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Cleaning eyes

E

eg93

Well-known member
Piper's eyes get so dirty and are constantly tear stained. How do you guys clean your cavies eyes and how often?
 
Good question....I always wipe Brookyns with a paper towel or tissue if I see they are wet (usually after a play or a walk they get pretty teary). If they are dry/crusty I use eye wipes that I got at the pet store that are like baby wipes with Aloe. As for the stains, every few weeks I use a tear stain remover from the pet shop, dabbled on a cotton ball. U forget the name but will check when I get home...or you can google "tear stain remover".
What works best for me is prevention, so I am always using a dry paper towel, towel or tissue to dry up the tears before they dry on her :)
 
What works best for me is prevention, so I am always using a dry paper towel, towel or tissue to dry up the tears before they dry on her
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I basically do the same thing, except instead of using a dry paper towel, etc., I dampen with warm water before I wipe. Makes it softer near the eyes. Doing it this way, I've not have had to use any stain remover.
 
Hi this is one of the questions i get asked the most,never use cotton wool,i allways use damp clean soft paper towel.
 
When I saw the ophthalmologist [has specialised in this field for over 25 years holds a Royal College Certificate in Ophthalmology]
a few years ago, he made my jaw drop! he asked me if I washed their eyes - oh yes I said, with a little sterile water and very gently...

"Oh no" he says, "the eyes are one of the least sterile parts of the body" He soaked a paper towel with warm water and opened Jack's eye with one hand, and flooded it with water. "THAT washes the eye out!!"

As Cavaliers' eye lids don't always close properly due to their protruding eyes, they are very prone to gathering dust and dirt on the surface. He recommended washing them twice a day, just with warm water from the tap.

I fill a small jug with warm water and sometimes 1ml of witch hazel which is soothing. I use a baby sponge rather than paper towel, [afterwards I pour boiling water over it to clean it]

I then dry their faces with a towel which they love.

[We usually do around the mouth at the same time, with different water and a different sponge!]


Obviously if somebody has conjunctivitis then I would not use the same sponge even though it's not making contact with the eye, as this is highly contagious -you would need to make sure you washed your hands thoroughly after touching them too.

Some people use potato flour on a baby toothbrush which applied daily under the eye is supposed to keep that area white - much safer than chemicals too.
 
Thanks for all the great tips guys. What do you think about tear stain removers? Are they bad?
 
The most recent product I bought for Sophie is Bausch + Lomb "Eye Relief Eye Wash" and before that I believe it was a generic saline solution for eyes. I use a clean old thin washcloth or a clean cloth diaper (I use them for dusting) since I'm rather "green" and stingy with paper products. The cloths get washed in HOT water 60°C/140°F in the washer with other laundry.
 
Erin2854 said:
I wipe Polly's eyes daily with a moist eye wipe by "Earthbath"
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Sorry that this is a bit of a late question to an older thread, but I've noticed a bit of tear staining and was wondering about Earthbath wipes. We use their pet shampoo and it's so gentle and works quite well. Do the wipes remove the stains or are they best for prevention? I ask because they are so natural (and so much cheaper than other products!) so it seems like they may not be strong enough to remove stains fully.
 
Eleanor said:
Sorry that this is a bit of a late question to an older thread, but I've noticed a bit of tear staining and was wondering about Earthbath wipes. We use their pet shampoo and it's so gentle and works quite well. Do the wipes remove the stains or are they best for prevention? I ask because they are so natural (and so much cheaper than other products!) so it seems like they may not be strong enough to remove stains fully.
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Hey, there. I've used them before and they worked okay for wiping them away. But my breeder actually told me that contact lens solution works too and it is really cheap. It breaks down the protein in the stains and makes them go away. It has worked for me so far. I also sometimes uses Eye Envy but it is expensive.
 
eg93 said:
. But my breeder actually told me that contact lens solution works too and it is really cheap. It breaks down the protein in the stains and makes them go away. It has worked for me so far.
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What sort of contact lens solution do you use please? This might be helpful for others.
 
Hi all. Our vet (and I can vouch that he is the best as Chloe loves him!) advised us to use simply tea (any non-flavored tea from tea bags) to cleanse Chloe's eyes every two or three days or so in addition to cleaning her eyes with soft wet napkin. He stressed that this is not old wives' tale, but scientifically simply because tea has properties akin to a good saline solution. In his usual way he told us not to waste money on fancy solutions as using tea is just as good and safe. He (Kevin the vet) is good that way - several times already when treating our cat and dog he offered solutions that make sense and economical instead of getting us to pay more his way. Isn't that great. I suppose because he and his wife (also a vet) they love animals as a couple, and have dogs and cats themselves.
 
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