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My dog's eye swelling keeps breaking open and recurring. What's wrong?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Pomeranian | Female | unspayed | 6 years and 4 months old

my dog has swelling below eye. It broke open once and and scabed over. Scab came off and now swelling again under neath eye

3 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

Answered By Lauren Kennedy, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on August 19th, 2017

Swelling directly under the eye is often an indication of a tooth root abscess. This occurs when there is severe dental disease and the tooth root becomes infected and created the pus pocket.

Treatment for this is a dental cleaning with an extraction of the affected tooth. I would recommend a trip to your vet to check out the mouth and see if this is the problem.

I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck.

1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

Related Answers from Veterinarians

Answered By Catherine Stecyk
Veterinarian
Published on April 23rd, 2019
Hello and thank you for reaching out to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I'm sorry to hear that Till has a swelling under her eye. Since your veterinarian has recommended a dental procedure, it is likely that your vet thinks Till has a tooth root abscess. These are not uncommon, and can cause intermittent, very painful swelling under the eye. This is due to infection that gets into the root of the tooth and causes significant bacterial growth. Removal of the tooth is necessary to alleviate the issue. Dental x-rays can be helpful to diagnose this, but a CT of the skull is the ideal diagnostic tool. If treated, dogs have a very good prognosis. I hope this is helpful!
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Answered By Jessica Keay, DVM
Veterinarian
Published on October 3rd, 2017
I am sorry to hear about Bambi! It is difficult to truly evaluate him from a photo, but if he has a swelling below the eye we do often worry about an abscessed tooth root. This is a common place for the tooth root abscess to swell and then sometimes rupture and ooze/bleed below the eye. Sometimes the tooth looks normal from inside the mouth. If there is truly swelling then we may also worry about a cyst or abscess as well as a tumor. If your dog has had discharge from the eye itself draining down the face then this can cause irritation and infection of the skin due to the discharge staying moist on the face. I cannot tell from the photo if this is what the cause is in Bambi but it is another possibility. Unfortunately none of these problems are treatable at home. I would recommend making an appointment for a vet to examine Bambi to help determine the underlying cause and therefore treatment needed.
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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