Red Eyes

[ChristineCu]

@Dr. Christina @Dr. Jeff My 6 yr old female GSP Penelope has red eyes. Eyes don't seem to bother her. Began 1=2 mths ago in one eye, now the other as of 2 weeks ago. Her beam is fine. Eats sweet potatoes in morning, snack is steamed peas, lunch is a blueberry banana smoothie with raw spinach, sometimes cucumber all blended. Every other day at 3pm she gets a beef marrow bone or steamed carrots or cauliflower. Dinner is 1/4 pd raw beef. Eyes are red all the time. I think it might be allergies because sometimes she sneezes a lot meaning 5 or 6 times. No diagnostics done. I am in New Hampshire for this week but we live in Maryland. Do you know of any holistic vets in New Hampshire? No diagnostics done. My vet in MD who is Dr. Seibel texted me said that it could be irritation from dust or dirt or allergies. Also scratches on the cornea or dry eyes. She said more testing is needed. I want to avoid testing if possible. She's not scratching them. She has had some brown gunk in her left ear for about 2 mths. She sometimes scratches that. Should I take her to the vet? I just don't want to give her medication if it can be avoided. Is there anything I can give her for the redness and for the ear? She is 45 pds and spayed. She is a rescue. She was born with hip dysplasia in both and back problems. She had surgery 2 years ago for a new hip. Other one was not as bad. She still hops when she runs. Thank you

 

[Dr. Christina]

As you know from being a member, Christine, Penelope's eye, sneeze and ear issues are great clues that the internal energy field is out of balance.

Conventional diagnostics are probably not the first step, with these symptoms, in my opinion. Where in MD do you live?

We have some excellent Chinese medicine and general holistic vets in the area, if your MD vet is not a super WHOLE-istic one. I used to live North of Baltimore.

For now, increase all you can do for happiness, both in NH and back in MD. Since the eye has been two months, it could be related to the fires, and maybe the air is worse in NH.

Love to have Dr. Jean and Dr. Jeff chime in on the diet. Maybe more protein is needed? How much does Penelope weigh, about?

Dr. Christina

 

[Dr. Jean Hofve]

Hi Christine, I'm not a nutritionist but that is an awful lot of carbs, and specifically sugars, for a dog. In humans, fruit smoothies are discouraged by a lot of experts because they are a problem for glucose metabolism, stressing the pancreas to produce big dumps of insulin. Dogs don't get type 2 diabetes so I'm not saying that's a risk. But where this may tie in with eyes is that conjunctivitis often has a viral and/or bacterial component, and sugar suppresses the immune system.

I'd definitely reduce the fruits and concentrate more on above-ground veggies like broccoli and other crucifers, leafy greens, summer squash, eggplant, and mushrooms that are less carb-heavy. You can puree them but I recommend steaming them. Dogs cannot digest the cell walls of plants and pureeing does not sufficiently break them down to access the most nutrients. Cooking does a better job of breaking down the cellulose. Mushrooms should always be cooked to release the nutrients. With the current cyclospora outbreak, make sure you thoroughly cook any leafy greens.

On protein, we can guesstimate 1 gm of protein per pound of ideal body weight. You didn't mention Penelope's weight but as a female GSP let's ballpark 50 pounds. That would be 50 gms of protein, which would take about 1/2 pound of raw meat to provide (because meat is not pure protein but contains a lot of calories from fat).

I'm not sure why you do not want "testing." Personally I agree with your vet th an eye exam including a Schirmer tear test and corneal exam are a good idea, just to make 100% sure there are no scratches or ulcers or other issues. It's unlikely after this length of time but I would want that assurance.

You can relieve irritation and physically wash dust, smoke, or other particles from the eye, with a simple saline rinse like this one. Don't get a bigger bottle because it will lose sterility over time just from exposure to air. Single-use ampules are safest, like these. Or, you can make a homemade saline solution. Use 1/8 teaspoon of table salt (NOT sea salt) to 1/2 cup of purified or distilled water (room temperature). Two or three times a day, use a cotton ball to drizzle a small amount of saline into the eyes. BUT... you must make the saline fresh each and every time, because bacteria and mold can and will grow in the solution between treatments.

This is just for temporary relief to see if we can reduce the redness. Even if she isn't actively rubbing them, there may be some discomfort.

Meantime, as Dr. Christina says, this is an early warning sign of imbalance, so definitely work on supporting her whole system.

 

[GinnyW]

Oh, yippee for Dr. Jean for suggesting less veg and more, lots more, meat. I think she needs to get back to square-one simple. Dogs didn't make it this far evolutionarily with so many adjuncts. And, yes, I view just about all carbs, and adjuncts that are mostly carbs, as just that: adjuncts. Organ meats can supply a lot of the truly necessary stuff in biologically accessible form, as can some bone marrow - not big nasty marrow bones, but small edible ones. I'd view her superficial symptoms as just that: superficial. There's nothing much wrong with her, and I see her symptoms as understandable as a result of imbalance, simple, basic, and nothing much to worry about. Good TCM, and any other tests you want to perform, are fine. But feed her as the carnivore she is, and see what happens...

 

[ChristineCu]

As you know from being a member, Christine, Penelope's eye, sneeze and ear issues are great clues that the internal energy field is out of balance.

Conventional diagnostics are probably not the first step, with these symptoms, in my opinion. Where in MD do you live?

We have some excellent Chinese medicine and general holistic vets in the area, if your MD vet is not a super WHOLE-istic one. I used to live North of Baltimore.

For now, increase all you can do for happiness, both in NH and back in MD. Since the eye has been two months, it could be related to the fires, and maybe the air is worse in NH.

Love to have Dr. Jean and Dr. Jeff chime in on the diet. Maybe more protein is needed? How much does Penelope weigh, about?

Dr. Christina

@Dr. Christina Thanks for your reply. I live in Westminster Md. When I am in New Hampshire I am at Mirror Lake. I took her to the urgent care vet today and she has conjunctivitis. They gave me neo poly dex ointment. She also has bacteria in her ear and they gave malaket. I would love advice on a holistic vet in Maryland and New Hampshire if you can. She weighs 43 pds. Should I use the malaket in ear? They said there was no infection but there is bacteria.

 

[ChristineCu]

Hi Christine, I'm not a nutritionist but that is an awful lot of carbs, and specifically sugars, for a dog. In humans, fruit smoothies are discouraged by a lot of experts because they are a problem for glucose metabolism, stressing the pancreas to produce big dumps of insulin. Dogs don't get type 2 diabetes so I'm not saying that's a risk. But where this may tie in with eyes is that conjunctivitis often has a viral and/or bacterial component, and sugar suppresses the immune system.

I'd definitely reduce the fruits and concentrate more on above-ground veggies like broccoli and other crucifers, leafy greens, summer squash, eggplant, and mushrooms that are less carb-heavy. You can puree them but I recommend steaming them. Dogs cannot digest the cell walls of plants and pureeing does not sufficiently break them down to access the most nutrients. Cooking does a better job of breaking down the cellulose. Mushrooms should always be cooked to release the nutrients. With the current cyclospora outbreak, make sure you thoroughly cook any leafy greens.

On protein, we can guesstimate 1 gm of protein per pound of ideal body weight. You didn't mention Penelope's weight but as a female GSP let's ballpark 50 pounds. That would be 50 gms of protein, which would take about 1/2 pound of raw meat to provide (because meat is not pure protein but contains a lot of calories from fat).

I'm not sure why you do not want "testing." Personally I agree with your vet th an eye exam including a Schirmer tear test and corneal exam are a good idea, just to make 100% sure there are no scratches or ulcers or other issues. It's unlikely after this length of time but I would want that assurance.

You can relieve irritation and physically wash dust, smoke, or other particles from the eye, with a simple saline rinse like this one. Don't get a bigger bottle because it will lose sterility over time just from exposure to air. Single-use ampules are safest, like these. Or, you can make a homemade saline solution. Use 1/8 teaspoon of table salt (NOT sea salt) to 1/2 cup of purified or distilled water (room temperature). Two or three times a day, use a cotton ball to drizzle a small amount of saline into the eyes. BUT... you must make the saline fresh each and every time, because bacteria and mold can and will grow in the solution between treatments.

This is just for temporary relief to see if we can reduce the redness. Even if she isn't actively rubbing them, there may be some discomfort.

Meantime, as Dr. Christina says, this is an early warning sign of imbalance, so definitely work on supporting her whole system.

@Dr. Jean Hofve Thank you for your response! I took her to the vet this morning and she has conjunctivitis. Should I still do the saline rinse? I understand about the food, I follow Medical Medium also. He just wrote a pet book which is coming out in October but he says to feed her what I'm giving. Sorry, Im trying to be quick without much of an explanation. I will reduce some of the fruit and give her 1/8 pd more beef. She weighs 43 pds. She has structural issues so she's small. Vet said there are no scratches. Thank you!

 

[Dr. Jean Hofve]

If she'll tolerate it, I'd alternate the ointment the vet gave you with saline rinses. Sometimes those ointments can ultimately become a little irritating themselves.

At 43 pounds, I would still feed closer to 1/2 pound of meat. She has been underfed protein for quite some time so she needs to make up for that.