How Dry I Am, Dry Eye in Dogs
How Dry I Am, Dry Eye In Dogs
One of the best parts of having a dog is looking into their beautiful eyes and seeing love and devotion
reflected back. That alone can turn a bad day into a good day.
Sometimes, when you look into a dogs eyes you might see something besides love and devotion. You
may see a little bit of gooey build-up at the corner of the eye. You may dismiss it as perhaps they got
some dust or dirt in their eye. But if it keeps on happening, it is time to look beyond dust and dirt.
Keratitis sicca or “dry eye” can range from mild to severe enough to damage some of the structures of the eye. To understand dry eye we first need to understand tears and how the work.
Tears are made up of two components, a thicker mucus like portion and a thinner waterier portion. In dry eye, less of the water portion is made and the thick gooey portion becomes what is left to moisten the eye.
Only having the gooey portion of the tears leads to a variety of problems. Owners may see it glob up in
the corner of the eye as the first sign that something is wrong. The mucus portion on it’s own without the watery portion does a poor job of lubricating the eyes. The eyes become irritated, itchy and red. It can be uncomfortable for the dog to keep it’s eyes open so they may squint. Without proper lubrication the cornea can become dry and damaged.
If you notice your dog squinting and perhaps pawing at their eyes, please give us a call.
A full eye evaluation will include a particular test for dry eye. The Schirmer tear test will allow the
veterinarian to assess how much of the watery portion is in the tears. They test is conducted use a special type of paper. This soft paper is held to the eye for one minute. The paper has measurements on it. How much moisture that is wicked up in one minute can be accurately measured.
There are varying degrees of severity in dry eye. The Schirmer tear test allows us to measure the severity of the problem.
Dry eye is generally considered to be an autoimmune disorder. Occasionally, it can be triggered by an injury. There are various types of immune suppression drugs that can help treat dry eye along with appropriate topical medications.
If you are concerned that you may be seeing the symptoms of dry eye in your dog, please contact us at your earliest convenience. The sooner the condition is treated, the happier and healthier your dog's eyes will be.