Ease the Discomfort of Your Pet's Pink Eye

You notice crust, discharge, or even a pinkish color to your pet's eyes causing your pet to paw at their eyes constantly. What could it be? It could very well be pinkeye. Yes, even pets can get the dreaded pinkeye. Pinkeye is often caused by allergic reactions, infections, or distemper and it can make your pet very uncomfortable, as it does with people. Is there anything you can do to help ease the discomfort of pinkeye? Yes, there is. Follow these tips to help ease the discomfort of your pet's pink eye.

To ease the discomfort and quickly heal pink eye, clean the discharge from the eyelids with a soft, clean cloth or cotton ball that is wet with lukewarm water. Wipe the discharge as often as you need to, to keep it from piling up. Since water can sting, you can also try using an over the counter scrub to help get the discharge out of the eye. Over the counter scrubs are available at pet stores or your vet.

Another popular way to ease the discomfort and heal pink eye is to use some tears. Artificial tears can help wash away discharge and gooey build up in the eyes. You can get artificial tears from pet stores and vets. For cats, wrap a towel around their head and hold their head firm to keep them from wiggling out of your grip. If both of your pet's eyes are infected with pink eye, try putting a warm, damp compress over your pet's eyes for about five minutes.

This will really help ease the discomfort of pink eye and help keep their eyes clean. However, some pets won't stay still for five minutes with both eyes covered so try to apply this treatment in one-minute increments over a 10 minute period or you can apply the towel to one eye for five minutes, then cover the other eye for another five minutes. When you change eyes, be sure to rinse out the cloth before putting the towel on the other eye.

Be sure your pet is kept well groomed. Long hair covering the eyes can irritate pink eye even more. Either cut excess hair or brush it back away from the eyes. While traveling, don't let your pet sit next to the window or keep the windows rolled up halfway to keep debris from getting in your pet's eyes. In some cases of pink eye, you will need to get antibiotics from the doctor to help ease the discomfort. Also, if your pet has dry eyes and not pink eye, treating them with artificial tears will do the job.