Swollen eye...

[lissa]

I came home from work tonight to find my 3 year old golden retrievers right eye swelled up. There is no discharge, and he doesn't appear to be in any pain- he is acting a fool as per usual. He isn't scratching at it - though occasionally he will roll around on the floor and rub his eye to the carpet, but only for a sec, and in the the hour I have been home, he's only done it the once. I put a warm compress to his eye, and it seemed to bring the swelling down a bit. He doesn't necessarily want you touching it, but he let me apply the compress to it. I think he will be ok, but where its his eye, I don't exactly want to chance it. He has had skin allergies in the past, and I am thinking this might be related as he has had some other allergy related symptoms the past couple of days (itchy skin- same spot every time). I am debating giving him benadryl.. I gave it to my other dog the last time she had an allergic reaction to her shots. Any advice? I have gone over the house and there is absolutely nothing he could have gotten in to. Do you think it would be ok to give him the benadryl, or should I just call the vet first? I have a bad habit of calling the vet whenever I think there is a problem (I'm a little protective of my babies. If I could put them in a plastic bubble, I probably would) and usually get the impression I am disturbing the on call person :S Suggestions? Experiences?

[iluvmyshihtzu]

Hi Lissa,
I P'md you.

[domarloc]

My dog had a swollen eye not very long ago and I had some polysporin eye ointment ( also comes in drops ) in my medicine chest, I put a little of that in her eye and it was better the next day. I felt safe putting this in her eyes because I had a friend that had a similar problem and the vet told her to use polysporin eye ointment.

[Vix]

I've had my share of animal emergencies as well, and cannot tell you what to do as I've never had a swollen eye thingy, but I hope he turns out ok. Please let us know how things go. Give him a hug for us.

Vix

[lissa]

Thanks everyone!

In my panic, I forgot about the medication the vet gave us to have on hand if he had a reaction again.Hubby pointed out that he seems to go through this at least once a year, found the pills, and now he is doing great! I think he is enjoying all the attention though! 85 pound lap dog!!

[Rickster]

You should check his eye as you would your childs as he may have a piece of carpet fiber in it or some other foreign body(hair,eyelash,dust..) in it. This the very first thing to do !!! And check along those pink eyelids and look for any indication of a splinter of sorts. Wouldn't hurt to hold his head over the edge of the tub and run the tap with lukewarm water and while holding his head over the side, try to 'gently flush his eye while cupping your hand under the tap and pouring into the eye itself(wash you hands first,lol) Good luck -Rick.

[lissa]

You should check his eye as you would your childs as he may have a piece of carpet fiber in it or some other foreign body(hair,eyelash,dust..) in it. This the very first thing to do !!! And check along those pink eyelids and look for any indication of a splinter of sorts. Wouldn't hurt to hold his head over the edge of the tub and run the tap with lukewarm water and while holding his head over the side, try to 'gently flush his eye while cupping your hand under the tap and pouring into the eye itself(wash you hands first,lol) Good luck -Rick.

I am sure you meant no offense by what you posted, but I am not a new pet owner. I don't have children, my dogs are my kids. Checking his eye was obviously the first thing I did. Thanks. And, as I mentioned above, he is doing fine, and has issues with allergies.The point of my thread was giving a dog benadryl before calling the vet.. Sorry if I was unclear. I appreciate your advice.