My dog has a swollen, watery eye with pus. How can I help him at home?

You need to have Chico seen by a vet today for this. He could have a severe eye infection, and rubbing his eye will make things worse. Any eye problem has to be checked out by a vet promptly as leaving it untreated can lead to vision loss. Please take him into a vet today.

Eyes are sensitive. If the saline solution does not help after 24 hours, it is unlikely to help. At this point, Tyson needs to be examined by the veterinarian today. He could have an eye infection, a foreign object trapped under the eye lid or a scratch on the cornea. These conditions are all painful so don't wait. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

He can have a possible infection or conjunctivitis since it is affected both eyes. Since the discharge is getting worse and he does not want to open his eyes, it is best he sees a vet to determine if there is a scratch on the cornea or just an infection. There is topical antibiotics +/- a steroid to help clear them. The only thing you can do at home is rinse with sterile eye wash and try to apply a warm compress to help with the swelling.

Hi, and thanks for your question. That is probably due to a mild to moderate conjunctivitis, probably secondary to a trauma or infection. A check up would be needed as appropriate treatment would include antibiotics and anti-inflammatory eye drops. Corneal injuries must be ruled out as well. A buster collar would be essential to avoid any self inflicted damage. Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further. If this answer was helpful please let us know, this will be used to improve our service!

I am sorry to hear this! His eye does look very irritated- and the area around his eye that has a 'cobblestone' appearance suggests that he has some chronic irritation. I would want to rule out a few things that cause these signs including stray eyelashes that are 'ingrown', eyelid abnormalities, allergies and mites. The good news is that most of these things can be treated successfully! I would bring him in and have a few eye tests done and have them closely examined with magnification (sometimes an ophthalmologist is recommended) and see what kind of treatment plan is needed. Until you can bring him in, over the counter lubricating eye drops may bring some short term relief. I hope this helps!

It's a little difficult to tell exactly what might be red and swollen in your picture. It looks like the redness and swelling may be around the eye as opposed to actual eye itself. If this is the case, an allergic reaction or eyelid infection would be two of the more common causes. If it is the white of his eye that looks swollen conjunctivitis, a corneal abrasion, or inflammation in the eye would all be possibilities. If the swelling worsens or if you notice swelling around the other eye or the muzzle I'd recommend seeing a veterinarian as soon as you can since this would increase the concern for an allergic reaction which should be treated promptly. Otherwise I think you're okay to wait to see your regular veterinarian if the swelling is still present in the morning, unless he seems painful or begins squinting.

He looks to be generally itchy. I'm suspicious of allergies causing this, but it could be due to mange, fleas, or other causes. The eye may be a separate problem, or related to the allergies. Without seeing it, it's difficult to tell the cause of this, or the severity, but the fact that it's swollen shut warrants a visit to the vet. I recommend having him seen by a vet within the next 24 hours to prevent serious complications with the eye. The vet can also help narrow-down the cause of the itch and provide medication to help give him some relief. One thing you can do for itchy skin, is give a bath with cool water using an oatmeal or aloe shampoo. You can get these shampoos at the pet store. For now, you can flush the eye with normal saline. Saline flush can be bought at the pharmacy, or supermarket in the eye care section. Flush the eye 3-4 times daily and gently wipe away the discharge with a warm/moist cotton or cloth. Below is a link to a good video that demonstrates how to flush the eye. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lXVNMcPzhs I hope that helps and Roscoe gets better soon.