Dr. Maro: Important eye health info for pets, especially service dogs
Ocular or eye health is important for all pets, and even though pets can adapt to living their lives with visual impairment and/or blindness, it is far better to treat eye conditions promptly to preserve vision and comfort than risk loss of sight.
Good vision helps protect pets from being preyed upon by other animals and getting into dangerous situations both indoors and outside. Dangers include falling down stairs, stepping into traffic or entering another animal’s territory.
Visual acuity is even more important for service animals whose owners rely on their pets for protection, guidance, and in many cases, act as their owners’ eyes and ears.
Because owners of service dogs rely on their pets’ vision, veterinary ophthalmologists, who are eye specialists for animals, offer free ocular screenings for qualified service dogs each May. The way to apply for the free screening is by signing up from April 1-30 on the website www.avcoeyeexam.org, but only do so if YOU HAVE A CERTIFIED SERVICE ANIMAL. This is a great free service to aid individuals who rely on service animals.
The mentioned screenings are to assure service animals have good ocular health and will include evaluations for conditions including conjunctivitis, dry eye, glaucoma, retinitis, early-stage eye tumors, retinal detachments and other eye conditions. These exams will be performed by board-certified specialists and are meant to be screening tests.
If a pet is having current signs of ocular disorders, with any of the following symptoms, DO NOT wait for a screening. Seek immediate in-office veterinary care (within the first day of onset of signs):
Red eyes
Discharge, excessive tearing from the eyes
Squinting
Aversion to light (closing the eyes in bright light)
Foreign body in the eye or puncture to the eye itself
Dilated (wide) or very constricted (tiny) pupils
Blood coming from the lids, 3rd eyelid or eye itself
White haze on the cornea
Chemical or physical injury to the eyeball or lids
Disappearance of the eyeball within the socket or protrusion of the eye outside the socket
During a pet’s emergency or sick visit for the symptoms mentioned, your pet’s doctor will perform several tests which may include special stains, eye pressures, tear tests and retinal exams. In many cases, your vet can recommend appropriate medications during the visit.
In some cases, you may receive a referral to an eye specialist, with medications offered to manage pain and infection until the specialist visit.
I perform ophthalmic exams during all my patients’ physical exams. When I detect abnormal findings during my exam, I often recommend additional tests at the same visit.
I frequently diagnose eye disorders that the owner has not noted as abnormalities. This is because early signs of ocular health problems are very subtle and go unnoticed by pet owners.
The most frequently encountered eye health conditions, during routine exams occur in the following order:
Cataracts
Dry Eye/KCS
Conjunctivitis
Abnormal eyelids – rolled in (entropion), rolled outward (ectropion), eyelid tumors or masses
Cherry Eye (disorder of the gland of the 3rd eyelid)
Uveitis (inflammation in the eye)
Glaucoma
Displaced lens/lens luxation
Blindness/SARDS/Retinal Atrophy/Retinal Detachments secondary to high blood pressure
Corneal deposits related to hypothyroidism or other hormonal disorders
In most cases when a diagnosis is made during a routine physical, steps can be taken to preserve a pet’s vision. In some cases, owners have not noticed that their pet has gradually become blind, because pets can compensate by learning their way around the home and yard.
Whether a pet has a temporary source of pain, like a foreign body in the eye, or a chronic eye condition, such as glaucoma, it is important to assure that pain is managed. Many of the ophthalmic (eye) conditions I treat on a daily basis are painful for pets. Unfortunately, owners are often not aware of the signs of ocular pain, because their pet may still eat, drink and ask for attention.
When in doubt about whether your pet is experiencing pain with an eye condition, it’s always best to visit the veterinary office and play it safe. As a veterinarian, I would much rather say, “We caught this early and can save your pet’s vision” rather than, “I’m sorry, but your pet has an advanced eye condition that is beyond the treatment stage to prevent visual loss.”
Dr. Cynthia Maro is a veterinarian at the Ellwood Animal Hospital in Ellwood City and the Chippewa Animal Hospital in Chippewa Township. She writes a biweekly column on pet care and health issues. If you have a topic you’d like to have addressed, email ellwoodvet@msn.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY NETWORK: Maro: Important eye health info for pets, especially service dogs
