Flushing tear ducts?

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Archived Message

Flushing tear ducts?
by Barbara and Touquet
ORIGINAL MESSAGE:
Flushing tear ducts?Hi, everyone! I am so grateful for this site which provides so much guidence and information on caring for our little fur-babies! Right now, I am hoping some of you will share your experience with me on tear-staining. My little Touquet has always had major tearstaining, but it seems to be getting worse. I clean his eyes gently with a tissue every morning to get the gunk out, and I keep his under-eye area clean, but my baby's eyes always seem irritated. On Friday, Touquet has an appointment to have his teeth cleaned. Since this procedure requires a general anesthetic, I am considering having his tear ducts flushed at the same time (contingent on my vet's advice, of course).

Have any of you had your dog's tear ducts flushed? If so, did it help the problem? Was it traumatic for your baby? I would really like to be aware of the pros and cons of this procedure before I put Touquet through it! Also, have any of you used Tetracycline to any benefit or detriment. I wouldn't consider these procedures strictly for cosmetic reasons, but I think my baby is really uncomfortable, and I am afraid of possible infection. I would really appreciate any responses from you other Maltese parents out there! Thanks so much!

DISCUSSION:

Barbara: My little guy had problems with tear staining also. A few month ago he had to have 2 of his baby teeth pulled. I had the vet flush his tear ducts also. It made a tremendous difference. Although he could have tearing because of the teeth. Now, I'm just woking on getting the old stain out with daily washing and clipping. I have used the ointment in the eyes and I didn't like it. Seemed to irritate them more. Tried the peroxide solution, dried the hair way too much and he seemed irritated by that also. Bought Collyruim, that made the staining worse. So I just went back to good old warm water, washing faces everyday and keeping the hair clipped around his eyes. I also check very often, making sure he has no hair in the eyes. If you see them blinking alot, usually means something is in there that is irritating them. It doesn't come on overnight and it does't dissappear overnight, I learned patience is probably the best policy with tear staining. If there is a miracle solution out there that is safe for these little guys I would love to know about it. Good Luck with your little fur ball.
Deb

Barbara, my Shelby has terrible tear staining. I've tried over the counter preparations, vet prescribed antibiotics and finally, when she was in having her teeth cleaned, tear duct flushing. This did nothing for Shelby's tearstaining problem at all except make it a little worse. I've seen in some other posts (check the archives) that some other folks have had better luck. I hope you find a good solution. If I run across something that works for us, I'll be sure to post it!
Sandy (Shelby & Nikki)

If there is excessive tearing caused by a partially blocked or irritated tear duct, then flushing may help, although the problem could recur requiring further treatment. Do talk to your vet about it being that he is going under anesthesia anyway. Even if he/she doesn't feel flushing will help, at least it may give the vet a chance to do a better examination of the eyes to see if there is another problem causing the tearing. Let us know what the vet says, as this is a common problem in these dogs.
Aimee

Barbara: My Shayna has a terrible problem. She was in for her annual check up and I mentioned this to my Vet. He took a good look in her eyes and found eye lashes growing in ward. He removed 48 of them early in March. She will have to have another laser eye surgery on May 7th to remove any new growth. These eye lashes caused her much pain and that was the reason for her tearing. It has improved, but she has a long way to go before her face is as clean as KoKo's. Poor dear, I just don't want her to have this terrible pain of lashes porking her in the eye. It could also cause dry eye and blindness if not taken care of. The Vet said most of the lashes could not be seen until he used a Microscope, that is why he wants to do it again, said he needs another 1/2 of surgery with her to clear it up, hopefully this will be the last time. Now don't panic no all the tearing is caused by eye lashes, I'm just telling you about my Shayna. But it might be worth a good look with a magnifying glass.
Shelley

Thanks so much for the advice, Deb, Aimee, Sandy and Shelley! Being the nervous mom that I am, I didn't sleep the night before I took little Touquet in to have his teeth cleaned and tear ducts flushed. Too many worries about possible complications from the general anesthetic. The good news is that he came through it all with flying colours -- sparkling white teeth, no dog breath, tear ducts flushed. The vet told me that only one of Touquet's tear ducts was partially occluded, and the other one was already open. Therefore I am not to expect a huge improvement. However, in the 3 days since the surgery, Touquet has had clear eyes and no more tears! I'm thrilled with this result, and hope that it will last. Thanks so much for your advice and support.
Barbara