# Eye infection??



## Emraa (Jun 4, 2009)

Bella (almost 2 year old Lab X) woke up with a 'manky' eye yesterday. There is some gunky, sticky yellowish discharge coming from it and although she doesn't seem bothered by it she does try to itch it occasionally.
I have been washing it with water but is there anything else I can do to help or is a trip to the vet in order?:confused1:


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## The3DChis (Jan 17, 2011)

I would prob go to the vet.
Our Husky Misty had this and it was conjunctivitis.


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## Guest (Feb 9, 2011)

Don't take risks with eyes, an eye ulcer could potentially turn very nasty indeed


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## Mum2Heidi (Feb 17, 2010)

Golden eye ointment is very good - so is a wipe with a used tea bag for minor issues but if you dont see improvement quickly then she would need the vet.

Sight is precious and personally I would book Bella an appoinment.


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## Amethyst (Jun 16, 2010)

Don't try to diagnose or treat yourself, you need to take your dog to vet.

Hope all is well, good luck


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## Sled dog hotel (Aug 11, 2010)

Emraa said:


> Bella (almost 2 year old Lab X) woke up with a 'manky' eye yesterday. There is some gunky, sticky yellowish discharge coming from it and although she doesn't seem bothered by it she does try to itch it occasionally.
> I have been washing it with water but is there anything else I can do to help or is a trip to the vet in order?:confused1:


Any discharge that is yellowish/greenish is infection. So a trip to the vet may be in order as you are going to need vet strength eye drop/ointment. He can also check the eye to see there is no scratches or minor injury that might have become infected.


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## Sleeping_Lion (Mar 19, 2009)

Wow, really? 

Mine get mild conjunctivitis once or twice a year, usually when it's disgustingly wet and murky for long periods, or when there's a lot of pollen/grass seeds around. I use either golden eye or optrex infected eye drops/ointment, or the chemist's own equivalent. It's exactly the same sort of drop/cream your vet will prescribe in the first instance, and will charge you probably between £20-£30 - last time I bought a tube of ointment, it cost less than a fiver. I'm all for dog health, but I don't rush to the vets I'm afraid, if it's something you can treat yourself. If it doesn't clear up within a couple of days, then I'd be off to the vet, and I'd be checking the whites of the eyes, and inside the eyelids to ensure there's nothing more sinister going on, and that the redness was going down.


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## Guest (Feb 9, 2011)

Sleeping_Lion said:


> Wow, really?
> 
> Mine get mild conjunctivitis once or twice a year, usually when it's disgustingly wet and murky for long periods, or when there's a lot of pollen/grass seeds around. I use either golden eye or optrex infected eye drops/ointment, or the chemist's own equivalent. It's exactly the same sort of drop/cream your vet will prescribe in the first instance, and will charge you probably between £20-£30 - last time I bought a tube of ointment, it cost less than a fiver. I'm all for dog health, but I don't rush to the vets I'm afraid, if it's something you can treat yourself. If it doesn't clear up within a couple of days, then I'd be off to the vet, and I'd be checking the whites of the eyes, and inside the eyelids to ensure there's nothing more sinister going on, and that the redness was going down.


But you are an experienced dog owner, you wouldn't even have asked this question you would know if it needed veterinary intervention or not . If someone has to ask about something like this then one would assume they need professional guidance.


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## Sleeping_Lion (Mar 19, 2009)

rona said:


> But you are an experienced dog owner, you wouldn't even have asked this question you would know if it needed veterinary intervention or not . If someone has to ask about something like this then one would assume they need professional guidance.


Perhaps so, but the advice initially came from a vet, and I wasn't as experienced then.

I think you have to decide yourself if the eye looks particularly sore, if it's perhaps more than a mild conjunctivitis type infection, are there any visible lumps or scratches etc that look worrying? If it is mild conjunctivitis, then the whites are usually more blood shot than normal, and there is a discharge, sometimes yellowish/greenish, and sometimes signs of itchiness, ie dog rubbing eyes frequently. It's up to you whether you then decide to buy your own ointment/drops, or go to the vet, drops are easier to put in btw, particularly if you have a dog that doesn't like you fiddling around near their eyes.


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## Amethyst (Jun 16, 2010)

rona said:


> But you are an experienced dog owner, you wouldn't even have asked this question you would know if it needed veterinary intervention or not . If someone has to ask about something like this then one would assume they need professional guidance.


Well said.

My dogs have only ever had conjunctivitis twice, different dogs, so it's not something I consider routine or that warrants home treatment.

I personally would not mess around treating conjunctivitis with any animal, it's nasty painful and often (depending on cause) infectious condition. Best left, in my opinion, for a vet to correctly diagnose and treat.


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## Sleeping_Lion (Mar 19, 2009)

Amethyst said:


> Well said.
> 
> My dogs have only ever had conjunctivitis twice, different dogs, so it's not something I consider routine or that warrants home treatment.
> 
> I personally would not mess around treating conjunctivitis with any animal, it's nasty painful and often (depending on cause) infectious condition. Best left, in my opinion, for a vet to correctly diagnose and treat.


Sorry hun, but that hasn't been my experience. I have my own two dogs, and regularly look after more, and even when one or two have had conjunctivitis, the rest haven't, and it's been easy to clear up using the eye drops or cream as I've said above.

Remember though, that mine do live outside, so are constantly exposed to pollen/grass seeds etc, and they also have a habit of sticking their heads in mucky puddles or undergrowth, which can set off a mild eye infection.

The pharmacist knows me, and knows that the ointment/drops are for my dogs because I've told them in the past, and they are happy to sell me it, on the proviso, that if the infection doesn't clear up, that I will take them to the vet for further treatment. As I've said, it is exactly the type of treatment the vet is most likely to prescribe in any case. So it's entirely up to the individual, if they feel that a visit to the vet is worthwhile, or if they will treat it themselves. As long as they don't leave it, and allow the condition to become worse.


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## Guest (Feb 9, 2011)

Sleeping_Lion said:


> Sorry hun, but that hasn't been my experience. I have my own two dogs, and regularly look after more, and even when one or two have had conjunctivitis, the rest haven't, and it's been easy to clear up using the eye drops or cream as I've said above.
> 
> Remember though, that mine do live outside, so are constantly exposed to pollen/grass seeds etc, and they also have a habit of sticking their heads in mucky puddles or undergrowth, which can set off a mild eye infection.
> 
> The pharmacist knows me, and knows that the ointment/drops are for my dogs because I've told them in the past, and they are happy to sell me it, on the proviso, that if the infection doesn't clear up, that I will take them to the vet for further treatment. As I've said, it is exactly the type of treatment the vet is most likely to prescribe in any case. So it's entirely up to the individual, if they feel that a visit to the vet is worthwhile, or if they will treat it themselves. As long as they don't leave it, and allow the condition to become worse.


But how do you know that it is conjunctivitis or something minor in this case?
Alfie had very similar last year and like you I didn't worry unduly. He wasn't scratching at it much, the discharge was very minor and there was no redness.
However after 3-4 days I thought I'd better get it looked at as it hadn't cleared at all. Turned out that he had scratched his eye ball and had a very nasty ulcer.
If it had been left any longer the consequences could have been dire.


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## Mum2Heidi (Feb 17, 2010)

I thought I had conjunctivitis years ago. Went to the Dr. who diagnosed it, prescribed drops and said if it's no better the following day - eye infirmary. I was in a dreadful state that evening with pain searing thro my head. Next day I had no sight in the eye, pain and couldnt bear light. Went to the eye infirmary where Iritis was diagnosed, the lens was already coming away and I v nearly lost my sight.

I had different drops and ointment-spent the next week shoving stuff in my eyes on the hour. Loads of return trips to the eye infirmary to clear up the scar tissue and then for nearly a year afterwards recurring ulcers in the same eye.
I learned a very valuable lesson:thumbup:


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## Sleeping_Lion (Mar 19, 2009)

rona said:


> But how do you know that it is conjunctivitis or something minor in this case?
> Alfie had very similar last year and like you I didn't worry unduly. He wasn't scratching at it much, the discharge was very minor and there was no redness.
> However after 3-4 days I thought I'd better get it looked at as it hadn't cleared at all. Turned out that he had scratched his eye ball and had a very nasty ulcer.
> If it had been left any longer the consequences could have been dire.





Mum2Heidi said:


> I thought I had conjunctivitis years ago. Went to the Dr. who diagnosed it, prescribed drops and said if it's no better the following day - eye infirmary. I was in a dreadful state that evening with pain searing thro my head. Next day I had no sight in the eye, pain and couldnt bear light. Went to the eye infirmary where Iritis was diagnosed, the lens was already coming away and I v nearly lost my sight.
> 
> I had different drops and ointment-spent the next week shoving stuff in my eyes on the hour. Loads of return trips to the eye infirmary to clear up the scar tissue and then for nearly a year afterwards recurring ulcers in the same eye.
> I learned a very valuable lesson:thumbup:


Yes, I know, there are much more serious eye conditions, which is why I've said, it's entirely up to the individual whether they would choose to treat for conjunctivitis, or take their dog to the vet. If the vet thinks it's conjunctivitis, they will prescribe similar treatment to that which I've posted. If they think it's something more serious, then they'll obviously choose a different course of action.

The original post asked for advice regarding a manky eye, and possible slight itching, in their own words the dog doesn't seem that bothered by it. In which case, it doesn't sound like a condition I personally would rush a dog to the vet for, but I would treat it, and keep a close eye on it to make sure it didn't get worse, or that it wasn't something more sinister. I'm also lucky in that both my two are very good at letting me examine their eyes, as well as letting me put in drops and ointment.


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