Why isn't my dog's blepharitis improving? Could it be allergies?

Hello. I am sorry for your concerns about Lilly. There are possibly 2 reasons for recurrent skin irritation, allergies, or the presence of a skin mite. I would recommend seeing your veterinarian who will do a simple skin scrape of the skin & look for the presence of the mite under a microscope. Depending on what is, or is not found, your veterinarian may try a steroid medication, either as an injection or a pill, & possibly use a flea & tick medication called Bravecto, that also has activity against the skin mites. Hopefully, this will take care of the redness & swelling you are seeing. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

He could have a bacterial infection and need an antibiotic to treat. Since the Benadryl is not working, he should be examined by a vet for treatment. Your vet can prescribe an antibiotic and an anti-inflammatory, if needed, to treat.

In order to make a observation of diagnosis, I would have to have a much closer look at Layla's eyes under a light. What I can observe is swelling of the eyelids, both upper and lower on both sides. An allergic reaction can certainly cause that to occur. Conjunctivitis might be a follow up to the allergic reaction due to rubbing of the eyes. If this is an allergic reaction, benadryl can sometimes get matters under control. Other times, a steroid is required to reduce the body's inflammation both locally and systemically. You can take a wait and see approach if you'd like, but if those eyes swelled up suddenly I would be more inclined to have her seen right away. Hope this makes sense

Bleu has such pretty eyes!! I would recommend a recheck with your vet now that some of the swelling and redness has resolved. There may be something additional going on that needs to be addressed, or perhaps she needs to receive a different type of eye drops. Be sure and ask your veterinarian to take a close look at Bleu’s eyelids-sometimes, especially in young growing dogs, the lower (and occasionally upper) eyelid can roll onwards and irritate the surface of the eye-This is called entropion and can require surgery to correct. I hope you are able to get Bleu’s eye redness resolved soon!

Hello. It appears that the upper eyelid is inflamed. This is a condition called blepharitis. It could be an allergic reaction to something in the park. You can apply warm compresses to the area alternating with cool compresses to help relieve the swelling. (3-4 times a day). If it has not improved in the next 24-48 hours, I would have your vet examine her and determine if further treatment is needed.

It is really hard to say for sure. I would recommend taking her to a vet for a good exam. Since it is her eyes that are affected it is important to make sure she does not need medications/eye drops to resolve the issue. If it is related to allergies you can try an over the counter anti histamine and possibly place a warm compress on the eyes 2 times a day to help remove debris and decrease inflammation. Hope that helps

Poor Lulu! I agree that a tear test is a good idea for her. If she will stay still for 30 seconds, that can be long enough to tell if she is producing enough tears or not. If she is not, she needs to be treated for dry eye, which she may need life long if she has low tear production. From the pictures it also looks like she may have hair loss around her eyes. This could be from rubbing, but I would also be suspicious of mites and she may need a skin scrape to look for them to see if she has another cause of the itching.