Cloudy Eyes in Dogs

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Cloudy Eyes in Dogs ,cataracts, dry eyes, and a few other eye diseases can all lead to cloudy eyes in dogs. Your dog’s cloudy eyes might look like they have a hazy film or coloring over them, and they might or might not be able to see better. Some types of cloudy eyes may hurt, but others may not. Your vet will need to do a full eye check to figure out what is causing the cloudiness. Why might your dog’s eyes be cloudy? Read on for some ideas on what to do next.

What Do Cloudy Eyes Mean?

The cornea of the eye is usually cloudy, and it may look like a hazy film. The cloudiness is easily seen because it is on the cornea, which is the clear dome that sits on top of each of your dog’s eyes. When dogs’ eyes get cloudy, it could mean they have an eye problem or just that they are getting older.

image source flickr.com

Signs That Your Dog Has Cloudy Eyes

Different things can cause dogs’ eyes to become cloudy in different ways. Along with the professional visual cue of cloudiness, other signs can also let you know that your dog may have an eye problem. Your dog might not have all of these signs, but if you notice changes in your dog’s eyes, you should call your vet right away.

What makes a dog’s eyes cloudy

To begin, let us talk about how dogs see. When you look at a dog, its eyes have a lens, which is behind the iris and looks like a long sphere. The lens’s job is to focus light rays that come in through the cornea on the retina, making a picture that is clear and sharp.
When dogs’ eyes are cloudy, it’s usually because of issues with the lens or cornea.

Lenses for eyes

Older dogs often have cloudy eyes because of cataracts. They happen when proteins and maybe other lens parts stick together in clumps. In the end, these clumps stop light from getting to the retina, which can lead to vision loss or even blindness. Cataracts can be caused by many things, such as eye damage and diabetes.
Dogs who have cataracts can get used to losing their sight pretty well. But if you don’t treat cataracts, they can lead to serious problems like glaucoma.

Eye Dryness (KCS)

Keratoconjunctivitis sicca, or dry eye, is a long-lasting inflammatory condition in which the eyes don’t make enough tears, leaving them dry and red. Dogs don’t like KCS, and if it’s not handled, it can damage their corneas. Bulldogs, miniature schnauzers, shih tzus, and West Highland white terriers are more likely to have this problem than other breeds.

Having trauma

A blow to the eye can hurt more than one part of it, like the cornea and lens. Damage to the eyes can come from things like scratches that happen while playing or fighting, flying objects, or being hit by a car.
If you hurt your cornea or lens, it can lead to cloudiness in your eyes.

Having glaucoma

When there is too much pressure inside a dog’s eye, this is called glaucoma. The optic nerve can be damaged forever if the intraocular pressure stays high for too long. This illness hurts a lot and can cause you to lose your sight. Many terrier breeds, basset hounds, chow chows, Dalmatians, and Siberian huskies are more likely to get glaucoma than other dog types.

Frontal Uveitis

The front of the eye is where the uvea is. When the uvea gets swollen, white blood cells can move to the eye and make the whole thing look cloudy. Red eyes and a lot of tears are also signs of anterior uveitis.

Degeneration of the corneal endothelium

Corneal endothelial degeneration is a disease that dogs get as they age that makes the cornea cloudy. This problem happens when the endothelial cells in the eye can’t keep the right amount of fluids in the corneal tissue. This makes it cloudy, which can make you blind. Degeneration of the corneal endothelium can lead to painful secondary eye problems.

Getting Uveitis

Behind the cornea is the uvea, which is a part of the eye. Uveitis is an inflammation of the uvea that can be caused by an injury, an illness, or a disease that affects the whole body. When there is inflammation, inflammatory cells and proteins can build up and make the eye look cloudy.

A dog’s cornea can also have problems other than ulcers that make its eyes cloudy. Corneal dystrophy is a disease that runs in families. The cornea gets thick and opaque, and the eyes may hurt. Depending on which layer of the cornea is damaged, vision loss can also happen.
The name of the type of cornea dystrophy depends on which layer of the cornea is affected: the epithelial layer, the stromal layer, or the vascular layer.

How to Tell If Your Dog Has Cloudy Eyes

Veterinarians use a number of tools during eye exams to find out what’s causing cloudy vision, such as
• High-resolution image methods that don’t hurt
• An eye exam tool
• Drops to make the pupils bigger
• Special stains, like fluorescein; • A tonometer, which is usually used to check for glaucoma; • Other lights and screens for the eyes
If your vet tells you that your dog has lenticular sclerosis, they will keep an eye on it to see if cataracts form. If you don’t fix cataracts, glaucoma could happen.
How to Treat Dogs with Cloudy Eyes
If you get treatment for cloudy eyes as soon as possible, it’s more likely to work. If your dog has cloudy eyes, the right way to treat them relies on what’s causing them:
• There is no treatment for lenticular sclerosis, and there is no need for treatment.
• For glaucoma, eye drops are used to lower the pressure inside the eye.
• Corneal ulcers: Topical medicines are used, but sores that are very bad may need surgery to be fixed.
• Corneal endothelial degeneration: There aren’t many ways to treat this condition, but medicines can be used to ease the pain. A veterinary ophthalmologist may be able to help with some advanced surgeries.

Corneal dystrophy can be treated with a special diet that keeps calcium and cholesterol levels in check. Topical medicines can also be used to treat this disease and other related issues.

Uveitis: The best way to treat it depends on what’s causing it, but usually it includes both topical and systemic medicines.

Ways to Keep Your Dog Eyes Clear

You can’t always keep your dog’s eyes from getting cloudy, but you can do what you can to protect them as much as possible. If you take your dog to the vet once or twice a year for a routine check, you can keep most eye problems and other health problems at bay. This can help the vet find and fix problems quickly, which is especially helpful as your dog ages.

You can’t stop your eyes from getting cloudy with age like you can with lenticular sclerosis, but you can take these other steps to avoid getting it:

Cataracts: Some people are born with cataracts and can’t be prevented, but it’s good to know that diabetes mellitus can make cataracts worse. Take good care of your dog’s diabetes to help stop it.

Glaucoma: The eye diseases that cause glaucoma can be taken care of by you and your vet.

Corneal ulcers: You may be able to keep your dog from getting these by keeping them from getting hurt badly. Also, use an e-collar, also known as an Elizabethan collar, as a short fix to try to keep your dog from rubbing its eyes because of other eye problems.

Corneal capillary degeneration: This problem usually happens with age, but it can also happen because of other eye problems. You might be able to keep it from happening if you find and treat any other eye problems your dog has.

Corneal dystrophy: If you keep your pet’s calcium and cholesterol levels in check, your vet may be able to help you avoid this. Regular lab tests can be done on your pet to check these amounts from time to time. Lab tests done on a regular basis are always a good way to keep an eye on your dog’s health.

Cloudy Eyes in Dogs