Medical or natural home remedy for 18 year old goopy then dry eyes?

[sillywoody]

My 18 year old is blind now, and he gets gooey eye crust in his eye corners that is very wet. Like a build up of tears. Every night I boil water and once cooled wipe the crust away with cotton balls, but what is left is very dry skin in the corners of his eyes.

He is medicated at highest dose for high bp and gets regular blood work, he is doing pretty good all things considering - but something I haven’t been able to gather is how to treat his eyes with medicine or a home remedy.

All ideas appreciated!

 

[stephanietx]

You can try brewing some camomile tea, letting it steep, then cool. Use that to wipe his eyes with. It's gentle and soothing and won't dry out the corner of his eyes.You could refrigerate the leftovers, or possibly even freeze into small batches, and the let get room temp before using next.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi
I use q-tips to remove my boy's eye crusties, those might be a little easier to use, plus there's less chance of scratching the eyeball if his eyelids are open with the cotton balls.

Can he have fish oil in his food which would help his skin in general?

I've read that coconut oil can be irritating to eyelids so that wouldn't be a good choice. Mineral oil can clog pores so that wouldn't be helpful either, and castor oil can also be an eye irritant.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Have you asked the vet about some sort of drops/ointment that might help reduce the dryness in the corner of his eyes after you wipe them off? Or maybe there is something similar that would help wipe away/reduce the goop and therefore also reduce the dryness brought on by it?

Maybe something like one of these, (but not necessarily to go directly into the eye in terms of the first one)?
PURALUBE Vet Ointment Sterile Ocular Lubricant for Dogs & Cats, 3.5g tube - Chewy.com
ARK NATURALS Eyes So Bright Dog & Cat Gentle Cleanser, 4-oz bottle - Chewy.com

 

[sillywoody]

Have you asked the vet about some sort of drops/ointment that might help reduce the dryness in the corner of his eyes after you wipe them off? Or maybe there is something similar that would help wipe away/reduce the goop and therefore also reduce the dryness brought on by it?

Maybe something like one of these, (but not necessarily to go directly into the eye in terms of the first one)?
PURALUBE Vet Ointment Sterile Ocular Lubricant for Dogs & Cats, 3.5g tube - Chewy.com
ARK NATURALS Eyes So Bright Dog & Cat Gentle Cleanser, 4-oz bottle - Chewy.com

Thank you for suggestions. My vet felt the boiled h20 was a safe way to remove eye goo and vet wasn’t worried about it though he didn’t have dryness then which vet may have an idea for a better remedy, I will follow up.

 

[sillywoody]

You can try brewing some camomile tea, letting it steep, then cool. Use that to wipe his eyes with. It's gentle and soothing and won't dry out the corner of his eyes.You could refrigerate the leftovers, or possibly even freeze into small batches, and the let get room temp before using next.

I love this idea bc I have it on hand, and drink it every night. Just another part of my routine he and I can share, thank you!

 

[sillywoody]

Hi
I use q-tips to remove my boy's eye crusties, those might be a little easier to use, plus there's less chance of scratching the eyeball if his eyelids are open with the cotton balls.

Can he have fish oil in his food which would help his skin in general?

I've read that coconut oil can be irritating to eyelids so that wouldn't be a good choice. Mineral oil can clog pores so that wouldn't be helpful either, and castor oil can also be an eye irritant.

I’ll be using q-tips tonight instead, agreed! He didn’t do great with fish oil in the past but that was many years ago. Thanks for all the insights!

 

[Furballsmom]

Let us know how things progress

 

[sillywoody]

Hi All, just want to report after even just a few days of using stephanietx ‘s chamomile tea idea + Furballsmom ’s idea for q-tips, his eyes are looking SO MUCH better, almost perfect like before he was aging. So I will go ahead and keep up the nightly ritual of boiling a cup of chamomile tea, and once cooled, dipping the q-tips in to get the corners of his eyes. Thank you so much as always for your help!! stephanietx Furballsmom FeebysOwner

 

[Furballsmom]

I'm thrilled to hear this!! Thank you so much for the update

 

[stephanietx]

This is great news! I'm so glad it's helping!