Dish soap in dog's eye, red and closed. Is it safe to wait for vet?

Hello and thank you for reaching out to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Based on what you are describing, it definitely sounds like Princess sustained some trauma to her eye from the soap getting into it. If she is squinting her eye, she is definitely painful and should be seen by your veterinarian as soon as possible. Soap can cause superficial corneal ulcers to occur, which can rapidly worsen without treatment, especially if she is continuing to scratch at her eye and traumatize it further. Corneal ulcers, if left untreated, can become deeper and deeper to the point of causing the eye itself to rupture - if this occurs, the eye must be removed. If you have an Elizabethan collar (E-collar) at home, I recommend putting that her Princess right away to keep her from scratching at it. Please have Princess seen by your vet or an emergency veterinarian as soon as possible to start treating her eye. Do NOT give any pain medications that are intended for humans to Princess, as these can be fatally toxic to dogs. I hope this is helpful - best of luck with Princess!

Hello and thank you for reaching out to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Soap is very irritating to dog's eyes and can cause superficial damage to the cornea. This is painful, and causes dogs to squint their eye and produce more tears. I recommend trying to flush the eye with eye wash - you can purchase from a pharmacy - 2-3 times per day. If Dobby is still squinting his eye in 16-24 hours, he should be seen by a veterinarian for an eye exam. Depending on the severity of injury, a cone collar may be recommended as well as other topical eye medications. If Dobby's eye seems to improve in the next day, he may be OK. I hope this is helpful! Please consider purchasing a puppy-safe soap that won't be so irritating to Dobby in the future!

Aww poor guy! It will likely resolve on its own over the next 24 hours. Rinse his eye thoroughly with tap water to make sure residual soap is gone. If it’s not resolved in 24 hours or if it starts to seem like it’s bothering him, take him to your vet. It’s possible there is enough irritation to cause an ulcer on his cornea. (Though not likely.) Thanks for asking Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

If Bruno is favoring his eyes by squinting or pawing at them then yes I would be concerned that they may be irritated. The soap could have caused some damage to the cornea or simply just irritated the eye. If you took him to a vet, they could stain his eyes to ensure whether or not there was an ulcer on the eyes and whether he will need antibiotics drops. You could use over the counter artificial tears but I just worry that if there is actual damage to the eyes that they may not heal with just that. I hope he starts to feel better soon.

It's very likely some shampoo got into her eye, try to gently rinse the eye with running water then try to leave it for a few hours to calm down. if within 4-6 hours you do not see any improvement in the eye condition you should then take her to your vet in order to get it checked and treated, she might need eye drops to reduce the irritation.

I am so sorry to hear about your pup. I would highly recommend a trip to the vet today (emergency vet if yours is not open) to ensure no damage was done to the cornea that requires treatment, as vinegar is an acid and could be very irritating. Her eye is likely quite painful as well and they can prescribe medication to help with the discomfort.

If you rinsed her eye out and it didn't help then she should be examined by a vet to determine the cause. She could have a corneal ulcer/scratch, infection, foreign material in her eye, etc. Your vet can stain her eye to determine if there is an ulcer or scratch and then prescribe medications to help treat. She may need an antibiotic and/or an anti-inflammatory to help treat the problem.