Dry eye disease (KCS – Keratoconjunctivitis Sicca)
Dry eye disease
Dry eye disease in dogs is a common condition that develops as a result of reduced quality and / or amount of tear film (extremely low tear production).
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Preparation for surgical treatment on the eye
These are short instructions for preparing you and your pet for surgery. The instructions include preparation steps before the surgery and treatment of the pet after the surgery.
Treatment of patients before surgery
- Please, do not feed your pet for 12 hours before the scheduled surgery. The water needs to be withdrawn 3 hours before the appointment.
- Please, do not give any oral medications that morning. All oral medications should be given to the patient the night before the procedure.
- Please, apply all the drops and ointments that were prescribed to the pet that morning before the operation.
- On the day of the surgery, bring all eye drops, systemic medications and a protective collar for your pet to the hospital, if you have one.
- For diabetic patients, please, bring insulin with you to the hospital. Patients should not be fed the morning before the procedure and should receive half of the dose of their regular morning dose of insulin.
- All surgical patients must have a recent laboratory analysis (complete blood count, biochemistry, urine analysis) before surgery. Please visit your veterinarian to have these tests done before surgery. If necessary, we can perform all tests in our hospital.
- All patients who have scheduled cataract surgery should have a dental examination and tartar cleaning 4 weeks before the scheduled surgery.
Treatment of patients after surgery
- The eyes should be carefully and gently cleaned 3-4 times a day with a clean cloth (or clean cotton balls) and warm water. This is necessary because the discharge accumulates and creates a crust of secretions on the eyelids and the skin around the eyes.
- The patient should wear a plastic, protective collar continuously until the wound healing process is complete. The collar should be washed once a day with mild hand soap, wiped thoroughly and only then re-applied. During this cleaning procedure, the pet must be supervised.
- All dogs after eye surgery must walk only with the use of ama during 2-4 weeks of surgery, they must not walk with a leash on the collar.
- After the operation, it is possible that your pet feels discomfort in the eyes and eye discharge is possible for 3-4 days. If the dog shows severe pain, or there is a bloody or green discharge from the eye or there is a change in eye color, you should contact an ophthalmologist.
- Prescribed medical therapy should be performed according to the ophthalmologist's instructions.
How to apply eye drops in dogs?
Instructions for applying local eye therapy in animals
Unfortunately, many pets are not very cooperative when it comes to the application of eye medications. That is why we always advise giving them a small reward in the form of a treat every time you treat them, which makes the pet much more cooperative during the next therapy.
To keep your pet from moving away from you, it helps to have a wall behind it while you are holding it firmly. If so, shake eye drops before use. With one hand, lift your pet's snout up and pull the upper lid until the whites become visible. With the other hand, apply one drop of the medication or the prescribed amount of ointment. After applying the medication, release the eyelid and reward the dog.
If it is necessary to put ointment, then first drip the drops and then apply the ointment. Wait at least 3-4 minutes between each medicine, ie. when you pour the drops, wait a few minutes and then apply the ointment.
You can wrap cats, small dogs and birds in a towel so that only the head protrudes