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My dog's eye ulcer isn't healing. What pain relief works best?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Pug | Female | spayed | 7 years and 11 months old | 14.5 lbs

Hi my vet is treating my dog for an indolent eye ulcer which so far isn't healing well For pain relief she is taking tramadol and carprieve but she isn't handling her pain well I hv read that gabapentin can be used also Which kind of pain relief would can be used and which tends to work best ?

4 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

Answered By Sara Farmer, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on October 8th, 2018

Unfortunately eye pain can be difficult to treat - oral medications sometimes don’t seem to make much difference. There is some evidence that tramadol is not metabolized well in dogs so I think gabapentin might be a reasonable alternative. Ultimately healing the ulcer will be most important - if it does not seem to be healing well you may need to see a specialist to have a burr procedure or keratotomy in order for it to heal. Topical pain medication might be another option but can sometimes slow the healing process.

3Pet Parents found this answer helpful

Related Answers from Veterinarians

Answered By Claudia Fioravanti
Veterinarian
Published on June 9th, 2018
Yes, they can be treated with regular medications of the eyes although sometimes debriding of the area to refresh the edges of the ulcer to promote healing is necessary. Some ulcers improve quite rapidly others they need more time and possible surgery. It depends on the underlying cause !
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Answered By David Elbeze, DVM, MRCVS
Veterinarian
Published on July 4th, 2017
Recovery can vary in time depending on the severity of the condition, it may take 1-2 weeks in some cases, in other it can take over a month. in cases of deep ulcers eye drops are not always enough, sometimes the condition is too severe or the dog does not respond to treatment. in such cases surgical intervention will be needed, there are several optional surgical procedures, the simplest one is a third eyelid flap, it's usually my go to surgical procedure in those cases as it is simple and non invasive, any vet can do it as well. another option is corneal flap, this is a more complicated procedure- usually done by an eye specialist. drops wise i also usually use a corneal repair drops called "Remend".
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Answered By Jennifer Ladd, DVM
Veterinarian
Published on April 10th, 2017
Surgery is your absolute best choice for the most rapid healing. Second choice would be antibiotic and atropine therapy. I would only proceed to enucleation as a salvage procedure. I have treated many eyes that looked horrible and healed well. It is worth trying!
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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