Dry Eye

My 9 years old Cavalier has had dry eye diagnosed some 4 years ago, I currently have him insured and this meets the cost of Optimune ointment and Maxitrol drops which i use twice a day. From November this year his insurance is going up to £50 a month and I have a £70 excess and also have to pay 50% of the medication. I am hoping there may be someone out their who can reccomend an alternative. I have read somewhere that Optrex have brought out eye drops for infected eyes. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

My vet recommends that my one stays with the Optimune twice a day but to use Viscotears which you can buy from your local chemist through out the day. She only been on Maxitrol after she had an operation on her eye to remove a wart that was rubbing against the eye.

I believe you can buy Optimune cheaper on the internet, provided you get a private prescription from your vets.

Hello Joan,

Nice to see you on this forum.

I have no real experience with dry eye, but I have heard that there are often cheaper alternatives to the drops that vets prescribe.

I use Lubrithal, from Chemist Direct Online, to keep my old William's eyes lubricated.

My little disabled girl, Holly, is the second Cavalier I have had with dry eye.

Both have been prescribed Optimune twice daily, backed up with Lacrilube, which is a bit thicker and more viscous than Viscotears. Lacrilube is sold at most chemists and no prescription is needed. It is about £5 a tube or less.

Optimune is another story. This is prescription only. Most vets charge something around £40 a tube for it, but you can get it for less than £30 from most of the British vet chem sites. I think some of the foreign ones might be a bit dodgy though so be careful.

My Holly has auto immune problems so needs more powerful tear inducing medication, so has been prescribed Protopic by her opthalmologist at Woodlands. This is also on prescription only, but it is twice as strong as Optimune and I find that a tube lasts Holly about 3 months. If it is suitable for your dog there are potential savings to be made, but, and it is a very big but, the ointment has to be painted directly onto the eyeball, which many people find difficult.

If I can be of any further help, please let me know, as it is so important to make sure that your dog's eyes are kept well lubricated so that they do not ulcerate.

Thanks very much for this ionfo, Flo - I have a 9-year old Tri who is on Maxitrol and Hypromellose at the moment, but we have also tried Optimmune, which I like very much apart from the expense (not covered by my insurance because I inherited her with dry eye).

If it's not too much trouble, could you put up a couple of links to those vet chem sites you would recommend?

Many thanks, Marie-Anne

Hi Marie-Anne

I have used petdrugsonline.co.uk in the past. There was another one, but the page in my bookmarks doesn't work, so perhaps they have gone out of business. I had a look around the net and found Vetmedplus who look very good and sell Optimune for £23 a single tube or a pack of 3 at a price my ancient brain has now forgotten.

Hope these help, but you should check first with your vet how much he charges for the prescription and then how much he charges on top of that for any 'consultation' needed before it is issued.

As soon as I told my vet how cheaply I could buy on the net he decided to give me a discount 'because I have five dogs registered with him', bringing the cost of Optimune, when I used it, down to £25, so I purchased it from him.

Unfortunately I have to pay a £20 prescription charge to the opthalmologist for Holly's Protopic, valid for 2 months, but I get several tubes out of it. I buy the ointment from Superdrug as they are much cheaper than Boots or Lloyds Pharmacy.

Thanks Flo, this has been very useful to me. Though Dylan has been checked for dry eye and the vet thought he was fine, he does get sore eyes after a walk in the wind or after I vacuum. We keep him in another room when I vacuum then air the room before he returns. I don't need anything medicated for him but the Lacrilube sounds good to ease his eyes.

Thanks for taking the time to post all this extra info, Flo. Good idea to try the "internet purchase" card.

I have a very good relationship with my vet, but with my 4 dogs all on his books, he might think hard if I start purchasing medications elsewhere - we'll see! :biggrin:

All best, Marie-Anne

I have a very good relationship with my vet, but with my 4 dogs all on his books, he might think hard if I start purchasing medications elsewhere - we'll see!

I hope it works Anne-Marie. Let us know how you get on please.