My dog has allergies. Can I use saline to soothe her itchy eye?

If it is just a saline eye wash than you can use it to clean her eyes. If she is having problems with her eyes than it would be a good idea to have a vet examine her to determine the cause. She may need medications to treat.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. This certainly could be allergies causing the excessive watery eyes. There are over the counter eye drops that work well in eye allergy cases or a steroid drop from your vet. If they are still watering, I would ask the vet for a steroid eye drop and try this for a month to see if it helps. 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. Please take the time to mark this question as helpful or not as it helps us to improve on the quality of our answers to other pet owners. Thank you kindly!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This is possibly due to allergies. A secondary infection is likely and also needs to be addressed. It sounds like this possible infection may be significant though it is hard to tell without an examination. 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!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This could be due to an eye injury or conditions such as a corneal laceration, corneal ulcer, conjunctivitis, dry eye (also known as KCS), among many other conditions. I suspect that the scratching is due to allergies. I highly recommend that you have Bodhi evaluated by your veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. Further therapy would be based on the findings. Good luck and best wishes!

Hello and thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. It does sound like an allergy. When a dog gets bitten by an insect or wasp/bee the eyes (or entire face) swells up and becomes itchy. It may be reaction to pollen and plants but insect bites are more common in this part of the year. When the eyes are swollen and itchy you can put cold compresses on the eyes. In most of the cases, administering anti-histamine medication (like Benadryl) is also OK, but please, confirm with your local vets that Kali can have Benadryl, if necessary. Small skin scratches are most likely due to excessive scratching. It is something that should be avoided, if Kali becomes itchy again. The best way to avoid self-inflicted wounds is a head cone.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I’m sorry to hear Eddie is having eye issues. Red eyes with discharge in dogs can be due to a variety of reasons, including allergies, an eye infection, a scratched cornea, dry eye, or another underlying issue. While antibiotic drops may help with some of these, they may not fix it depending on what the cause is. I would recommend Eddie be evaluated by his regular veterinarian to determine the underlying cause for his eye issue, have any necessary testing done (eye stain, pressure check, tear production check) and what medications (if any) he may need. Good luck!

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 something like mange. This is something that it is typically differentiated based on a physical examination and basic cytology which your veterinarian could do. 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!