Posted by Mary Ellen on September 08, 1998 at 23:27:37:
In Reply to: My female has dry eyes what else can I do? posted by Heather on September 05, 1998 at 18:45:21:
> My female peke has dry eyes. She is not yet even a years old.
> The vets have told me to use chycolsproing drops in her eyes,
> artifical tear drops and an ointment. The medicene worked
> for a month then quite so the vet doubled the med. Now they
> are some better but is there anything else I can do?
I don't know if you are seeing an ophthalmologist vet...but I
have a 14-year-old with dry eyes. The dry eye syndrome can ultimately
cause corneal ulcers and consequently the corneal infection resulting
in the eye having to be removed.
My dog is on Cyclosporine which has helped tremendously. But the key
to the Cyclosporine is that it has to be used 2 times daily and with
long term usage (probably for the life of the dog) as it stimulates
tear production. If you are using Cyclosporine, you do not need the
other preparations (Artificial Tears, etc.) If your dog has an
infection, then additional antibiotic ointments would be indicated.
The best advice is to see a veterinarian-ophthalmologist as most
regular vets are not well trained to deal with eye problems.