Bella has dry eye, advise please

Been to the vets today and Bella has dry eye. Its not too bad but obviously needs to be attended to daily. The vet has given me Viscotears liquid gel. She also mention another product which I can't remember what it's called as I went a bit blank when she showed me the tiny tube which costs £40. It would last about a month apparently and it re activates the tear ducts. If the viscotears doesn't do the job then I will buy the tube and see if my pet insurance will pay. It will of course be for life for her so not sure if the pet insurance will support that. What I'd like to know is what other owners have found works well for this condition. Also is there any website that I could order the gel from which might be cheaper. Keen to keep the impact on Bella to a minimum as she's such a loving little girl. Look forward to hearing from my cavi friends out there.

team bella said:

Been to the vets today and Bella has dry eye. Its not too bad but obviously needs to be attended to daily. The vet has given me Viscotears liquid gel. She also mention another product which I can't remember what it's called as I went a bit blank when she showed me the tiny tube which costs £40. It would last about a month apparently and it re activates the tear ducts. If the viscotears doesn't do the job then I will buy the tube and see if my pet insurance will pay. It will of course be for life for her so not sure if the pet insurance will support that. What I'd like to know is what other owners have found works well for this condition. Also is there any website that I could order the gel from which might be cheaper. Keen to keep the impact on Bella to a minimum as she's such a loving little girl. Look forward to hearing from my cavi friends out there.

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Hello, so so sorry about the news, dry eye is horrible My murphy has dry eye, the worst there is, he has 0mm of tears in his eye. His was not treated for a very long while as he was rescued. The other product will be Optimmune, which is meant to reactivate the tear ducts but it does not work for my Murphy, as his eye is so bad, But I still use it 2-3 times a day. We also have "Sno Tears" (i think its sno tears or sno drops) Which is a watery solution which adds lubrication to the eye, I use that almost every 1-2 hours to keep his eye moist. I purchase a prescription from the vets for Optimmune and I buy it at "Manor Pharmacy" for just £23.75 which is better than the £50 our vets charge! Im not sure if you have a Manor Pharmacy near you but its definately best to check as its much cheaper. Dry eye is a horrible syndrome, but it doesn't seem to bother them if you keep there eyes well moist and lubricated(well my murphy anyways because hes had it for soo long). Feel free to PM me. :flwr:

The main thing is that you are now treating the problem! Dry eye can be very painful in itself, but can also cause other horrors if left untreated, so you have done the right thing.

I have kept several dogs comfortable just by using Hypromellose solution (from any chemist) regularly, with the occasional boost from Optimmune if necessary. It is regular application of the Hypromellose or Viscotears that is the important thing.

Good luck little Bella - do let us know how she gets on.

If you don't have a pharmacy nearby that could supply Optimmune, the VetUK website does it for £27 (post free, I think), if you send them the prescription. Some of the other online sites might have an even better price.

Kate, Oliver and Aled

I'm sorry Bella has been diagnosed with dry eye. Dylan was recently diagnosed with this after months of going back and forwards to the vet who insisted it wasn't dry eye but allergies. He ended up with severe corneal ulcers, one of which was so bad he nearly lost the eye. He had to have a corneal graft in this eye (£3500) and we are still under the opthalmologist. He has no vision at the moment in this eye but the hope is that he will regain some sight. He has to have Optimmune twice a day and artificial tears twice a day. I also wash his eyes daily with saline. I get the Optimmune from Vet UK, as Kate said, for £26 post free and my insurance pays. It is really important you look after their eyes with the medication the vet advises otherwise you can end with the sort of problems Dylan had which was absolutely horrific.

Wishing you and Bella good luck.
xx

Sorry not been on line sooner but my broadband crashed this weekend and I'm just back on line. Thanks for all the info its been very helpful. Getting on ok with the visiostear but she soesn't like me doing it. I've been using treats when doing it in the hope that she doesn't get too stressed. Can I ask about the prescriptions? Are vets ok about doing a prescription or do they prefer you buy from them? How much do they charge normally for prescription?
Thanks again for all the kind words and help

I used treats with Dylan after his surgery as he was having eye drops every two hours and was in a lot of pain. You need to get them to accept the drops as it is for the rest of their life. He is really good now and I have stopped the treats as I was worried about his waistline.

Vets have to provide you with a prescription although they like you to buy from them because of the profit they make. The charges vary and some are quite high (mine is £15.86) but you can ask for a repeat prescription which can last up to 6 months (again this is up to your vet). You send the prescription off to the pharmacy company who keep it on file and when you need more of the medication you contact them and they will then send more out until the date on the prescription has expired. Hope this helps feel free to pm me if you have any questions.

We used to use Viscotears during the day and Lacrilube at night, as that is greasier and seems to keep the eye moister for longer.

Both of these products are available over the counter at pharmacies at a considerably cheaper price than the vets charge! and you should be able to claim for them by submitting the receipts to your insurance company.

I never had much success with Opt immune either.


We hope that Bella's eyes keep as well as possible - it is really essential to look after them with dry eye, you need to bathe the eyes twice daily. Their eyelids often do no close properly, so this removes the grit and dirt that gathers on the surface.

The eyes are not sterile therefore you do not need to use sterile water, but do use warm water! Fill a jug and then hold the eye open gently with one hand, and use a baby sponge or similar to flood the eye with water. Wipe around the outside of the eye with the sponge, and then dry with a towel [they like that bit best!]. Reward them for being good with a treat They quickly accept this is part of the routine and I would recommend this for all Cavaliers, not just those with dry eye [at least once per day, and especially after you have been on the beach]

This routine was recommended by the ophthalmologist

I got the prescription and it was about £13-15. The vets totally understood why we would rather have a prescription as its alot cheaper to go out and buy it yourself rather than get it from the vets. Some vets may not be ok though, there all different..

Nicki I also have no success with Optimmune and think its rubbish and a waste of money if I'm totally honest, it lubricates Murphy's eye for about 5 minutes and it then gunks and drys up again.

Murphy also has the sticky green gunk, I have used conjunctivitous cream which clears it up for a few days but it just will NOT go...such a pain in the bum really.

Hope that Bella starts to accept the treatment, Murphy did after a few weeks and now he is totally used to it.

Thanks for all the advice and support, I really really appreciate it. I think I won't bother with the Opt immune for the minute and see how we go for now with the viscotears. I was mainly interested in Opt immune because the vets said that I would only have to use it once a day and I thought it might make it easier for Bella. I'll keep up the treats until she gets used to it, my poor wee girl. I suppose the positive is that this has been caught early and hopefully kept under control.
Thanks again everyone. I'm sending Bella's thanks too as she's happily snoring her head off at my feet.:d*g:

I have been watching this thread very closely, just in case, and now I'm glad I did, as I have much more experience of Dry Eye in Cavaliers than most, including my present sufferer, who is very badly affected.

I can't stress too much, that if your vet has prescribed Optimune then you MUST use it as directed, even though it is expensive. Optimune stimulates the tear gland to make tears and the viable alternatives to it are twice as expensive and much more difficult to use.

Eyes are too precious to take chances with and in not using as directed there is a big risk that your girl will develop Corneal Ulcers, which are excruciatingly painful. My Holly had them so badly at first that even though she was a young puppy the nurse and I had to hold her down while the vet examined and medicated the eye.

Incidentally, you might find it better to use Lacrilube than Viscotears, as the ointment is much thicker and lubricates for much longer. They cost £5.40 for the large tube from Boots Chemists and are available over the counter.

Hi Flo, thanks for the information. The vet is happy for Bella to have the Viscotears as this seems to have been caught early enough. When she did the tear test Bella was about an 11 and 12 on the test. The Vet said she should be around 15. The vet suggested Viscotears first and then the Optimune because of ease of use, once a day. If I find that this is not helping or I find that Bella is struggling with the 3 times a day drops, then I will get the Optimune. I will definitely get the Lacrilube and try that too. Anything that will help her I'll do. I knew I'd get the best advise and support on this forum and I've not been let down. Thanks again

team bella said:

Hi Flo, thanks for the information. The vet is happy for Bella to have the Viscotears as this seems to have been caught early enough. When she did the tear test Bella was about an 11 and 12 on the test. The Vet said she should be around 15. The vet suggested Viscotears first and then the Optimune because of ease of use, once a day. If I find that this is not helping or I find that Bella is struggling with the 3 times a day drops, then I will get the Optimune. I will definitely get the Lacrilube and try that too. Anything that will help her I'll do. I knew I'd get the best advise and support on this forum and I've not been let down. Thanks again

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From my experience ordinary vets seem to have very little knowledge about this condition. When I first took Dylan to the vet and said I thought he had dry eye they did a schirmer test which came out at 15 in one eye and just over in the other. The vet insisted he did not therefore have dry eye despite having the symptoms which would not clear up. As I have already said in an earlier post he then developed corneal ulcers and ended up having surgery. He is now under an opthalmologist who said dry eye needs to be treated with Ciclosporin (the active ingredient in Optimmune) as well as artificial tears. Interestingly he also said anything under 20 on the schirmer test is cause for concern.

Keep a close eye on Bella and if she doesn't improve or gets worse take her straight to the vet and ask to be referred to an opthalmologist. Their eyes can deteriorate literally overnight. This is a nasty disease and requires very careful treatment.

I hope I haven't alarmed you but Dylan suffered horrific pain because of this and I would hate to think of another dog going through the same.

Flo has the most knowledge about dry eye and I'm sure she would be more than happy give any advice you need.

Take care, and best wishes to you and Bella.
xx

Jane P said:

From my experience ordinary vets seem to have very little knowledge about this condition. When I first took Dylan to the vet and said I thought he had dry eye they did a schirmer test which came out at 15 in one eye and just over in the other. The vet insisted he did not therefore have dry eye despite having the symptoms which would not clear up. As I have already said in an earlier post he then developed corneal ulcers and ended up having surgery. He is now under an opthalmologist who said dry eye needs to be treated with Ciclosporin (the active ingredient in Optimmune) as well as artificial tears. Interestingly he also said anything under 20 on the schirmer test is cause for concern.

Keep a close eye on Bella and if she doesn't improve or gets worse take her straight to the vet and ask to be referred to an opthalmologist. Their eyes can deteriorate literally overnight. This is a nasty disease and requires very careful treatment.

I hope I haven't alarmed you but Dylan suffered horrific pain because of this and I would hate to think of another dog going through the same.

Flo has the most knowledge about dry eye and I'm sure she would be more than happy give any advice you need.

Take care, and best wishes to you and Bella.
xx

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Don't worry I will watch this very closely and if I think for a minute this is not improving or getting worse I will make sure she is seen by an opthalmologist. Anyone know of any good opthalmologist in Scotland??? Wonder if it will be the vet school.

team bella said:

Don't worry I will watch this very closely and if I think for a minute this is not improving or getting worse I will make sure she is seen by an opthalmologist. Anyone know of any good opthalmologist in Scotland??? Wonder if it will be the vet school.

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I don't know the answer to this myself, but I know a retired vet who does. I will get back to you soon.

The Optimune worked well for Mindy and she never did need anything else. The biggest issue I had with the optimune was when Max came along he wanted to lick it out of her eye - it didn't seem to have any ill effects to either ( I did prevent it as much as possible). Mindy was a very good girl though and never ever complained regardless of what I or the vet did to her. If there were treats involved she was all over it!

ByFloSin said:

I don't know the answer to this myself, but I know a retired vet who does. I will get back to you soon.

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I am told that the BEST vet school in Scotland is the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, Easter Bush, Edinburgh. There will be specialist opthalmologists there as well as at the Glasgow Veterinary School, Bearsden, Glasgow. You do of course have to be referred to a vet school or indeed to any specialist opthalmologist by your own vet.

It's good to have the information to hand in case it's needed, but let's hope that the present treatment will prove effective.

Brilliant, thank you very much for that. I thought it might be the Dick, there's been a very good series on telly recently and they are good. I'll let you know how we progress

team bella said:

Brilliant, thank you very much for that. I thought it might be the Dick, there's been a very good series on telly recently and they are good. I'll let you know how we progress

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And I will be thinking of you and Bella and wishing you well. By the way, your Bella shares her name with my youngest daughter :lol: and I must say she is a very pretty dog.

Luckily Bella's eye was caught early then and is not too bad, hope it goes well with the opthamologist. Murphy's schrimer test for his dry eye is 0