Like humans, many dog ​​breeds are prone to certain ailments. A disease such as cataracts is quite common in dogs. It sometimes proceeds imperceptibly at the beginning, but with time it is significantly aggravated. Therefore, it is important to detect this ailment in time and begin treatment.
What is cataract in dogs?
Experienced breeders recommend that before purchasing a puppy, ask the owners about the health of the baby's parents. It is always preferable to pay more for a healthy dog ​​with good heredity than to treat it later.
What is cataract in dogs? This is a violation of the transparency of the lens, which leads to decreased vision. If in the early stages of the disease does not greatly affect the quality of vision, then over time, fogging occurs until complete blindness. Of course, most often vision problems occur in older animals, but cataracts in dogs can occur at any age.
In addition, it is worth noting that distinguish between congenital disease and acquired. Congenital cataract is rare. But acquired - more often. It can occur as a result of trauma, after inflammatory eye diseases, as a result of diabetes, etc.
The lens of the eye is nothing more than a transparent biological lens that focuses the light fluxes on the retina of the eye. In the normal state, it is transparent and elastic, which allows it to change shape, adjust vision at different distances. With age, the lens loses its elasticity and hardens, and therefore loses its natural properties.
Causes of the disease
A dog’s cataract occurs for various reasons. A prerequisite for the development of the disease can be thermal, mechanical and chemical injuries. Also, the presence of common diseases, such as, for example, diabetes mellitus, affects the vision.
The cause of cataracts may be a genetic predisposition. In addition, when purchasing a pet, it is necessary to study what diseases the breed is susceptible to. For example, cocker spaniels, poodles, golden retrievers and miniature schnauzers often suffer from cataracts. The disease may be present from birth or begin to develop between the first and third years of life.
Dog Cataract: Symptoms
Age-related cataracts appear in animals older than eight years. In breeds predisposed to this disease, the first manifestations can occur much earlier. The signs of cataracts are very different, but in general it is necessary to focus on the visual disturbance in the dog. With the development of the disease, a partial, and subsequently complete clouding of the lens is observed . The process may initially be invisible if it occurs in the peripheral regions. And if the central part of the organ is affected, then visual impairment occurs quite quickly, because a clouded lens blocks the path of light rays.
It is very important to monitor the health of the animal’s eyes and, at the first symptoms, consult a veterinarian. The lack of proper treatment leads to the fact that the disease can go beyond the eye tissue. In this case, there is a blocking of the natural outflow of fluid from the eyes, which leads to the development of glaucoma.
Veterinarians emphasize that almost always you can immediately notice the first symptoms of cataracts, if you are attentive to your pet. And this will allow you to start treatment on time.
Diagnosis of the disease
The appearance of the first alarming symptoms is a signal to immediately contact a specialist who will help to understand the situation. The fact is that many signs of cataract are similar to other eye diseases. Therefore, only the veterinarian, with the equipment, can make the correct diagnosis for the animal, which affects how the further treatment will be carried out.
The entire diagnosis of cataract can be divided into four stages:
- The specialist thoroughly examines the dog and determines the general state of health.
- Next, an examination of the outer part of the eyes.
- In the event that the specialist has reasonable suspicions of the presence of cataracts, an electroretinogram is performed, which allows to determine the type and stage of the disease.
Only with diagnostic results can a veterinarian make an accurate diagnosis and prescribe the right treatment.
Stages of the disease
Much depends on what stage the cataract is detected in the dog. Treatment directly depends on the degree of neglect of the disease.
So, there are several stages:
- The initial cataract is manifested in a clouding of the lens, which appears on the periphery. In this case, vision is impaired to a small extent. An animal may simply not see the individual details of objects.
- Immature cataracts are a process in which clouding occurs in the central part of the optical zone of the lens. In this case, the dog sees only the outlines of objects.
- Mature cataract - opacities occupy the entire area of ​​the lens. Vision drops so much that only light perception remains. The animal ceases to navigate in the surrounding space.
- Overripe cataract is the stage at which the destruction of the lens fibers occurs, the lens itself becomes a completely milky white hue. At this stage, even light perception may become false.
Then comes a period of great complications: glaucoma, phacolytic uveitis, iridocyclitis. The rate of development of the disease is a very individual parameter, which depends on many factors, including the general health of the dog.
Often, breeders do not notice the first manifestations of the disease on time and go to the veterinarian when the cataract is already mature or overripe, and this greatly complicates the treatment.
Conservative therapy
Much depends on what stage the cataract is detected in the dog. Treatment of a conservative nature is possible only in the early stages, and even then with its help you can not get rid of the disease. It simply prevents the process of abrupt progress of the disease.
Unfortunately, Cataract drops for dogs have not yet been developed. And even universal remedies for preventing the development of the disease are also unknown. Therefore, the only possible solution is surgery.
Surgical intervention
How to treat cataracts in dogs? Currently, the only way to effectively treat is surgery. And it is worthwhile to understand that it is better to carry it out in the early stages.
Removing a cataract from a dog is an operation in which a clouded lens is replaced with an IOL (intraocular lens) or an artificial lens. Why is it so important to start treatment in the early stages? The fact is that in an unreleased form, surgical intervention is possible with the help of low-traumatic technology using ultrasound. This technique is called phacoemulsification.
The operation to remove cataracts in dogs by phacoemulsification is as follows. The lens is crushed using ultrasound, turning it into an emulsion. After that, through a small puncture with a diameter of up to 2 millimeters, the emulsion is removed. And in place of the old lens through the same incision in a convoluted form, an artificial elastic lens is introduced. Then he straightens out in a lens bag and assumes its natural position. A puncture is done in the peripheral part of the cornea, which sometimes makes it possible not to even suture, since this part has the property of self-sealing, and therefore independently heals within seven to ten days. Sometimes the seams are nevertheless superimposed, it all depends on what decision the surgeon will make.
Advanced treatment
Modern equipment makes it possible to perform phacoemulsification at various degrees of cataract maturity, even with overripe. However, a more favorable option for the patient and surgeon is an operation performed in the early stages. At this time, the lens is still quite soft, so it can be removed with minimal trauma to the tissues. Currently, during operations, viscoelastics are used - these are special viscous substances that are injected into the eye to protect it from injuries. This approach makes surgery even more sparing.
The only significant drawback of such operations is their high cost.
Are other treatments possible?
Is it possible to get rid of a disease such as cataract in dogs with conservative methods? Treatment, drops, drugs, advertised by dishonest manufacturers, will not only not help to cure such an ailment, but also can lead to a worsening of the condition of the animal. Currently, there are no drugs that can reduce cataract growth or prevent its onset. Therefore, the only treatment for humans and animals is surgery.
Preventative measures
In order to protect your pet from all kinds of diseases, it is necessary to carry out preventive measures. Therefore, it is very important to regularly show the dog to the veterinarian so that dangerous symptoms can be detected on time.
Experienced breeders recommend following certain rules:
- When buying an animal, check the pedigree. Documents usually indicate diseases.
- Check your pet regularly.
- Try to avoid injury to the eyes of the animal.
- For dogs, diabetes is dangerous. If your dog has such a disease, then first you need to treat it, and only then - cataracts.
- Always try to control the condition of your four-legged friend.
Following such simple advice, you can protect your pet and prevent the development of the disease.
Folk methods
As we have already said, cataracts in dogs (photos are given in the article) can only be treated with surgery. Of course, there are many folk recipes that guarantee a quick recovery of the pet. Whether to use such folk remedies or not is up to you. But start the disease is not worth it.
Here are three of the most popular options for preparing folk remedies for cataracts:
- In a water bath, melt the honey. For treatment, it is best to use May or acacia. For three weeks, they need to bury the dog’s eyes twice a day. Then take a break for four months, and then repeat the course again.
- Two tablespoons of calendula flowers must be poured into 0.5 liters of boiled hot water, wrapped and insisted for half an hour. Then, rinse the dog’s eyes with liquid several times a day.
- Mix the chopped pharmacy chamomile, burdock and rosehip rose petals in equal amounts. Next, prepare two pots for a water bath. Pour herbs into a smaller bowl and fill with water. We put it in a water bath, bring to a boil and reduce the heat. After a while, remove the pan from the heat. The infused liquid can be used as drops after straining.
Alternative methods of treating cataracts are ineffective, therefore, any drops and funds are best used after consulting a veterinarian, because it is very important not to aggravate the condition of the animal.
How to prepare a pet for surgery?
You need to know that the operation of dogs is carried out under general anesthesia. Therefore, it is very important that the animal is in good physical shape. Before surgery, it is recommended to visit a veterinarian and do general tests. Some surgeons recommend using eye drops to relieve inflammation before surgery. They can be instilled for two weeks before surgery. And before the appointed day, the frequency of use can be increased.
As a rule, surgeons recommend “Flurbiprofen” - these are classic anti-inflammatory drops prescribed before cataract removal.
In addition, it is worth not to feed the dog for half a day before the operation, so that the meal does not affect the medicines used during the intervention. But diabetic dogs, on the contrary, should be fed and given the right portion of insulin, since any diet for such an animal is extremely harmful.
Instead of an afterword
Postoperative rehabilitation of dogs is fast enough. You will need to visit the veterinarian several times and wear a special collar. The rest of the care for the animal is not complicated. In most cases, the operation performed on time leads to the restoration of vision in the pet. Therefore, it is very important to always monitor the animal and regularly visit the veterinarian.