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SEVERE SQUINRING (Blepharospasm) Spasms of the muscles around the eye are induced by eye irritation. The irritant causes tightening of the muscles of the eyelid which rolls the lid against the cornea or conjunctiva. Having once rolled in, the rough margins of the lids and the hairs rub against the eyeball causing further pain and spasm. Anesthetic drops may be applied to the eyeball to relieve the pain and break the cycle. The relief is temporary unless the inciting factor has been removed.
EYE IRRITATION FROM HAIRS There are a number of eye problems in which the eye irritation is caused by hair rubbing against the eyeball. Extra Eyelashes (Distichiasis): This is a congenital condition in which an extra row of lashes grow from the lid margins and rub against the cornea. The irritation may not be severe enough to cause symptoms until the dog is mature. This condition occurs most often in Poodles, Cocker Spanicis and Pekingese - but all breeds can be affected. The hairs may be burned out with an electric needle or removed by surgery. Facial Hair: This is a condition seen in short-muzzled breeds such as the Pekingese, Shih Tzu, Lhasa Apso and Bulldog in which the hair on the nasal fold grows up against the eyeball. In the Old English Sheepdog, the Schnauzer, and other breeds with long faciai hair, it is this hair which falls in against the eye causing the irritation. The offending hairs should be removed by clipping, or in some cases by plucking. Those requiring attention can often be identified because they are stained and discoloured by the tears.
EYELID ROLLED INWARD (ENTROPION) This is the most common defect of the eyelids. It may also be caused by injury or long-standing disease of the lids. Some cases are complicated by blepharospasm. Breeds commonly affected are the Chow, Irish Setter, Golden Retriever, Chesapeake Bay Retriever, Great Dane, Great Pyrenees, Saint Bernard and Bulldog. Most commonly it affects the lower eyelid. In Bloodhounds and Saint Bernards, and in other breeds with large heads and loose facial skin, entropion can be found in the upper lid as well. This condition usually require surgical correction. Entropion, an inversion of all or part of the lid margins that may be initiated by severe blepharospasni due to ocular or periocular pain. In many canine breeds it is an inherited disease. Inversion of the cilia or facial hairs creates further discomfort, conjunctival and corneal irritation, and if protracted causes corneal scarring, pigmentation, and perhaps ulceration. Early spastic entropion may be reversed if the inciting cause is removed, or further pain alleviated by everting the lids hairs away from the eye with mattress sutures in the lid, injections, eg: procaine penicillin, into the lid adjacent to the entropion, or by palpebral nerve blocks. Established entropion may require surgical correction.
EYELID ROIIED OUTWARD (ECTROPION) In this condition the lower eyelid rolls out from the face exposing the eye to irritation. This condition is usually seen in dogs with loose facial skin such as hounds, spanicis, and Saint Bernards. It can also be seen in older dogs in whom the facial skin has lost its tone and sags. You may notice this temporarily in hunting dogs after a long day in the field. Plastic surgery may be necessary to tighten the lid and protect the eye. Ectropion, a slack everted lid margin, usually with a large palpebrat fissure, is a common conformational fault in a number of breeds, but contracting scars in the lid and facial nerve paralysis may produce unilateral ectropion in any species. The resultant conjunctival exposure results in chronic or recurrent conjunctivitis from environmental irritants and bacterial infections. Topical antibiotic- corticosteroid preparationstemporarilycontrol the periodic infections, but surgical correction is indicated in many instances. Mild cases can be controlled by periodic lavage with mild decongestant solutions.
LAGOPHTHALMOS This is an inability to close the lids and protect the cornea from drying and trauma may result from extremely shallow orbits, exophihalmia due to a space-occupying orbital lesion, or facial nerve (CN VII) paralysis. Corneal scarring, pigmentation, and ulceration are the usual results of lagophthalmos. Unless the cause can be corrected, the therapy is topical and surgical shortening or closure of the fissure(s) either permanently or temporarily, depending on the cause. Excessive nasal skin folds may aggravate the damage caused by lagophthalmos.
ABNORMALITIES OF THE CILIA Extra or misdirected cilia on the lid margin can produce epiphora or corneal scarring and ulceration. In many instances anomalous cilia are very fine and produce neither clinical signs nor damage. However, misdirected cilia protruding through the palpebral conjunctiva are capable of producing signs of profound pain. If the signs correlate with the extra cilia, excision of the cilia is indicated. Anomalies of the cilia are common in some dog breeds and are probably inherited.
THE THIRD EYELID (NICTATING MEMBRANE) When the third membrane is visible over the surface of the eye, it is said to be protruding or prolapsing. A protruding third eyelid can be due to one of three causes: sunken eyeball, an irritation of the eye, or a congenital defect. Congenital prolapse is only important in that the dog has an unsightly appearance. Removal of the eyelid is seldom required for this condition. A sunken eyeball causes the membrane to protrude. This may be the result of malnutrition or prolonged illness in which the (at pad at the back of the eye is reduced in size. Dehydration also give a sunken eye. The dog may also protrude the third eyelid in order to protect an irritated eye. A protruding third eyelid gives the 'haws', which to dog trainers and handlers is frequently undesirable in that it gives the animal a somewhat haggard look. Most dog standards require the 'haws' (if mentioned at all) be scarcely apparent. In Bloodhounds, a visible 'haw' is called for in the breed standard.
EVERSION OF THE CARTILAGE This is a congenital condition seen in Weimaraners, Great Danes, Golden lzeirievers and Saint Bernards. The third eyelid appears to roll back upon itself like a dry leaf. Corneal irritation occurs in some cases. This should be treated surgically. |