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It’s critical to be able to tell your veterinarian how long your dog has had swollen eyes and to provide as much detail as possible. In most cases, if your dog’s eyes are a little puffy and seem red or itchy, chances are your pup has an irritant in their eye, has an infection , or isdealing with allergies. Still, in conjunction with other symptoms, there can be another reason as to why your dog has swollen eyes.
As with people, preventing exposure to the allergen is often the best treatment. To help keep your pet pain-free and healthy, it helps to know the signs of facial swelling, and what you can do when it happens. This article is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge.
Healthy Diet and Eye Protection
Discharge from the eye, both clear or cloudy, can also indicate a problem. It is also concerning if your dog seems bothered by the eye, and is pawing or rubbing at it. Finally, inability to keep the eye open, or inability to close the eye are both symptoms that warrant a trip to your vet. Medical Cherry Eye in Dogs Cherry eye in dogs, known scientifically as a prolapse of the third eyelid gland, is a treatable condition that occurs most commonly in young dogs. Knowing the signs of conjunctivitis will help you identify a possible infection before lasting damage occurs. In cases of inflammation due to a fungus, bacteria, or parasite, your vet will prescribe medication.
Your vet can help narrow down the cause of the allergen by taking a general history. Checking for causes such as excessive dirt or dust in the environment, interaction with plants or insects, seasonal changes, and more can narrow down the cause of the allergen. In severe cases, a referral to a veterinary allergist is also useful for more specific testing and tailored treatment. If the blepharitis is the result of a hereditary abnormality, it’s best not to breed and risk passing the condition on to the next generation. If it’s allergy-related, try to eliminate the irritant to prevent future outbreaks. For food-related allergies, your veterinarian will prescribe a change in diet; make sure your dog doesn’t stray outside the recommended diet.
Healthy vs Unhealthy Dog Gums
Hives are the body’s way of responding to an allergic reaction and this results in lots of raised swellings all over your pet’s body. It’s rare for a vaccination to cause an allergic reaction, but if you think that your dog is suffering an allergic reaction after a vaccine, contact your vet for advice. It may be necessary to administer antihistamines to your pet for a couple of days before their next vaccination – your vet will be able to advise on this. Vaccinations are very safe and allergic reactions to vaccines are extremely uncommon. If the reason your dog has swollen eyes is due to allergies or infection, be sure to properly administer medication prescribed by your vet. In general, keeping your dog’s environment clean will also help eliminate potential foreign objects or irritants from making their way into your dog’s eyes.
It can be alarming if one or both of your dog's eyes begin to swell. There are several causes of swollen eyes in dogs, so it's helpful for dog owners to be familiar with them in case their dogs ever experience this problem. Eye swelling can be painful and a symptom of a more serious problem; ignoring it is never the answer. Various benign tumors and more serious cancers involving the eyes and eyelid can cause swelling. This may be due to the visible appearance of the growth itself, or due to the tumor pushing on the eye or eyelid, causing it to protrude. You may notice discharge or redness from the growth, or it may be painful or bothersome to your dog.
The Difference Between Food Allergies and Environmental Allergies in Dogs
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Dip a gauze pad or clean cloth in the solution, and wipe the eye area starting from the snout outward, toward the ear. According to Moucha, it’s best to err on the side of caution, especially when you're talking about your dog’s eye health. It can be a little unsettling that moment you realize one of your dog’s eyes doesn’t look quite how it usually does. Shih Tzus are notorious for eye problems including swollen eyelids.
Symptoms Of Swollen Eyes In Dogs
Swelling of the eye can have a range of causes, from the mostly harmless, to the serious. If you notice your dog “winking” or pawing at their eye, or changes to the eye in general, a trip to your vet is best. Keeping the eye clean, dry, and using an Elizabethan collar can also help prevent further irritation. Early eye care is important to help your dog heal faster and return to normal. Overall, simple blepharitis, when treated correctly, should clear up relatively quickly.
If your pooch gets an abscess under their eye, this will cause swelling. They are typically painful, so your pooch may paw at their eye or whine. Allergic conjunctivitis is when a person's eye becomes sore, inflamed, and sometimes painful after coming into contact with an allergen. A person may notice mild swelling under the eyes when they wake up in the morning. The AAO note that this can occur due to aging, fluid collecting under the eyes during sleep, or both.
Small injuries in the eye area may heal on their own if a person keeps the area clean and dry. If the swelling and pain get worse, or there are signs of infection, such as pus or discharge, a person may need medical treatment. Infected or fractured teeth and untreated gum disease can also lead to abscesses, accompanied by facial swelling, fever, depression, not eating, and great pain for your dog. It's very common for dog owners to be fooled when they see this type of swelling. Whether there is a draining pustule under the dog's eye, a lump or an actual abscess, dog owners are often perplexed by it.
Doctors treat Morbihan disease with steroids and sometimes minor surgery to drain the excess fluid. Conjunctivitis occurs due to a bacterial or viral eye infection. It causes bloodshot, irritated eyes that may itch, burn, or hurt. Lymphoma is a type of cancer that can affect the eye area in rare cases. According to the Survey of Ophthalmology, a person with lymphoma will experience swelling and a visible lump or tumor. If a person with swelling under the eyes also has difficulty breathing or is in severe pain, they should seek immediate medical help.
Swellings of the soft tissues, such as after a wasp sting or a wound often return to normal within a day or two after treatment has started. Swellings involving bone will take a lot longer and may never fully resolve. Although relatively rare, there are some types of cancer that can cause face swelling in dogs. Tumors of the nose and bones of the skull may change the shape of the bone, creating a hard swelling. Additionally, lymphoma is one of the most common cancers in dogs, and it causes swelling of the lymph nodes.
In most cases, your dog will need to be sedated for this procedure. Accidentally bumping or moving during it may cause injury to the eye. From there, your vet can look at the sample under a microscope, or send it off to a lab for analysis. In some cases, the condition can affect not only the skin around the eye but also the tissues which are inside the eye, as well as the meibomian glands.
