Conjunctivitis?

[gracielou]

I had a little Shi tzu that had dry eyes and I had to put stuff in his eyes when he got older can't remember what they called it but I'm thinking it was because of his tear ducs.

[Jac]

Hi Kim,

I always thought that conjunctivitis was caused by dry eyes...so when you asked this question it made me wonder...and I found a site that explains it pretty well...and dry eye and irritation is a factor:

http://consumer.vetmedcenter.com/consum ... X.xml&dt=A

My vet gave me a salve to put in Chase's eye, but I think that eye drops to keep his eyes moist, now that he is well, is a good thing. Patty Daisy (Gabriele), from this forum, told me to (among other things):

Keep the eye area clean so no gunk & potential bacteria gets into the eyes. Use non-preserved saline (available in the contact lens section of drug stores.) Regular water doesn’t have the right osmolarity (salt balance) & actually will cause further irritation. Saturate a soft clean cloth with the saline & hold it over his eyes (maybe while he’s sleeping or snuggling on your lap) – after the crusty, goopy stuff softens, gently wipe it away. Occasionally during the day, if you see some goopy stuff starting, gently squirt a bit of saline in his eyes to flush the crud out. This also flushes out bacteria. (She did caution that I should check this out with my vet before I do anything.)

She was so helpful...a very nice person! (Thanks Gabriele! Chase is doing great and I found the drops!) I hope that this advice helps you too.

[dixiedi]

Maureen, I don't know if you are aware of it or not but since our conversations on another thread about BYB and PM I thought I'd mention that Lambriar may be a good source for products for our dogs BUT they are brokers. I will not contribute one penny to anyone that makes a living off of puppy mills. Just thought you might want to know that

[kim26]

That is a good site Jac. Thanks. I'm hoping that Doc's was caused by bacteria in his eye since only one eye was infected. I hope he's not going to have the same chronic condition that my standard poodle had. That's good to know about the saline solution and getting the non-preserved kind is very important. Several years ago, I contracted bacterial conjunctivitis and the drops the Dr. gave me had preservatives in them. My eyes stayed red and irritated for a couple of weeks until I went back to the Dr. to find out what was wrong and he said I was allergic to the preservatives in the drops!

[Maureen]

Diane, about Lambriar, are you serious?
Can I ask how you have verified this? If that is the case I'm glad to know it. thanks.

[Jac]

Kim...glad that you found the info useful...sounds like you are right on top of this!

Diane...thank you! I had no idea...if that is true, perhaps the customers who use the products reguarly could write to them and tell them why they will no longer do business with them. They need to know that it is not acceptable to most of us. (But first we need to verify it... )