Red, sore eyes..?

[NurseSophie89]

Hey guys.. Lola is 14months now and ive noticed recently her eyes have been a little gungy and stained so ive just been cleaning them with salt water. Tonight I noticed that the whites of both her eyes were bright red and really sore looking. She was also panting quite a lot.. Do you think she maybe has an infection or some kind of irritation? We havent changed washing powder or anything like that so Im a bit stumped as to what to do.. Anyone experienced similar?

[Margaret C]

I have never used salt water to clean eyes. I would have thought that would make them sting?

It certainly sounds as if something has caused inflammation and she needs to see a vet. Eyes are not something you should delay having checked.
The panting may be because of the pain. She may even be running a bit of a high temperature.

A well known home remedy for canine sore eyes is lukewarm tea ( without milk or sugar ) and that will sometimes help minor irritations or soothe the eye while you wait for a vet appointment, but red sore eyes do need to be properly checked.

[Tania]

Margaret is right. Don't take any risks with eyes, I would try and get Lola to the vet as soon as possible.

If you can't this weekend, see if you can bathe gently with warm water, Viscotears (you can get from any chemist) might help temporarily, it lubricates and moistens the eye and can help relieve soreness.


Poor Lola, gentle hugs to her.

[NurseSophie89]

We've been bathing her eyes with lukewarm water, and also tea and they've cleared up quite well. Our vets is shut until tuesday and when we called the emergency line they said it wasnt an 'emergency' so we had to wait or pay £100 before they'd even see her!!! MADNESS! So shes going to our own vet on tueday but thankfully seems to be getting much better, larking about like normal! Thanks so much to everyone, I do think I stress myself and her out so much!

[NurseSophie89]

Well, Miss Lolas eyes flared up again last night so I took her to the vets this am! She has conjuctivitis! Got some drops and ointment. I almost fainted when the vet fiddled about with her eyelids but Lola wasn't even fazed! The vet had a good old laugh at me, being a nurse and all! I was a nervous wreck!

[Kate H]

Glad you've found out what was wrong and got stuff for it. I keep some human Optrex Soothing Eye Drops (basically Witch Hazel) in the house to wash out the dogs' eyes if they look a bit sore, which washes out any bits of grit or dust that might cause irritation. It's also worthwhile getting your vet to check occasionally for Dry Eye, which can be hereditary in Cavaliers but can also just happen. It's a very simple (and inexpensive) test done in the surgery with immediate results, and as dry eye can be very painful the sooner it is picked up the better.

Kate, Oliver (who developed dry eye at the age of 10) and Aled

[Kgypsey]

I dont know if this is of any help at all but my cavvy Charlie gets re-occuring conjunctivitus and my vet told me that to save money buying the stuff from the vets you can use the stuff from the chemist as it is the same stuff. I always keep some in. It is the eye drops and contains chloramphenicol.

[NurseSophie89]

Thank you Kgypsey, i had to do this today as Lola has conjuctivitis AGAIN, this time in both eyes. My poor baby, i feel so bad for her, its just one thing after another