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My Chihuahua's swollen cheek drained blood. Is it an emergency?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Chihuahua | Female | unspayed | 17 years and 1 month old | 10 lbs

Chihuahua,cheekbone and eyelid swollen for about a day,blood came out and swelling went down.

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

Jennifer Summerfield, DVM CPDT-KA

Answered By Jennifer Summerfield, DVM CPDT-KA

Veterinarian, Certified Dog Trainer

Published on December 24th, 2016

Poor Marina! From your description, it sounds like this may have been an abscess - this is a focal area of swelling that is basically a large pocket of bloody pus. These often rupture, allowing the material inside to drain out and the swelling to go down. It's important to determine what may have caused this, and she will also need antibiotics to treat the infection even though the swelling is improved, so I would recommend taking her to the vet as soon as possible. In the meantime, you can use a warm washcloth to keep the area clean and wipe away any continuing drainage until you are able to see the vet.
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