Shmurps Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 Anyone had any experiences with dry eye? What treatments did you use ,did your dog recover or do they have on going treatment? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ams Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 As far as I know, dry eye will require ongoing treatment. The tear ducts no longer work so drops have to be placed in the eye multiple times a day to keep it lubricated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
becks Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 I had an older dog with it and knew someone with a young rescue who also had it, both required drops on a regular basis throughout the day and if they were forgotten the dog would get green goo in the eye and an infection start up, so it's best to keep up with the artificial tears. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anniek Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 We adopted out a greyhound recently with this. Our vet gave us a recipie for a very inexpensive "make your own mixture" rather than the traditional medicinal drops. He is doing very well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandra777 Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 I had a bitch with dry eye and there is a product available made by Craig Irvin (canine eye specialist in New Zealand) which has had some success in re-starting the tears. In her particular case it worked while I was giving it to her but within 10 days of her going off it, her reading was zero again but she had long standing issues (mainly involving incompetent vets). Some people have had great success with these drops but they do costs a fortune (called golden drops for a reason!) and of course it does depend on what is actually wrong - the tear duct or the glands themselves. Another option offered to me was repositioning or redirecting a saliva gland to take the place of the tear gland but this wouldn't restore her sight and she was quite elderly by then so I decided that it wasn't worth doing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hilaryo Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 Optimmune is the best treatment for dry eye but fairly expensive at around $75. On twice a day treatment this will last around 5 weeks (I think). One of my beagles developed dry eye about 18 months ago and I have been using the ointment morning and night to begin but I have found I only need to use it now once a day now. I will be taking him to the vet soon to have another tear test as I feel I may be able to use it even less frequently. Initially another vet perscribed a cheaper ointment (can't remember the name) that was around $38 but it was not very good. It controlled infection and lubricated but didn't really treat the problem which is immune related. If you get the Optimmune and it is hot weather, put it in the fridge for a couple of minutes before use. This firms up the ointment and saves wastage. Really I wouldn't recommend the cheaper option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hilaryo Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 I should say - the best treatment that I know of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vetrg Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 (edited) Dry eye in most dogs is a due to an immume mediated destruction of the tear glands. It can also be neurological in origin (loss of nerve supply to the tear glands) or congenital. There is believed to be an inherited component in the predisposition of some breeds to develop dry eye. The treatments of choice are cyclosporin (as made up drops or Optimmune ointment) or Tacrolimus. These will stimulate the glands to produce more tears and also help to reverse the immune destruction of the glands (if caught early enough). These may be supplemented by topical lubricants and false tears. Redirection of the salivary duct from the mouth is used in cases which have failed to respond to medical management. Untreated dry eye will lead to corneal scarring, opacity, irritation and possible ulceration with evential blindness resulting. Dry eye is an extremely uncomfortable condition so effective treatment should be instigated as soon as possible. Long term managment with just lubricants usually fails as they are not applied frequently enough to keep the cornea wet. Treatment in all cases is ongoing. Edited August 2, 2011 by vetrg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gretel Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 I have had two dogs with dry eye. The first responded very well to treatment and after 18 months on Cyclosporin no longer needed any treatment. She developed it as an adult. The other girl was only a tiny pup when the breeder realised there was a problem. Her response to treatment wasn't as sucessful. Tear production did increase in one eye but the other eye showed no real improvement and she is on treatment for life - just the one eye though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shmurps Posted August 2, 2011 Author Share Posted August 2, 2011 As soon as we noticed her squinting in one eye it was straight to vet. Maggie is a 6 year old Jack Russell. Was diagnosed with "Neurogenic" dry eye with schirmer tear test treated with cyclosporin and viscotears. After nearly 2 weeks of not realy being able to get the drops in her eyes the vet has recommened (after speaking with eye specialist) that we are now trying pilocarpine by mouth and replacing vicotears with lacrilube. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chezy Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 Gizzi had a tear duct removed after a eye injury I used fake tears for years and was never able to put them in enough , was put onto lacri lube[gel] and her eye is much better . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Her Majesty Dogmad Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 (edited) I've had a few dogs with dry eye. Only one required Optimmune twice daily, the rest only once. I also supplement that with Alcon's "Systane", a liquid eye drop that you only need one drop of for great lubrication. The twice daily dog had her eyes retested after a few months on Optimmune as the vet was hoping for some improvement but sadly not. I have dry eye myself and use Systane and a thicker drop at night. I should add that the dogs I've had with dry eye have all been rescued from the pound and had obviously suffered for a very long time with untreated dry eye before I got them. It would have been very sore and their eyes were damaged. Edited August 2, 2011 by dogmad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daisys Mum Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 It's an ongoing treatment I'm afraid.. We had a Husky with dry eye and she was on Optimmune twice a day with several applications of eye drops daily. You just have to be regimental in applying it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavvysavvy Posted August 8, 2011 Share Posted August 8, 2011 Anyone had any experiences with dry eye? What treatments did you use ,did your dog recover or do they have on going treatment? Thanks. Hello, I have a cavalier with dry eye (very common in this breed) and we have tried everything!!! Optimmune burnt his eyes and they were always red, so I moved onto the tacrolimus for about 6 months and supplemented with lacrilube ointment which you can get from any chemist. I then decided to stop the tacrolimis to see what happened as I was continually cleaning his tear stains (he may have been producing too many tears). So far so good! He has been off prescription medication for almost 2 months now and his eyes are fantastic so far, sometimes if they look red Ill put in some lacrilube ointment but I am happy that he seems to be ok now. I know this is meant to be a life long ongoing condition but I have seen it cured in a few dogs now. Good luck and let us know how you go! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shmurps Posted August 8, 2011 Author Share Posted August 8, 2011 Thanks for the replies, we are off to the Animal Eye Care clinic tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavvysavvy Posted August 8, 2011 Share Posted August 8, 2011 Thanks for the replies, we are off to the Animal Eye Care clinic tomorrow. Are you seeing robin Stanley? He is fantastic. He looks after my cav and worth the drive down to malvern. Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Akay Posted August 9, 2011 Share Posted August 9, 2011 Optimune works a treat. The cheaper thing you can do on a daily basis is to give human eye gel drops. I do the genteal gel. it seems to work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shmurps Posted August 10, 2011 Author Share Posted August 10, 2011 We saw Racheal Grundon yest. Maggie has neurogenic dry eye. We are to up the pilocarpine drops in her food every 3 days, cyclosporin 3 x per day and viscotears, lacrilube for when we are at work as it lasts longer. If she doesn't respond then we will have to look at the parotid duct transposition. Has anyone had this proceedure done on their dogs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shmurps Posted August 13, 2011 Author Share Posted August 13, 2011 Has anyone had parotid duct transposition done on their dog or know of anyone else? Interested in any feed back, thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FHRP Posted September 25, 2011 Share Posted September 25, 2011 I have half a tube of Optimmune that I no longer have use for. Being such an expensive product ( this last tube cost me $100) I was wondering if anyone one wanted it? Free of course and happy to post anywhere in Oz. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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