How to Treat Dog Conjunctivitis

Video Transcript

"Hi, I'm Dr. Aimee Beger. I'm a veterinarian, and we're going to be talking briefly today about conjunctivitis in your dog or cat. Conjunctivitis is an inflammation of the inner lining of the dog's eyelids, including the third eyelid, which is the little triangular pink piece of flesh that you see sometimes in the corner of your dog's eye. Conjunctivitis can be caused by several things. One of common, more common things that we see is allergies in dogs and cats. We also see trauma, such as foreign bodies in the eye, scratches from playing too hard, running into bushes outside; even causes such as viral or bacterial infections. Most common things we see in cats are infectious diseases that are causing your conjunc, the conjunctivitis in your cat. Typically, the herpes virus is one of the viruses that we most commonly see. To treat conjunctivitis we want to determine what the cause was. Typically, you'll want to go see your veterinarian, and they'll want to do an exam of your pet, an ophthalmic or ocular exam, and look for anything such as a foreign body under their eyelid. Also, to determine if your cat or dog has scratched their cornea, which is the outer part of the eye, which could indicate some trauma to the cornea. An eye ointment or eye drops are typically used to treat conjunctivitis, and sometimes, we even use over-the-counter antihistamines, such as Benadryl or Claritin if we feel that allergies are the cause of your dog's eye inflammation."