Why is my dog's eye area skin moist? Is it allergy or mites?

Lesions around the eyes are generally environmental allergies or skin mites. Since the rash is getting worse and not responding to your home care AND it's been going on for 3 weeks, I recommend to have Kira checked by the veterinarian. The doctor may preform a simple test caused a skin scrape to check for mites. Otherwise she may get medication to treat the underlying condition. Try to have her examined in the next few days. Until she is examined, you can use a hypoallergenic baby wipe to cleanse the area. Continue to use the coconut oil (you can do this twice a day). An omega 3 fatty acid supplement may also help to improve her over all skin health. Once the vet knows the underlying condition, she will get the correct medication to correct the problem and allow her skin to return to normal. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Poor Sandy. That area looks really irritated. Certainly mites can cause hair loss around the eye, but we normally see hair loss around both eyes without any redness or moisture (which it appears that Sandy has). It also appears that Sandy has some crusting along the inside of the area as well. It may be more likely that he has a bacterial skin infection called a hot spot (https://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=2714) that results from an overgrowth of normal bacteria on the skin. Your veterinarian can perform a couple of simple skin tests to determine if Sandy has any evidence of mites, if we are dealing with a bacterial infection of the skin or if there is another problem. That may require looking at a sample under the microscope. Then they can help you determine the best treatment for him since we have to be careful treating the skin around the eye. Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using PetCoach.

Without pictures it is difficult to say for sure what this could be. This may be due to allergies, a skin infection (fungal or bacterial), etc. I would recommend using the below products to start. These can all be found online quite easily or at your local pet store. If there is no improvement, I would recommend having Gracie examined by a veterinarian so that the most appropriate diagnostic and treatment recommendations can be made. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further. 1. Douxo PS Chlorhexidine combination shampoo and bathe twice weekly until resolved 2. Essential 6 spot on by Dermoscent 4. Malacetic conditioning spray and apply to the area twice daily until resolved 5. Welactin omega 3 fatty acid capsules for dogs.

Hello. I do not think this is a skin fungus, but just chronic irritation from years of tears spilling over, a common problem in dogs with very prominent eyes. I would just keep the area wiped down with warm water & dry the area & just keep doing this as needed. If you want to try something, then you can pick up an antiseptic skin cleanser called Hibiclens at any pharmacy. Just dab a bit on the area twice a day, but do not let any get into the eye. This should also help. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This is possibly due to allergies. It really comes down to figuring out what is causing her allergies so that they can be treated or the specific allergen avoided. A secondary infection is likely and also needs to be addressed. This could also be due to something like mites and that can be easily determined with an exam and basic cytology which your veterinarian can perform. There are medications such as Apoquel or prednisone which may help with the itch. 

There are many things that can cause allergies though in most cases they can be broken down into 3 big categories: flea, food and environmental allergies. 

Allergies are usually worked up in a stepwise fashion starting with flea allergies as this is the easiest and cheapest to take care of. If not on a flea preventative, then it would be a good idea to get started on one. If already on one then it would be a good idea to change to something else (there are many new products out in the market). 

If not improved in 1-3 months then it is time to move on and check for food allergies by switching to a novel diet (new protein and new carbohydrate). If that does not seem to be the issue then you are left out having to check for environmental allergies which require blood and/or skin tests.

 Allergies can be very frustrating to deal with at first but so rewarding at the end when we are able to treat them effectively!

It looks as if your dog has a skin infection, most commonly caused by an allergy, a skin mite (Demodex) or fleas. 

The allergy could be a due to a protein in your dog’s food or an environmental allergy like to dust, pollens, grasses, etc. 

The allergy causes your dog to itch and chew at the skin which breaks down the skin barrier. This then leads to infection. Skin infections are typically characterized by large areas of hair loss, redness, crusting, flaking, and pustules. A thorough skin examination by your veterinarian should be able to determine the cause of the itch so it can be treated appropriately. Your dog will most likely need antibiotics to help clear up the infection and possibly an allergy/anti-itch medication like Apoquel, Atopica, or Cytopoint to give some relief while the infection clears up. A medicated shampoo may be beneficial as well. I would also recommend he be on a good flea control routinely too. Once the infection has resolved a long term allergy medication (like Apoquel or Cytopoint) can be given on a regular basis to prevent any future problems. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck.

Thank you for your question! Judging from the pictures, the area is reddened, inflamed and the hair has fallen out. It looks as though Mickey could possibly be dealing with a skin infection or skin mites. I would recommend you take him to your veterinarian for a workup of this to diagnose it appropriately so that the most effective treatment can be prescribed. Mickey will likely need to go on a course of oral antibiotics and a topical ointment to treat this if it is a skin infection and if it is skin mites (demodex) he would need to go on a course of a medication that kills the mites. I hope this guides you in the right direction for addressing this concern of yours. Please feel free to contact me with any further questions / concerns you may have.