Can I put people eye drops in the dog's eye? archived

My little pooch is closing his eye...it looks like he has some irritation. I really do not want it to become infected. Can I use people eye drops in his eye? The ones for pink eye that are just general antibiotic? Or am I just crazy to even consider it?

I have a pug, and he has an eye ulcer right now. Pugs tend to get eye injuries. The vet has him on ciprofloxacin (or something like that, I don't have the drops in front of me right now) as an antibiotic.
These seem to be formulated for veterinary use.

I know I'm not answering your question, but you might want to have it looked at to make sure it isn't an ulcer (is there any cloudiness in the eye? that's another symptom of one). Untreated eye injuries can eventually lead to the loss of vision, or of the eye itself.

There are a number of veterinary websites that answer general-type questions, so they might have info on the original question, but I wanted to let you know what we're dealing with (the ulcer only shows up when a stain is applied to the eye and a special light is used, it isn't visible otherwise; it only looked like the eye was a bit closed and a bit cloudy when I first noticed it).

Thanks Cody. I have no idea what it is..it just started within the past few hours. I just know that eyes get infected pretty quickly and if it were as simple as using my people pink eye drops, then I would certainly do it. Maybe I'll do a little research...

You can use human eye drops for artificial tears with dogs. That might help wash out something if it is that situation. It could also give some comfort in the short term.

I don't know about comparative dosages between human drops and those for canines so I'd be cautious. Check with a vet unless you can find something definitive. Don't use topical antibiotic ointment for humans, that is way too concentrated for the eye tissue.

mammabear,
I would just try to flush the eye with water---please don't use human prescription drops in a dog's eye--reverse the situation, would you put dog drops in your kids' eyes just because you happened to have them on hand? Of course not. It might not do any real harm, but a dog's anatomy --especially of the eye, is significantly different than a human's. Wait to find out what you are dealing with first before medicating him.

Calli

Posted By: bikefixedDon't use topical antibiotic ointment for humans, that is way too concentrated for the eye tissue.

Agreed. I'm talking about people eye drops in his eye...not topical antibiotic ointment in eye.

I just found a website with tons of dog eye infection ointments...I guess it's more common than I thought!

I know. I was just making a general comment about the possibility that someone might think using a topical ointment in an eye (dog, cat, human, whatever species) would be a good thing to do if they can't get to a vet until the next day.

Sorry, I should have done a better job of separating that thought out.

Posted By: mammabearCan I use people eye drops in his eye?

unless your vet tells you it's okay; i wouldn't.

My dog (a lab/pit mix) developed an eye irritation last week. We called the vet, who - after asking a bunch of questions about the severity of the irritation - told us to use regular Visine twice a day. We've also been using an isotonic buffered solution ("eye wash") to clean out any particles or goop that collect in the eye.

The dog doesn't like it, but it seems to be working, and the irritation is almost gone.

That said: I agree with the others. Call the vet and make sure it'll work for your dog's situation.

Also, I have to wonder if this has something to do with the wet weather. Perhaps some sort of mold or weed is growing that normally doesn't and dogs, sniffing in the grass, are getting it in their eyes.

Just as an update, my dog was referred to a veterinary opthomologist for his eye ulcer, and he's on antibiotic eye drops, antibiotic salve, another salve and moisturizing eye drops. All are veterinary prescriptions, but they told me I could substitute Refresh or GenTeal for the moisturizing eye drops when I ran out of what they had given me.

So, for simply keeping eyes moist, human drops like the above are OK to substitute, but I'd still want to have a vet check out any eye problems before I tried to do anything on my own. Hope your dog is OK by now, I just wanted to mention what I'd been told earlier this week.

Cool, thanks. Keegan gets eye strings all the time and one of his eyes is sort of dry and at risk of infection.

He's the Eye Glop Factory.