No matter how well owners take care of their pets, unfortunately no one is immune to illnesses and accidents. Therefore, often, an ordinary walk and play with the pet, end up with sad consequences for him. A dog, walking on the street, can bump into a tree branch, hurt his eye with a sharp grass, and, perhaps, its “friendship” with a neighbor’s cat again goes through a period of testing, as a result of which animals suffer.

It is important to know that, untimely and incorrect treatment of the organs of vision can lead to loss of visual functions, and sometimes to the loss of the eye as an organ.

Especially affected are such breeds of dogs as: pugs, Pekingese, boxers, bulldogs, 

Chihuahuas and others. These breeds are characterized by a physiological protrusion of the eyeball and a shallow orbit, which makes the eye more vulnerable to injury and impact.

Injuries to the visual organs can be caused by several types of damaging factors (mechanical, thermal, chemical, etc.).

Eye injuries in the vast majority of cases are caused by mechanical factors. These can be both wounds (open trauma) and contusions (closed trauma) of the organ of vision. These are injuries in the form of wounds or contusions of the eyelids, lacrimal organs, eyeball and eye socket.

Types of visual injuries

1. Eyelid wounds

These can be through and through, and it is also common for part of the eyelid to be torn off. 

The pet owner should be aware that the best results in treating eyelid wounds are achieved by contacting a veterinary ophthalmologist within the first 24 hours of injury. The doctor will assess the extent of the injury and choose a treatment tactic.

The veterinarian may recommend applying anesthetic agents into the eye and after 5-10 minutes, antibacterial eye drops. Drops containing corticosteroids should not be injected, as this may lead to corneal tissue melting

2. Corneal Injury

Another type of injury to the organ of vision is not uncommon – contusion of the eye, which occurs when struck with a stick, foot, cars, in fights with dogs, or when struck against objects while running or playing.

In contusion, the eyeball is deformed under the influence of an external force, the intraocular pressure changes, and internal structures of the eye may be displaced and ruptured. Therefore, the owner should bring the dog to a veterinary ophthalmologist after a blow to the eye, even if no external changes are apparent.

The first pre-hospital aid in case of eyeball prolapse is as follows: the eye is abundantly smeared with eye lubricant as directed by the doctor over the phone, especially the cornea, and cold is applied for 10-15 minutes to the eye area. After that, the animal should be taken as soon as possible to a veterinary clinic for surgical repositioning of the eyeball.

On the timeliness of your appeal to a veterinary specialist depends on whether your pet will keep his vision or not. So, remember, self-medicating your dog in a situation where an eye injury is involved is like not treating your dog. You can give your pet first aid, however, it should be treated by specialists. And, only the course of treatment prescribed by them can be effective and efficient.

It is also important to emphasize that the achievements of modern veterinary ophthalmology make it possible to obtain a positive effect of treatment in most cases, provided that you contact a specialist in time.