Conjunctivitis in dogs: treatment, causes and underlying symptoms

Surely, many dog owners have faced such a problem as conjunctivitis. The eyes of the pet become blushing, inflamed, and this condition requires immediate treatment to prevent deterioration. Today we want to talk in detail about a problem such as conjunctivitis in dogs. Treatment may differ depending on the symptoms and severity of the course of the disease, but without intervention from the side, the condition will only worsen.

How often does

Every host should be ready for this. Despite the conditions of food and nutrition, there is no guarantee that you will not encounter a problem such as conjunctivitis in dogs. Treatment will depend first of all on the form of the course of the disease. It can be:

• Catarrial clinical form;
• Purulent;
• Follicular.

Each of these species can be divided into subspecies, and they have peculiar symptoms and signs, which is why you can not self-medicate if you encounter such a disease as conjunctivitis in dogs. Treatment should be comprehensive and optimal for your case.

Causes

Surely you are interested in knowing what leads to the development of this terrible disease. This is also important from the point of view that, knowing the enemy in person, you can take preventive measures and prevent the development of pathology. So, where do conjunctivitis come from dogs? Veterinary answers this question is rather streamlined. The matter is that the conjunctiva is in contact with the air and the external environment, and in the conjunctival sac there are always microbes. Any decrease in immunity can lead to the fact that they will begin their stormy activity. As a result, inflammation occurs. On the conjunctiva, both inflammatory and degenerative processes in the body are reflected. It can be various diseases of internal organs, metabolic disorders, as well as various infectious diseases.

However, veterinarians know what causes chronic conjunctivitis in the dog. Treatment of mechanical injuries and various eye irritations is almost never done. And after all, such situations happen very often: irritation is caused by foreign bodies, acids and alkalis, gases, as well as pyogenic microorganisms trapped in the conjunctival sac . So, any, even the most insignificant, inflammation and redness needs treatment. In addition, eyes are recommended to be washed daily with a weak decoction of chamomile.

Symptoms

Each owner must know them, in order to be able to provide first aid and to turn to the veterinarian in time. Let's now consider what conjunctivitis is in dogs. Treatment covers the entire lifestyle of your pet as a whole, so we will also consider this topic. Let's start with how to determine catarrhal conjunctivitis in dogs. Symptoms, causes, treatment are all important information that can be very useful to you.

There are two forms of this type of disease. Acute catarrhal conjunctivitis affects the epithelial layer. You can observe lacrimation, serous-mucous discharge, flushing and swelling. In the most severe cases, edema leads to the fact that the conjunctiva protrudes from under the roll of the century.

The chronic form is somewhat different. In this case, you do not observe a sharp clinical picture. Discharge from the eyes are not abundant, they are purulent, thick, white in color. Conjunctiva is dry and red, with a long course of the disease it changes its color, becomes cyanotic.

Treatment of the catarrhal form of the disease

In fact, this knowledge will be useful to you in any case, no matter what conjunctivitis is in dogs. What kind of treatment at home can your pet provide? Good results are given by aqueous solutions of levomycetin (0.25%), kanamycin (1%), sodium sulphate, which can have a concentration of 10, 20 or 30 percent, depending on the severity of the disease. They are all prescribed in the form of drops, 2-3 drops 4-5 times a day.

In addition, you need to use eye ointments. Ditetracycline, oletetrine and hydrocortisone ointments are placed under the lower eyelid 3-4 times a day.

The chronic form of the disease has less severe symptoms, but needs no less treatment. In this case, a solution of zinc sulfate (0.5%) is added to the conjunctival bag 3-4 times a day, as well as a silver nitrate solution of 1%. Recommended and tissue therapy, in this case the vitreous body is used.

Purulent conjunctivitis

This is the most severe form, which requires a long and difficult treatment, can often lead to complete blindness. Let's look at how this conjunctivitis occurs in dogs. The main symptoms and treatment are provided for informational purposes only, as in no case can self-medication be done.

Clinical signs are photophobia and sharp pain when touching the eyelids. A naked eye shows a strong hyperemia and swelling. Allocations of purulent exudate change their nature with time. At first they can be liquid, similar to mucus, and then they become dense, greenish in color, glue eyelashes and accumulate in the corners of the eyes.

The dog thus constantly rubs the amazed eye. Often there is clouding and ulceration of the cornea. The eye may lose sight partially or completely.

How to help your pet

Of course, you can not sit back, you must help. However, without wasting time, try to get your pet to the veterinarian so that he gives his recommendations. First of all, general and local antiseptic treatment is needed. Rinse the eye thoroughly. This will require 3% boric acid, furacilin, ethacridine lactate. After the eye is completely washed, you need to start treatment. In severe cases, anesthesia may be necessary to allow the dog to perform cleaning procedures.

Treatment of purulent conjunctivitis

After washing it is necessary to lay ointment from antibiotics under the lower eyelid, eye medicinal films. This procedure is carried out 3-4 times a day. Very effective is the subconjunctival administration of the mixture, which includes an antibiotic (10,000-20,000 units of kanamycin), 1 ml of novocaine solution, 0.1 ml of hydrocortisone. Very often the doctor suggests performing a blockade of the cranial cervical sympathetic unit. It is necessary to intramuscularly inject antibiotics, duration depends on the initial state of the patient. In addition to them, sulfanilamide preparations are prescribed .

Follicular form of the disease

This is another form of the disease, which requires attention and long-term treatment. In fact, it is very difficult to confuse it with something else. Let's look at the characteristics of follicular conjunctivitis in dogs. His treatment is also very long, so it is very important to have patience.

So, in this case, the inner surface of the century completely changes its appearance. On it there is an accumulation of lymphatic follicles. As a result, the third eyelid resembles a bunch of small grapes. In dogs, it strongly goes to the surface of the eyeball. In this case, the disease is accompanied by severe reddening and discharge of pus from the eye. It becomes difficult for an animal to even blink, as it causes painful sensations. Enlarged follicles can injure the cornea of the eye.

In the risk zone

It is interesting enough whether all dogs are subject to the development of this form, or whether there is a link to the breed. In fact, it often develops in mastiffs and similar conjunctivitis. In dogs, the causes, symptoms, treatment need to be studied, all this is important information for the owners, so below we will continue to consider this topic. Pay attention to the state of your pet's eyes if you have a Labrador, Rottweiler or Bulldog.

Development of the follicular form of the disease

This is a chronic form of the disease. If one day your pet has such a deviation, then in the medicine cabinet you will constantly have to keep special medications and carry out prophylaxis, since relapses will occur regularly. Treatment depends on the severity of the disease, that is, the degree of development of the follicles. The treatment is almost identical to the one we gave when we talked about the therapy of purulent conjunctivitis in chronic form. However, only by laying down medicines you will not get rid of the chronicle, so it is very important to give time and the general condition of the organism of the pet. Strong immunity will allow you to more likely to avoid such complications.

Nutrition and maintenance as a way of preventing conjunctivitis

The room in which the dog lives must be dry and clean. It is very important to observe basic hygiene, to cover the bed with clean cloaks. In second place - food. The more quality the diet is, the better the immunity will work. This is especially important when it comes to feeding a puppy. A poorly examined puppy (with a scant diet) is much more prone to inflammatory eye disease.

The third point is the preventive care of the pet's eyes. Every day it is recommended to wipe them with cotton swabs, moistened chamomile broth or weak tea. It is also very important to isolate your pets from dogs with conjunctivitis. This disease is very contagious, so you need to be vigilant.

The first redness of the eyeball should be a signal that it's time to take action. It is recommended in this case to connect levomitsetinovye drops. One can not stop at what was achieved when the first symptoms receded. Be sure to show the pet to the veterinarian so that he can assess his condition and prescribe a treatment.