops or tear 'gel" products. The one we use with Belize is actually called "Teargel" If you ever have to give eye medication using a tear gel product 10 minutes before the medicinal drop can really help with stinging without compromising the effectiveness of the medication. ;)

Belzie still gets teargel weekly, but after everything we went through with her I made sure to socialize Sam to eye drops by giving him teargel drop occasionally too.

As for eye compresses. My holistic vet recommends camomile or green tea for compresses.

From your description of Dutchies eye my guess would be conjunctivitis made worse or even caused by allergies. If his eye is still bothering him I would not hesitate to take him to the vet and have him looked at. It is pretty standard for vets to stain the eye and check for scratches. I would also have them test tear production. Conjunctive inflammation can cause a decrease in tear production, which in turn can open the door to additional eye issues.

[bulldoggin30]

Thanks for the info french queen & Imogene. Although Dutchie's eye looks normal now, he has more eye goo in that eye. Could that be conjuctivitis? I made sun tea today and I took some out for Dutchie before it got too strong. I use a 2/3 ratio of green to black tea so he will be getting both in his eye. He didn't like it one bit! How often should I put it in?

[imogene]

The extra goop could be from allergies. I know Belzie's allergies cause dry eye, which in turn causes extra goop. Whenever she has extra goop we use her teargel. When we first started we were giving her teargel drops 3 or more times a per day. Now for mild irritation we only give them to her once before bed. Even though my vet okay'ed it, Tea would not be my first choice for a home remedy, not when over the counter natural tear drops are easy to find and inexpensive. If his eye is still bothering Dutchie you really should get him to a vet. After what I went through with Belze I just don't think it is worth it to take a chance where eyes are concerned.

[French Queen]

Hi Amy - I applaud your enthusiasm regrading the tea solution appicon but I think you made it too strong. This is how I make it, I sterilize a coffee mug with boiling water first then I fill it back up with boiling water & dip a tea bag in three times, take it out & let it go cold, then I fill a bottle that has an eye dropper with it then put it in the fridge, then I put the tea bag back into the solution that's left & leave it in for a minute, stir a few times & put it in a sealed container into the fridge, I sterilize the container before I put the tea solution in. This stronger solution is for cleaning the goo away from the eyes, I take some out of the fridge & put in a dish & soak eye makeup pads or cotton wool in it for ten minutes then I squeeze out the excess & clean the eyes three times a day. When I plan to use it in the eyes I keep the bottle in my hand for 5/6 minutes to take the chill off. I put this in twice a day after their walks, remember this solution is for flushing the eyes only, not infections, I only use it if my lot have been running in long grass, been to the beach or on very windy day, it helps sooth irritations & removes dirt/grit, pollen & grass seeds. Tea is a very cheap alternative as most households have tea in (unless it's just a British thing:lol: ) so you are not paying anything extra & it's cheaper than eye drops/creams, unlike eye drops you don't have to discard the rest of the tea bags after twenty-eight days of opening.

Funnily enough I used this solution last week on our Ky, he had a deep ulcer & a small blood clot, the first lot of treatment wasn't working so they tried this new treatment, within five minutes of applying these drops he was in agony. Obviously he had a bad reaction, Optrex made no differnce so I put the tea solution in & within a few minutes he started to calm down, took him straight to the vets but the damage had been done, a bleb formed across the eye & the blood clot had doubled in size. He had his third eye lid stitched to see if it will heal.

They get goo in their eyes with allergies, flush Dutchies eye with diluted tea or an over the counter drops, you can clean the goo away with the tea then pat dry his eye, use whatever you feel comfortable with. I would contact the vet if the goo is excessive or there is any green discharge, I never mess around when it comes to eyes, they don't have spares.

Our Ky had conjunctivitis last Christmas, it stared with sticky goo, then it look red, sore & watering continuously & a lot of green discharge & he kept it shut most of the time, I cleaned the goo away with tea three times a day, the vet prescribed drops, it cleared up pretty quick.

When I used to apply Ky's drops I made sure whoever was holding him wasn't wearing anything that could catch his eye, like buttons, as he would throw himself backwards once the drops were in & try to rub his face down the person who was holding him. None of us really like having drops put in especially if their sore, if Dutchie is a real handful try wrapping him in a towel, by doing this carefully you can disable all four legs & get much better control. Or sit on the sofa & sit him on the floor between your legs so he can't back out, hold him firmly then put the drops in straight away, the longer you mess around the more agitated Dutchie will get. Or you could sit him at one end of the sofa, put his collar on so he can't escape, hold him firmly & give him a long chew, something like a tripe stick, you hold one end & let Dutchie have the other while someone else applies the drops, give him a treat when it's all done. This method may not work especially if Dutchie likes his food too much, I don't give mine tripe sticks afterwards as mine try to eat them whole; I only use them for distraction. Dogs react differently around certain people so let your partner put them in.

French queen & the little clowns :)

[bulldoggin30]

Well, I took Dutchie to the vet anyway because it had been almost 3 years since he had had any vaccinations and although I hate to give them, I figured I would just to be safe. Both of Dutchie's eyes were red at the time and I really do think it was allergies but the vet game me some antibiotic ointment just in case. She wanted to go ahead and test him for glaucoma, but he wouldn't hear of it! Three of us couldn't hold him still! She also gave me a different allergy pill to try (was using OTC Benedryl) so I'm sure he'll be good as new! Thanks for all of the advice, everyone!