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Fully Blocked Tear Duct


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Kirah's just back from the vet after having her tear duct flushed and it turns out its completely blocked. :(

She's now on Amacin ointment to see if that helps; if not it'll be off to an eye specialist.

Have others had this problem with their dogs? This isn't genetic and is probably the result of an ulcer she had last month.

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Kirah's just back from the vet after having her tear duct flushed and it turns out its completely blocked. :(

She's now on Amacin ointment to see if that helps; if not it'll be off to an eye specialist.

Have others had this problem with their dogs? This isn't genetic and is probably the result of an ulcer she had last month.

I have a friend who's baby (child)had a blocked tear duct, she cleared it by gently massaging it. My young BC boy had a blocked tear duct for most of his first four months (could have been six...I forget now). The vet had him booked in for a general Anaeshetic (sp?) but in the meantime I started using a head harness on him & within a week, the tear duct had cleared & his eye was no longer weeping. The only thing I can think of, was that the harness where it fits over the nose was gently massaging under his eye. It has never weeped since :) So you could try some very gently massage maybe.

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Our dog had the one of the first surgery to re create a tear duct in the 80's.

At the time the only specialist able to do it was visiting our state & did it as a teaching op.

It worked a treat .

We believe hers was due to retained baby teeth .

The duct back then was redirect/created to drain through her nose

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my puppy had a blocked tear duct (completely) from 9 weeks until 16 weeks. I am pretty certain the plane flight from her breeder caused it. (She was fine when I picked her up, but had the weepy when we got off the plane). I flushed her eye regularly with water and also used "eye envy" on it to get rid of the stains it caused. The vet reckons it cleared up as she grew and her muzzle lengthened. My observation is that it stopped when her adult teeth came in and her baby canines went.

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I've been using the Amacin ointment twice daily and giving Kirah a face massage, which the spoiled girl loves but no change so far. She's being really good in letting me put the ointment in her eye, but that could also be due to the treats afterwards too :laugh:

Will continue on this path and cross my fingers for any improvement. I don't really want to have to see a specialist.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Kirah's been on the Amacin now for half a month and unfortunately it looks like there's no change. When I think her blocked duct is clearing the next day she'll be back to a watery eye.

It also seems worse during the day but I guess this is because she's sleeping at night.

Next step will be another vet visit then probably an eye specialist.

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Kirah's been on the Amacin now for half a month and unfortunately it looks like there's no change. When I think her blocked duct is clearing the next day she'll be back to a watery eye.

It also seems worse during the day but I guess this is because she's sleeping at night.

Next step will be another vet visit then probably an eye specialist.

Are you still giving her a face massage a few times a day ??

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I had a friend whose little Lab pup had blocked tear ducts, but that isn't the case now. I had asked her how she did it, she told me that she kept on applying the ointment her vet gave and massaged the ducts. It didn't take effect immediately but after a month or so, the tear ducts had unblocked.

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An ulcer can't cause blocked tear ducts. The duct could be blocked due to gunk or scarring, or she might have been born that way in which case nothing is likely to fix it. Sometimes the ducts are small and surgery can help.

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Thanks for the info regarding the ulcers -- I've been worried that I did something wrong during the healing process. :(

I've been continuing with the gentle massage of her nose and the Amacin twice daily -- I was told to keep using it until the tube has run out then to see what happens.

Kirah wasn't born with a blocked duct, it's showed up just recently, hence my worry about the ulcer causing it as it's happened shortly after she had the ulcer.

Thanks for all the advice. Will keep using the Amacin and let you know how Kirah gets on.

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No she hasn't been. The vet put what looked like litmus paper in her eye and said that the green dye should come out her nostril, which it didn't. She was also sedated to have her duct flushed, which is when my vet told me it was completely blocked and to try the Amacin.

What is dry eye and can it be fixed?

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My Japanese Spitz was the runt of the litter & as an adult is still small for his age. He had red tear stain on both eyes when we got him at 8 w/o & the breeder said it was teething. Around 5 mths as in sig pics they started to look much better. Then he started teething & did have retained baby teeth (hadn't heard that could be a cause b4).

He was desexed at 8 m/o & the vet flushed both eyes at the same time & said he had very narrow ducts. So I just have to put up with the red staining on a white dog. :( Then early Dec they seemed to be getting better. Time for his 1st annual vaccinations. Now they are worse than ever.

I'll have to try the massage, where exactly do you do it? My 1st Border Collie had a weepy eye once & the vet told me to lightly press on the inside corner of the eye for a few seconds & it did the trick. I've done this on other dogs & my cat which has worked each time, but not on my little JS. :(

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No she hasn't been. The vet put what looked like litmus paper in her eye and said that the green dye should come out her nostril, which it didn't. She was also sedated to have her duct flushed, which is when my vet told me it was completely blocked and to try the Amacin.

What is dry eye and can it be fixed?

Are the ducts blocked or not patent?

I have a dog with poorly constructed tear ducts and have to deal with permanent weeping. Very frustrating.

Dry eye is managed with drops. I have punctum plugs for severe dry eye, but doubt/unsure if these are available for dogs.

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I'm going to book Kirah in for a re-check of her eye on Tuesday. I'll ask about dry eye too just because I want everything ruled out.

Dyzney, after her duct wash flushed, my vet told me it was fully blocked but didn't mention anything regarding it being not patent -- will ask on Tuesday when we go back.

Over the weekend I've noticed her eye seems a bit gunky and quite red inside leading me to believe something else is going on. I really hope to have this sorted out soon!

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