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Saline Eye Drops for Dogs | How to Soothe your Dog’s Eye Pain

Saline eye drops for dogs can relieve your dogs of dry eyes temporarily, or to flush out dirt from your dog’s eyes. However, if your dog does has suffered from physical eye injury, a saline solution may not help.

That can happen after a fight with another dog, cat, or accident. Read to discover how to use artificial tears to soothe your French bulldog.

Can I Use Artificial Tears On My Dog?

Artificial tears are liquid medication that your dog can use to get relief from dry eye complications. It imitates natural tears, and it’s generally safe for use on most dogs.

It lubricates and helps to keep your dog’s eye moist. The dosage for administration varies across each breed of dog. Therefore, it’s advisable to get a prescription or guidance from your vet, after they examine your frenchie.

Are Lubricating Eye Drops Safe For Dogs?

Lubricating eye drops are safe for use on most dog breeds. They help combat simple dry eye problems in dogs with no bad side effects on your dog. For eye drops to work, you must apply it on your dog’s eye several times a day – which can be overwhelming for you and your dog.

What Kind Of Human Eye Drops Can I Use On My Dog?

Genteal Tears, Refresh Optive, Systane Complete, and Soothe XP are excellent options of eye drops that you can get for your dog. However, we strongly discourage you from using human eye drops on dogs, without a vet’s prescription.

That is because a dry or itchy eye can be indicative of a rather severe eye infection. This is true if you have not had your dog checked for a while, or if the human eye drops don’t appear to offer sufficient relief.

Can I Use Saline Eye Drops On My Dog?

Yes! Saline eye drops relieve uncomplicated dog eye infections in a matter of days. Saline eye drops are the recommended first line of treatment for any dog eye infection. Besides, you do not need any prescription from your vet to start your dog on saline eye drops for dogs.

Can I Use Human Eye Drops On My Dog?

You can use human eye drops on dogs for effective results. However, the decision to use human eye drops should be guided by your vet. Self-prescription can escalate a minor eye problem into a severe eye problem. That will then turn out to be a costly visit to the vet later on.

What Saline Solution Is Safe For Dogs?

Saline solution is a mixture of salt and distilled water. If you choose to buy the solution, ensure that the saline solution of choice is prescribed for the dog’s eyes. And if you are making the solution at home, use distilled water. Do not use tap water, because of chlorine, which can irritate a dog’s eyes.

Are Polysporin Drops Safe For Dogs?

Polysporin is primarily a human medication used to treat eye and ear infections. You can use it to treat eye infections on your dog. However, it is not always a drug of choice, because it is used to treat external infections.

How Can I Treat My Dogs Eye Infection Without Going To The Vet?

Treating your dog’s eye infection at home may be regrettable, as you may not be able to diagnose the precise cause of the illness. But if you must treat your dog’s eye infection at home, you can use a saline solution.

Flush your dog’s eye with a saline solution to clean it, and offer pain relief. Next, you can use a clean cotton ball to wipe out the residue that collects at the edge of your dog’s eye. Repeat the process twice or thrice a day.

What Can I Put On My Dog’s Irritated Eye?

To take care of your dog’s irritated eyes, this home remedy may help. In a boiled water cup, pour in a teaspoon of the eyebright herb and a quarter teaspoon salt. Let the mixture rest for fifteen minutes and strain it in a clean container. Use the mixture to clean your dog’s eye.

What Can I Use To Clean My Dog’s Eye?

Dog shampoos have an irritable effect, and should never get closer to your dog’s eye. To clean your dog’s eye, you can buy an artificial eye solution. Those are specially formulated to match a dog’s tear composition, to avoid causing it pain.

How Can I Treat My Dog’s Eye Infection At Home?

Home remedies such as saline solution, chamomile tea or cod liver oil, can be a choice treatment to rid your dog of superficial eye infections. First wash your hands. Next, position your dog in an upright position, and squeeze a drop or two of the solution.

First, allow your dog to blink severally, and then clean the dirt that collects underneath and around the eye.

What Do Vets Prescribe For Eye Infections?

Vets recommend a simple eye wash whenever your dog has an eye infection. Nutri-Vet Eye Rinse and Tomilyn Sterile eyewash are two great eyewash recommendations you can get from your vet. An alternative recommendation would be to prepare a saline solution at home.

Can A Dog’s Eye Infection Go Away On Its Own?

Infections caused by viruses go away after some time because viruses are self-limiting. However, for bacterial infections, you need to take your dog to a vet. They will prescribe your dog an antibiotic to treat the bacterial infection, and some pain medication to relieve it of any pain..

Refresh Tears for Dogs

Refresh Tears is a medicating liquid that works to hydrate the eye, relieving symptoms of Keratoconjunctivitis Sicca, KCS – (A disease that causes dryness of eyes in dogs and cats). It’s an over the counter artificial tear solution that you do not need a prescription to access.

You should get a recommendation and guidance from your vet for the administration.

Genteal Tears for Dogs

Genteal Tears is also a hydrating medication for a dog’s dry eyes. The solution helps to lubricate a dog’s dry eyes. The brand is particularly preferred as it lacks preservatives known to irritate a dog’s cornea, making it an ideal lubricating eye drop for use in the long term.

Artificial Tears for Dogs

Artificial tears are a range of saline over the counter lubricants, used to relieve dry eye conditions in the eye. Their composition is equivalent to that of natural tears. They are perfect for dogs and would provide the necessary hydration to help your dog’s dry eye condition.

Eye Drops for Dogs

Eye drops reduce the abrasive effects that occur after a dog starts having dry eyes. You can use eye drops to clean your dog’s eye, or offer relief in case of a viral eye infection. Often, your vet will prescribe additional medication for the dog to deal with a primary or secondary infection.

What Eye Drops Are Safe For Dogs?

Artificial tear drops for humans are safe to use to relieve your French bulldog of dry eyes, without prescription from a vet. For infections, inflamed or irritable eyes, you should use eye drops on your dog only with a recommendation from a vet.

Some of the safe eye drops include:

However, you should not use eye drops on your dog, if the cause of dryness is an injury. Injuries often lead to blindness, because of opportunistic illnesses such as glaucoma. If the eye has intraocular pressure for periods of 24 hours to 48 hours, then permanent damage may follow.

Refresh Eye Drops

Refresh Eye Drops is an artificial tear drop that helps to treat dry eyes and eye irritation in humans. It is safe for use on dogs, and not only helps to hydrate your dog’s eye, but also helps to prevent further abrasion of the eye.

Thera Tears for Dogs

Thera Tears is a human artificial tear medication that helps to hydrate dry eyes, and offer lasting pain relief. It is safe for use on dogs and can  provide your dog with the necessary eye lubrication. Thera Tears also offers relief from the symptoms of dry eyes, such as itching.

Top 3 Places Online I Can Buy Artificial Tears For Dogs

Amazon is an online store that stocks and distributes products, including pet medications such as artificial tears, or supplements upon purchase worldwide.

Vetrxdirect – It’s an online pet pharmacy that promises to deliver quality pet medications and supplements, right at your doorstep.

CVS.com is a renowned pharmacy that primarily sells human medications, including some pet medications brands. They serve customers living in the USA only, so you may not access it when outside of the US.

What Kind of Eye Drops Can I Use On My Dog

Your choice of the ideal eye drops depends on the health of your dog’s eye. In case of eye infections on your dog’s eye, it is advisable to get a recommendation from a vet.  In case of an infection, the vet may recommend the following eye drops:

Moxifloxacin Eye Drops for Dogs

Moxifloxacin eye drops is an ophthalmic solution that you can use to treat a class of bacterial infections on your dog’s eye. As a prescription-only eye drops remedy, you must complete your dog’s dosage as recommended to avoid an infection relapse.

Chloramphenicol Eye Drops For Dogs

The chloramphenicol eye drop is a prescription-only antibiotic that you can use to treat several bacterial eye infections in your dog. It works by inhibiting the bacteria’s growth until the point that it dies off, leaving your dog healthy and woke.

Best Eye Wash for Dogs

Nutri-Vet Dog Eye Rinse

Made from filtered water and sodium chloride, Nutri-Vet Dog Eye Rinse provides an excellent eye wash to rid your dog of dirt, tear stains, or mucous. It also contains boric acid that helps relieve your dog from irritated eyes, and helps it fight infections.

Eye Wash for Dogs Home Remedy

A teaspoon of salt dissolved in a cup of filtered or distilled water is a perfect alternative eyewash solution.  You can use it to clean your dog’s eye during an emergency. Chamomile tea also works great, prepare the tea and run over your dog’s eye when it is completely cooled down. Lastly, you can use cod-liver oil to clean the eye.

Sterile Buffered Saline Eye Wash For Dogs

Sterile buffered saline is the typical saline eyewash. You can use it to clean your dog’s eye and the areas around it. It will also offer relief for minor dry eye dog complications only. For eye cuts and other severe eye problems, visit your vet for treatment.

Eye Rinse for Dogs

Your dog will have dirt or debris on their eye from time to time. A commercially produced or homemade eye wash comes handy to help you clean it. The eye rinse enables you to clean your dog’s eye without it experiencing irritation.

Conclusion – Saline Eye Drops for Dogs’s Dry Eyes and General Eye Care

You can use artificial tears to help your dog deal with dry eyes. However, you should take your dog to the vet, if you notice their eyes are bulging, or have a cut. The vest will then recommend the best treatment for dry eyes or itchy eyes.

Avoid picking dirt out of your dog’s eye with your bare hands; you may be transferring an infection. You should always keep the hairs around the eye short, to keep infections at bay. Take time to look intently into your dog’s eye. It will help you catch an infection at its very early stage.

Lastly, while cleaning your dog’s eye, keep the whole operation as sterile as possible. Should the symptoms persist days after, seek further treatment.

Peter Achachi
Peter Achachi

Peter loves furry friends, and takes pleasure in blogging on how to keep them happy. His motto is, "A happy dog is a friendly dog."

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