Dog squinting both eyes; Discharge and pink stuff present

by Mellyame
(Wyongah,NSW,Australia)

Kains Right Eye

My 12 year old dog woke up yesterday squinting his eye. He also had a lot of boogy discharging from the same eye. Today he woke up and he had some pink stuff on his lower eyelid. He also struggled to open his eye, and this morning he started to squint his left eye.

Its Sunday here so vets are closed and wont be able to take him till tomorrow and we are just worried about his eye.

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Dog squinting both eyes; Discharge and pink stuff present

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My Online Vet Response for: Dog Squinting both eye eyes; Discharge and pink stuff present
by: Dr. Carol Jean Tillman

Hi Mellyame,
Kain has conjunctivitis of both eyes. The 'pink' stuff you are referring to at the lower edge of his right eye is edema in the lower conjunctiva.

With this much swelling, it is due to either foreign matter in the eyes or a scratch on the cornea. Since both eyes seem to be involved, I am more suspicious that he may have bacterial or viral exposure causing the inflammation, and he may have rubbed his eye and scratched it.

Another condition that should be considered is called 'Dry Eye'. It is caused by a lack of production of adequate tears by the tear glands. The amount of tear production can be checked by doing a Schirmer Tear Test (at least, that is the name of the test that we do here in the USA... I am not sure what they call it in Australia).

Use saline, either purchased from a store or 'home-made'. Use 1/4 tsp Sea Salt mixed into 1 cup of distilled water to rinse his eyes. You can use an eye dropper to rinse the mucous from each eye 4-6 times per day, until you are able to get him to a veterinarian to diagnose the problem.

Please keep us posted by coming back to this page and clicking the 'click here to add your own comments' link below.

Take care,
Dr. Carol Jean Tillman

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DISCLAIMER: This educational advice is based on the depth of your question and the picture you submitted. The above should never replace the advice of your local veterinarian, as they have the ability to evaluate your dog in person.

Related Pages:
- Dog Eye Problems,
- Ask a Vet Online Library - Dog Eye Problems Section

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