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My dog's one eye is red and bloodshot, worse at night. What can I do?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Labrador Retriever | Male | neutered | 6 years and 2 months old | 28 lbs

Hello. My dog’s right eye has been red for almost two weeks. It’s only one eye and it gets redder at night. It’s not swollen, no discharge, no tearing and he doesn’t scratch it or seems to hurt. Just one eye, bloodshot. And the other one is white. I’ve attached a few pics. Do you think this is an infection? If so, would Terramycin Ophthalmic Ointment work? I’ve used saline solution to clean the eye and Benadryl in case if was an allergy. I live in NYC. It’s cold now and he stays home. Thank you

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

Answered By Daniel Fonza, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on November 29th, 2017

Hi there and thank you for using Pet Coach to address your concern. It is difficult to say for sure what the problem could be based on the pictures. From your description and the pictures, this may be an eye infection, trauma to the eye or allergies. Terramycin ophthalmic ointment is one antibiotic ointment that we do use to treat eye infections. I would say that this is safe to use but if the eye is worsening or is no better during or after the course of treatment, I would recommend having Pat examined by a veterinarian. An eye stain test and tear test should be considered. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns.

1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

Related Answers from Veterinarians

Answered By Dr. Dayna, DVM, CVA
Veterinarian, Certified Veterinary Acupuncturist
Hi there. It sounds like you have already tried the first things I usually recommend with the saline rinse and the Benadryl. Terramycin antibiotic is a good choice for bacterial conjunctivitis. However with conjunctivitis I usually expect to see discharge, or squinting, etc. other problems that can cause redness would be uveitis which is inflammation of the inside of the eye, and glaucoma. Glaucoma concerns me with Pat because of the cyclical nature of waxing and waning redness you describe. Eye pressures can fluctuate and for some reason seem to be higher at nighttime often. The only was to diagnose these 2 problems is to measure the pressure in the eye. There are other rare issues such as parasites in the eye, modular episcleritis, and tumors, but those are unlikely . I think you have done a great job at trying the first line treatments at home already, but I would recommend that Pat be evaluated by a veterinarian at this time. The terramycin would be appropriate to use until he can be seen. And I would continue to saline rinse as well. Best of luck to you and Pat, and thank you for using Pet Coach.
0Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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