Dog waking up with gunk in his eye? Effective Dry Eye Remedy

Do you have an older dog or cat?

Is your senior pet starting to show some ongoing health issues… limping from arthritis, weepy eyes, dry flaky skin, more lumps and bumps?

Organs age, cartilage degenerates, eyes have to deal with inflammation, the skin is more prone to allergies, and small tumors can evade the immune system.

What CAN you do?

Specific supplements are potent anti-inflammatories, and the active ingredient isolated from turmeric is considered a very effective natural anti-inflammatory/pain killer.

If your pet has any of the above health conditions, you should consider trying our NEW 95% Curcumin Supplement, Dr. Jones’ Ultimate High Absorption 95% Curcumin for Dogs and Cats

Dry Eye or KCS

Keratoconjunctivitis sicca (KCS) is a condition that is also commonly referred to as dry eye. The medical term means inflammation of the cornea and surrounding tissues from drying. It is a common eye condition resulting from inadequate production of the aqueous portion of the tear film by the lacrimal gland and/or gland of the third eyelid gland.

What causes dry eye?

Tears are required to lubricate the cornea and remove any debris or infectious agents that may contact the eye. The tear film is a mixture of mucus, fatty liquid, and water.

Any condition that impairs the ability to produce adequate amounts of tear film can result in dry eye. Some of the common causes of KCS include:

• Immune-mediated diseases that damage the tear producing glands. This is the most common cause of KCS and is poorly understood. The body’s immune system attacks the cells that produce a portion of the tear film resulting in decreased production. This is thought to be an inherited disorder.
• Systemic diseases such as canine distemper virus infections.
• Medications such as certain sulphonamides (sulfa drugs).
• Hypothyroidism.
• Nervous system effects of an inner ear infection (neurogenic KCS).

What are the clinical signs of dry eye?

Most dogs have painful, red, and irritated eyes. They often squint, blink excessively or hold the eyes shut. There is often a thick, yellowish, mucoid discharge present as a result of the decrease in the aqueous (watery) component of the tear film. Corneal ulceration is often present. In chronic cases, there is often a history of recurrent eye injuries, ulcers, or conjunctivitis.

Veterinary Treatments

Lubricating eye drops- Replace the tears to keep the eyes lubricated, but this is symptomatic, and not curative

Immunosuppression: A drug called cyclosporine (Optimmune), will suppress inflammation and help the tear glands produce tears. But once again you can have secondary immunosuppression, and this is a lifelong treatment.

Alternative Options

1.Green Tea

Here is a study showing it’s potential benefits:

Efficacy of Green Tea Extract for Treatment of Dry Eye and Meibomian Gland Dysfunction; A Double-blind Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial

Mahmood Nejabat, 1 Salehi Ali Reza, 2 Mehdi Zadmehr, 3 Masoud Yasemi, 4 and Zahra Sobhani5

Introduction

With an incidence rate of 9%, dry eye is a common problem of the ocular surface, especially in patients more than 40-year-old. Green tea extract has anti-oxidative, anti-bacterial, anti-androgen, and immunomodulatory properties.

Conclusion

Green tea extract is an effective, safe, and well-tolerated topical treatment for mild and moderate evaporative dry eyes and MGD.

So if you have a dog with dry eye, I would incorporate concentrated green tea drops for treatment. You can also give your dog green tea orally.

2. Omega 3 fatty acids

Omega 3 fatty acids are proven anti-inflammatories, and are beneficial decreasing the eye inflammation causing dry eye.

Doses of Dr Jones’ ULTIMATE Omega 3 Formula with Krill: 500mg/50lbs twice daily.

3. Antioxidants : Astaxanthin, Zeaxathin, Lutein.

The antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of these supplements may improve the inflammatory response of conjunctival goblet cells, thereby promoting mucin secretion, playing the role of mucin anchor, and increasing tear film stability. They are available as combined formulas such as this: Prairie Naturals Astaxanthin Plus with Lutien and Zeaxanthin

4. Additional Humidity

Additional Humidity avoid smoke etc… This is just good old fashioned common sense. Get a humidifier for your house, avoid the wood fire.

5. 95% Curcumin

This has been extensively studied for eye disease:

Curcumin, A Potential Therapeutic Candidate for Anterior Segment Eye Diseases

Curcumin, the major curcuminoid of the turmeric, has been extensively used in many countries since ancient time for preventing and/or treating a multitude of diseases. This review is to illustrate the researches on the properties of curcumin and its potential therapeutic efficacy in major anterior segment eye diseases.

Dry eye disease is one of the most prevalent eye diseases, with an estimated ten million individuals affected in the United States

Our previous study showed that curcumin guarded against hyperosmoticity-induced IL-1? upregulation… which indicates that curcumin might serve as a promising candidate for treating dry eye disease.

Best Wishes,

Dr. Andrew Jones

P.S. There are many natural options for our dogs and cats, and you really do need to be aware of the side effects of the conventional drugs.

P.P.S. About our supplement…

Dr. Jones’ Ultimate High Absorption 95% Curcumin (BCM-95 ~ Curcugreen) with BioPerine has marked anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant effects. The supplement is in capsule form (powder in capsules). Each capsule contains 250mg Curcumin, with 30 capsules per jar.

Our supplement is very highly absorbable – BCM-95 (CURCUGREEN) is 700% more bioavailable than regular curcumin, and with piperine (BioPerine) added, absorption is enhanced even further (piperine has been shown to enhance absorption of curcumin by up to 2000%.

Dr Jones’ ULTIMATE High Absorption 95% Curcumin