Eye Solutions

Ah, Thanksgiving! Your home smells like apple pie. Your dining table is decorated with pumpkins and cornucopias, waiting to be surrounded by your hungry friends and family. The air outside is brisk and the light golden. And your cat is chasing fallen maple leaves around the yard, which have come alive in the Fall breeze! You call your kitty to return indoors – after she, of course, rolls around dramatically in the pile of fallen leaves you just raked – to find her squinting closed one of her eyes. Being a well-informed cat parent, you know that holding an eye shut can be a sign of a corneal ulcer or foreign body in cats and dogs. Corneal ulcers are painful defects in the outermost layers of the eyeball (or globe), causing redness of the eye, excessive tear production, as well as squinting. If the ulcer penetrates deeply enough or acquires a secondary infection (causing a “melting ulcer”), pets are at risk of losing structural integrity of the eye and vision. Prompt medical therapy or surgical intervention by your veterinarian is key. Fortunately, your kitty simply has a bit of debris trapped under her eyelid from the dried autumn leaves she shredded. With a flush of a gentle pH-balanced ocular cleaner purchased from your vet (and let’s be real, a bit of accompanying spitting and hissing from your feline), your cat is back to normal. 

Just when you think your ophthalmic duties as pet owner are over, your little white miniature poodle toddles up to you, bearing dark tear stains more dramatic than the running mascara seen in the campiest of soap operas. You can’t let your Thanksgiving dinner guests see your pooch in such an unkempt state, so you reach for your Pro·Sense® Plus Tear Stain Solutions Wipes. After a quick dab with this gentle enzymatic formula, your dog’s tear stains and eye debris disappear. Brown discoloration from tear staining at the inner corners of each eye is often termed “poodle epiphora” (though any dog – poodle or not – may be affected). While tear stains may be a sign of eye infection or injury (when in doubt, ask your veterinarian), they may also occur secondary to tear duct obstruction or malformation, as is relatively common in dog breeds such as Poodles, Maltese, Bichon Frises, and Cocker Spaniels. The accompanying brown pigment arises either from a molecule in tears called porphyrin or from contact with bacteria and yeast residing on the skin around the eyes. Fortunately for you, Pro·Sense® Plus Tear Stain Solutions Wipes are safe enough for daily use and also improve your dog’s coat shine with their Vitamin E-rich formulation. You make a mental note to add Pro·Sense® to your list of things for which you’re thankful on this bountiful holiday! 

But out of the corner of your eye, you catch a scene that jolts you right out of your tranquil, reflective state: Your Labrador retriever has stolen your stuffed turkey off the cooling rack! Another pet crisis to resolve! Aaah, Thanksgiving!

- Maranda Elswick, DVM – The Meowing Vet (www.themeowingvet.com)

Dr. Elswick was compensated by Pro·Sense® brand for writing this blog post.