What are Eye Injuries?
Eye injuries are common in dogs and vary greatly in severity. Take your dog to the veterinarian immediately upon noticing symptoms, as eye injuries can lead to permanent scarring or blindness. If there is a foreign object you can see, do not attempt to treat an eye injury at home without a professional veterinarian.
Injuries to the eye can lead to permanent scarring or blindness if penetrating or ulcerative lesions develop. Eye injuries include foreign bodies, scratches, perforating injuries, chemical, or contact corneal trauma. If your dog's eye is closed, she is squinting to protect it, or the eyelid is not functioning correctly, it's a definite sign of a serious medical emergency.Eye Injuries Average Cost
From 44 quotes ranging from $200 - $2,500
Average Cost
$600
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Symptoms of Eye Injuries in Dogs
- General distress or discomfort
- Squinting
- Rapid blinking
- Inability to open eye
- Tearing
- Bloody or bloodshot eyes
- Avoiding bright lights
- Pawing at the eye and face
- Distorted pupil
- Visible foreign object
- Cloudiness or change in eye color
- Discharge from eye
Causes of Eye Injuries in Dogs
There are many causes for eye injuries in dogs, but the most common include:
- Altercations with other animals, fighting or playing (commonly cats)
- Vegetation, i.e. running in the woods or digging in brush
- Dangerous projectiles such as fireworks
- Riding in a car with head out the window
Types
Simple
A simple eye injury is a penetrating or perforating injury to either the cornea (transparent outer layer at the front of the eye) or the sclera (white of the eye). In the case of a penetrating injury, the wound or foreign object pierces the cornea or sclera, while in a perforating injury, the wound or object passes through the cornea or sclera.
Complicated
A complicated eye injury is more serious and involves a perforating injury to the cornea or sclera along with other structures of the dog’s eye. This may include the iris, retina, lens, or eyelid.
Diagnosis of Eye Injuries in Dogs
In order to aid your veterinarian in their diagnosis, be sure to give a thorough report on when the symptoms began, if your pet is getting better or worse, and any recent situations that may have caused your dog injury (particularly any of the causes listed above). Diagnosis will determine the cause and severity of the injury. In the case of a foreign object, or visible wound (i.e., scratch), diagnosis will be easy. However, in the absence of an immediately visible cause, your veterinarian will conduct a thorough ocular examination, including evaluation of your dog’s reaction to visual stimuli (lights, objects close to the eye), evaluation of pupil size, shape, symmetry and reflexes to light. They will also stain the cornea. These tests will help determine if there is a deeper injury, irritation, or bruising as a result of blunt trauma.
Treatment of Eye Injuries in Dogs
Simple
Simple wounds will be treated with an Elizabethan collar to prevent your dog from scratching, along with prescription antibiotic and/or atropine eye drops. Antibiotic eye drops treat and prevent bacterial infections, while atropine eye drops dilate your dog’s pupil and help relieve pain.
Complicated
More severe, complicated wounds may require surgical exploration to fully diagnose, and will require specialist surgery in order to repair your dog’s eye and restore functioning. Your veterinarian will prescribe antibiotics to prevent infection, as well as anti-inflammatory medications to relieve swelling and aid healing, and analgesics to help with your dog’s pain. Exact medications and dosages will depend upon the severity of your dog’s injury and the necessary surgery.
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Recovery of Eye Injuries in Dogs
You must monitor your dog’s injury frequently in order to track recovery. For simple wounds, monitor every day for the first few days and make note of any differences. Consult your veterinarian with any negative changes, or if the wound does not appear to be healing. For a dog recovering from corrective surgery, closely follow all of your veterinarian’s care instructions and monitor progress.
The deeper the injury is within the eye, the higher the chance for partial or total loss of vision. If your dog suffers partial or total vision loss, you must both learn to adapt to this handicap with activity and environmental changes.
However, in most cases, your dog will recover fully from the eye injury. Time for recovery depends upon the type and severity of the injury. Be sure to keep your dog away from potential causes of eye injury or irritation.
Eye Injuries Average Cost
From 44 quotes ranging from $200 - $2,500
Average Cost
$600
Top
Eye Injuries Questions and Advice from Veterinary Professionals
Chihuahua
Noodles
6 months
0 found this helpful
0 found this helpful
My 6month old puppy has an eye injury. The eye is completely red no white or eye color. I want to take her to the vet but there are none open at this time. I believe the injury was caused by trauma. I was walking and stepped on my poor pup and then triped and fell on her. She screamed and ran.when she calmed down I examined her and other than being shook up she has a little redness around her eye but nothing crazy. I thought she was fine. I had an appointment to go to. I was gone for many hours and had to leave her in the house. When I got home she seemed sore or in pain and I noticed she was pawing at her eye. When I looked it was blood red. What dose this mean could she loose her eye I'm so worried about her. Please give any advice u can
Sept. 7, 2017
0 Recommendations
It is important that you take Noodles to your Veterinarian when they open as not only eye trauma but also brain injury should also be evaluated. Brain injury can cause symptoms immediately or may cause symptoms to develop after a period of time, each case is different; it is important to look out for behavioural changes, aggression, tremors, seizures, unequal pupil size among other symptoms. Take Noodles to see your Veterinarian for a neurological examination and for an examination of the eye; if you notice seizures or other neurological symptoms visit an Emergency Veterinarian. Regards Dr Callum Turner DVM
Sept. 7, 2017
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Chihuahua
Spotty
About 9 years
0 found this helpful
0 found this helpful
My pet has the following symptoms:
Swelling
Pain
Eye Swollen
Eyelid Swelling
Red Eye
Watery Eyes
My dogs usually play fight but this time the girl scratched the boy in the eye. His eye was shut. Like you could barely see his eye. I don't know when this happened so I am not sure if he bled. I just looked at him and noticed this. I have no clue if he's okay or if it's serious. The swelling has gone down a bit so he can blink and i see more of his eye but the top of his eyelid is still swollen and the bottom still red. Should I be more concerned ? Is it going to go away soon ?
Aug. 30, 2017
0 Recommendations
If there is no blood or discharge it may just be a case of cleaning the eye with saline (contact lens solution) and then applying a canine ophthalmic antibiotic ointment which you can get over the counter which should help in case of infection. If the eye is oozing or you have any general concerns (remember I can’t examine the eye) it would be best to visit your Veterinarian to be on the safe side. Regards Dr Callum Turner DVM
Aug. 30, 2017
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English Labrador
Breeze
12 Weeks
1 found this helpful
1 found this helpful
My pet has the following symptoms:
Eye Bleeding
Eye Scratch
I witnessed my cat scratch my 3 month old lab puppy's eye. A puncture to the colored part of the eye was visible to my naked eye, I held a cool cloth on it and we took her to the vet immediately. On the way she sat still and cried in my lap. When we got to the vet she was interested in all the activity and barely showed any discomfort. When the doctor saw her she barely looked in her eye and gave us antibiotic drops. 1) Is an eye injury that easily examined and prognosis given? I've been keeping her inside, out of the sun as much as possible and asleep if possible. Day 2 I can see a pointy pimple like bump at appox 3 (if a clock) on the colored part of the eye. On our first go outside it waters quite a bit and she holds it about half closed. This morning I can see a slight whitish mark about 1/16" long. 2) Is this normal for this kind of injury? 3) Should I take her for a 2nd opinion? 4) Will this affect her sight either now or in the future?
Aug. 30, 2017
1 Recommendations
If you saw a visible puncture mark as opposed to a scratch I would high recommend visiting another Veterinarian as the treatment may need to be different (although antibiotic eye drops would still be used); generally in these types of cases we would flush the eye out and then check to see if there was any damage to the cornea using fluorescein staining. I would visit another Veterinarian to be on the safe side and to check that the eye is healing. Regards Dr Callum Turner DVM
Aug. 30, 2017
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Shihtzu
Romeo
4
0 found this helpful
0 found this helpful
My pet has the following symptoms:
Red Eye
Crusty
Hi,
So my dog had a scratched cornea at two weeks old. It was treated with eye drops and an ointment. However over the past few weeks his eye seems to be getting worse. He is now 4 years old and the eye is almost always red and gets a crust that sometimes covers the entire pupil. Today while wiping his eye I noticed a drop of blood on the qtip. I can not afford a $600 veterinary bill right now. Do you think there’s another alternative? Maybe something I can buy over the counter without having to go to the vet.
Aug. 30, 2017
0 Recommendations
There are many problems which may affect the eye which include dry eyes (keratoconjunctivitis sicca), infections (conjunctivitis), corneal ulceration, trauma, inflammation among others; each of those treatments have a different treatment. For the meantime (if you cannot afford $50-$100 to see a Veterinarian for a diagnosis), just keep the eye clean and free of debris and use an ophthalmic antibiotic ointment or if the eye seems dry, use artificial tears to help lubricate the eye. Regards Dr Callum Turner DVM
Aug. 30, 2017
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Eye Injuries Average Cost
From 44 quotes ranging from $200 - $2,500
Average Cost
$600
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Easily compare quotes from the most trusted pet insurance companies in the United States.
