Why do my dog's gunky eyes keep coming back after treatment?

Hello. Thank you for using PetCoach. My guess is that Oscar could have keratoconjunctivitis sicca (KCS) which is basically "dry eye". This is not necessarily serious, per se, but needs to have long-term medication to manage/control it. It is easy to test for this - a simple tear test that your vet can do in the office in just a few minutes. I would test for this. http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=1326 Just take Oscar back to have the test done and then go from there. Hope this helps. Best wishes.

I recommend you get the eye rechecked, possibly for in turned or stray eyelashes which may be causing ongoing irritation. Blocked test ducts can also cause tear overflow. Referral to a specialist ophthalmologist may be worthwhile considering

It appears he may have an entropion. This is where the eyelids roll inward so the hair and lashes can scratch the eye and cause irritation. This maybe secondary to confirmation or secondary from swelling. Your vet can check for an ulcer and hopefully prescribe anti inflammatory meds if there is not one. From there, they will check for dry eye and discuss surgery to fix the entropion to provide permanent relief

This is actually more of a type of mucous secreted by the eyelid and not pus. It does look like it's a bit too much though and if it has been six months, then it has not been treated effectively and it's best to have a vet diagnose the exact problem. The eye doesn't look very bad from the picture, but it's difficult to say without examining it in-person. I suspect that it's a mild to moderate irritation that's causing this. It could be due to allergies, or a deformity of the eye, or eyelid that's causing irritation. It could also be due to a lack of tear production. A vet will easily be able to tell if these are the problems. I hope that helps and Chelsea gets better soon.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Oakley. No, it is not normal for an eye infection to continue for so long in a puppy. I would recommend he has eye tests done or repeated as his condition is not resolving. I typically stain both eyes to look for a scratch on the surface, take a swab to look at under the microscope, and then measure the pressure and tear production in each eye. Care should also be taken to see if there is an eyelash contacting the surface of his causing chronic irritation. His eyes can also be numbed and checked for a foreign body under the third eyelids. I hope this information helps!

What type of testing has been done? My concerns at am that age for red eyes with a discharge would be glaucoma and KCS with a secondary infection. Your vet can check the pressures for glaucoma. There is a test that can tell how many tears she produces in a minute and if it is too low then she has chronic dry eye or KCS. Often times there is a secodnary infection due to the chronic dry eye. Both glaucoma and KCS require life long management with eye drops to control symptoms and there is more than one medication to try as everyone responds differently. oral steriods or antibiotics may be needed initial to get it under control the fastest but generally are not needed long term

Dry eye can result in the discharge in the picture you posted and can require more than just Artificial Tears to treat. (That would be more common than an allergy problem especially since only one eye is affected.) I am attaching a handout with more information about dry eye below. https://veterinarypartner.vin.com/default.aspx?pid=19239&id=4951823 I would recommend contacting your veterinarian to let them know that the discharge has not resolved with the antibiotic and steroid ointment and ask them if they think a cyclosporin eye medication would be appropriate to try. Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using PetCoach.