The eyes of our faithful four-legged friends can be without exaggeration called the “mirror of the dog’s soul” - they express love and boundless devotion to the owner, surprise, desire to play pranks, sadness. That is why the anxiety of the owners of animals is understandable when the eyes of their pets are exposed to any disease. This does not happen as rarely as we would like, so it is important to know the signs of an incipient disease. This will help you start treatment on time and prevent complications that can be very serious.
Today we will talk about one of the most common inflammatory diseases of the eyelids - blepharitis in dogs. Symptoms, causes and treatment of pathology will be considered in this material. We hope that the advice of experienced veterinarians-ophthalmologists will be useful to you.
General characteristic of the disease
Blepharitis is an inflammatory disease of the eyelids, which is most often localized on their outer side. The eyelid thickens and swells, with severe swelling - it turns out. The animal experiences severe itching and pain in the eyes. Often, the conjunctiva is also included in this process.
Pretty quickly, pathology without proper treatment is burdened by complications in one form or another.
Symptoms of the disease
This ailment is dangerous primarily due to the fact that symptoms are not always timely detected. Treatment of blepharitis in dogs, respectively, is not carried out, and the disease progresses. Many novice dog breeders think that lacrimation and inflammation of the animal’s eye is caused by minor trauma, or it is conjunctivitis that can be treated by rinsing with medical solutions.
The inflammatory process can cover both one and two centuries at once. Swelling increases, the eyelid swells, hangs over the eye. In advanced cases, it closes the eye completely. The edge of the affected eyelid condenses, becomes painful.
Century inversion
A very important, aggravating treatment symptom of blepharitis in dogs (photo below) is a twist of the eyelid.
If the eyelashes are wrapped under the eyelid, they rub against the cornea and conjunctiva of the eye. An animal that remains without treatment for a long time can completely lose its sight. Sometimes the eyelid becomes so inflamed that the dog cannot close his eyes. The cornea dries up, the animal experiences severe itching and, when combed, scratches the affected eyelid. As a result, wounds, crusts, purulent discharge appear in the corners of the eyes. Ulcers are a breeding ground for infections, through which pathogenic microorganisms penetrate the body of the animal, exacerbating the course of the disease. Without treatment, blepharitis in dogs is complicated by keratitis and conjunctivitis.
Types of disease
Specialists distinguish several types of blepharitis in dogs. The treatment of each of them depends on a timely diagnosis and the condition of the animal.
- Scaly (simple) blepharitis
This form is often confused with conjunctivitis - the edges of the affected eyelid thicken, gray-white scales appear on them. As a rule, this type of disease accompanies inflammation of the conjunctiva.
The eyelids swell in the animal and become covered with crusts, under which pus accumulates, the wounds bleed. The disease affects the hair follicles so eyelashes fall out and no longer grow. Often, even if untreated, tissues are scarred at the lesion sites. This leads to an eversion or inversion of the eyelid.
This type of blepharitis causes dysfunction of the meibomian glands, which begin to produce excess secretions. Excesses of this fluid fall into the conjunctival sac and provoke the development of the inflammatory process. With this form of pathology, the edges of the eyelids thicken greatly. When the pathogen of purulent infection is located in the meibomian gland, then the risk of developing purulent blepharitis is high.
People call this pathology barley. Animals suffer from it. Inflammation in this case is localized on the edge of the eyelids, where the eyelashes grow. Abundant suppuration is formed, which without treatment extends to the hair and sebaceous ducts of the eyelashes.
Causes of the disease
The main reasons for the development of this disease are various effects on the eyelids. It can be mechanical injuries, chemical, genetic complications, allergic reactions.
Allergic reactions often cause conjunctivitis in an animal, although blepharitis is not uncommon. In addition to blepharitis, other clinical signs can occur with allergies: itching, dermatitis, swelling, hair loss, redness of the skin, lacrimation, coughing or sneezing. Allergic blepharitis can be caused by an insect bite per eyelid.
Most often these are coccal infections. Local abscesses (pustules, pimples) form on the eyelids of the animal.
- Demodecosis (subcutaneous ticks) is a disease that is difficult to treat.
- Diabetes.
- Dermatitis is an inflammation of the skin.
- Diseases of the endocrine system (most often, problems with the thyroid gland).
Do dog breeds have a predisposition to blepharitis?
Unfortunately yes. In dogs with a short muzzle, numerous folds of skin, eyelid inflammation occurs much more often than in their brethren. This disease is also affected by animals with narrow elongated muzzles and large bulging - a bulldog, Shih Tzu, Labrador, Chow Chow, Pekingese, Golden Retriever, poodle.
Blepharitis in dogs: treatment
There are general recommendations for the treatment of all forms of this disease. However, it should be understood that treatment of blepharitis in dogs at home is possible only after a thorough examination and diagnosis in a clinical setting.
General treatment recommendations include:
- Removal of all secretions from the eyes. To do this, use boiled water cooled to room temperature, decoctions of medicinal herbs, filtered through several layers of gauze - chamomile, calendula.
- Frequent compresses to relieve inflammation.
- Salt compresses, “pulling” pus. In this case, extreme care should be taken to prevent saline from entering the dog’s eye. After such compresses, the crusts on the eyelids are soaked. They should be very carefully removed, and the resulting wounds should be burned with iodine.
Owners of animals should understand that treatment of blepharitis in dogs is not possible only by alternative methods.
If bacteria provoked the disease, then antibiotic treatment cannot be dispensed with. But the veterinarian-ophthalmologist should prescribe the drugs. Antimicrobials (Trimethine) are used for the course of treatment to get a positive result.
With congenital pathologies of the eyelids or growth of the cilia inward (dysthiasis, trichiasis), surgical intervention is indispensable. The veterinarian carefully cuts the eyelid to avoid inversion.
For the treatment of allergic blepharitis , it is first necessary to detect and eliminate the allergen. Antihistamines are prescribed to improve well-being. In addition, in severe cases, the veterinarian prescribes hormonal ointments (corticosteroids), Sofradex drops.
When the cause of blepharitis in dogs lies in demodicosis, the treatment will be lengthy, as it is not easy to cope with this amazingly tenacious mite. Treatment may be delayed for six months. In this case, simple anthelmintics will not help. Effective is the drug "Ivomek", which is administered subcutaneously. The dosage is determined by the doctor. It depends on the weight of the animal.
Demodex parasitizes the skin, causing severe itching. The skin is inflamed. The treatment for this kind of disease should be special. The owner of the animal should strictly follow the treatment schedule prescribed by the veterinarian. Even if signs of recovery are visually visible, therapy should not be discontinued. Only after the doctor, based on laboratory tests, confirms that all the ticks have died, it will be possible to claim that your pet is healthy.