Dog Stye on Eyelids Home Remedies, Treatment and Surgical Removal

dog stye on upper eyelid
dog stye on upper eyelid

Dogs are vulnerable to eye infections. Left unattended, these could lead to visual problems in the future. To avoid this, it is important to accord your dog with the necessary care. Learn how to treat a dog stye at home using home remedies, commercial treatments as well as when to seek surgical removal below.

Dog Stye

Can dogs get styes? A dog stye can occur in dogs just as it does in humans. It could either occur on the inner or outer side of the eye. Both the upper and lower eyelids are vulnerable to styes.

Dog stye on puppy

Styes are a bacterial infection affecting the hair follicles that appear as bumps on the eye. They can easily be confused with cysts.

What tells them apart is the fact that the infection occurs on the eyelash. As a result, a stye will appear as an inflamed abscess with an eyelash hair protruding in its middle.

The bump will appear red, swollen and tender to touch and be filled with some fluid. A dog stye on eye is a short-term infection and allowed to be, it will usually drain on its own. However, there are some steps that can be put into place to help hasten the drainage. Various treatments are also necessary to protect your dog’s eye from getting infected. Where severe, surgical drainage may be necessary for the stye to heal.

Are Dog Styes Contagious to other Dogs?

Although both humans and dogs suffer from styes, the two cannot pass the infections to each other. While this is the case, are dog styes contagious to other dogs? Styes in dogs involve infection of the hair follicle. It is therefore not possible to pass on the infection directly to other pets.

How to treat a Dog Stye on Eyelid at Home

My dog has a stye on her upper eyelid, what should I do?

The most important part of getting rid of a dog stye is keeping it clean to avoid infections as well as draining it so that the liquid in it does not crust around the eye. The routine should be pretty simple as illustrated below. With this procedure, secondary infections are prevented.

  1. Using a washcloth, clean up your dog’s face. Use some fragrance-free soap and warm water to thoroughly clean the eyes. Remove the debris to keep them from building up. Repeat cleaning procedure at least twice daily.
  2. Soak a clean hand towel in warm water. Wring out excess water so that it is moist but not dripping. Hold this on the dog stye on the eye and press it down for a minute.
  3. Release the compress and soak the cloth once more. Repeat procedure until the stye on eyelid appears fully drained.
  4. Repeat this procedure twice daily. It helps prevent the dog stye fluid from building up and crusting around the eye as well as keeps it clean to prevent infection.

Natural and Home Remedies for Dog Stye on Eyelid

In addition to keeping the stye on dog clean to avoid infections, there are some natural and home remedy cures you can use on your pet to hasten the drainage and help cure it fast. These include:

1.      Tea Bag Compresses for Styes in Dog’s Eye

Tea possesses astringent properties and act as inflammatory treatments. A tea bag compress can help relieve the discomfort that comes with a stye on dog’s eyelid by eliminating swelling and reducing swelling.

tea bag for dog stye
tea bag for dog stye
  • Get a tea bag and steep it in hot water for 10 minutes.
  • Remove the tea bag from the water and allow it to cool to levels comfortable for the dog’s skin. Rest this on the stye for 15 minutes.
  • In case the dog is not settled enough to allow you to hold the tea bag that long, reduce the duration of time and increase the frequency of compress application.

2.      Coriander Seeds Infusion for Dog Stye on Eyelid Treatment

Coriander seeds too are a great home treatment for dog styes. They are a perfect remedy for infected styes on dogs. To cool the dog’s eyelids:

  • Add a teaspoon of coriander seeds into a cup of water and bring it to a boil.
  • Strain these seeds and allow the resulting mixture to cool down.
  • Use it to wash the eyelids up to four times a day.

3.      Turmeric to Stye in Dog’s Eye Cure

The turmeric herb is known for its natural health benefits. It is beneficial for the skin and can help get rid of dog styes that are in your pets eye.

  • Add a tablespoon of turmeric to two cups of water and bring the mixture to a boil.
  • Allow boiling until the liquid reduces to half the initial amount.
  • Using a cheesecloth strain the liquid and use the remainder as eye drops for dogs.

4.      Chamomile Tea Dog Stye Cure

To cure a dog stye, you could make use of chamomile tea. It has anti-inflammatory properties and will help reduce swelling and eliminate redness on the dog’s eye.

  • Prepare some chamomile tea and allow it to cool to comfortable levels.
  • Dip a cotton ball into the tea and use it to apply the chamomile tea treatment on the dog’s stye while holding the ball on it for two to three minutes.
  • Repeat this four times through the day until the stye is healed.

5.      Dog Stye Medication

At times, the swelling and inflammation caused by a stye on dog eye may be severe and warrant professional treatment. Other times, you may prefer to make do with a ready-made dog eye stye treatment as opposed to the home remedies for styes in dogs discussed.

In any of the above cases, you can consult your veterinarian so they can recommend a relevant treatment and medication. Eye ointments and washes can be great for dog styes that are infected. Where necessary, your vet could also prescribe eye drops. Cortisone is also another form of treatment for dog stye. This may be recommended in cases where the eye is swollen and suffering extreme inflammation.

Dog Stye Surgical Removal

Where none of the dog stye treatments discussed above seems to work, it is important to have the stye removed surgically by a professional. Visit your vet for the same. The process of removal involves cutting through the stye with a sterilized scalpel and draining it out. A local anesthesia will be used while the process is being done. The dog could also be sedated depending on your vet.

Once the procedure is over, a saline eyewash will be issued. This should be used as instructed to prevent post-operation infections.

Tips for Caring for Dog Eye Stye

In addition to the above dog stye treatment options, here are additional tips to help deal with it:

  • Do not use any item to pop up a stye as doing so could worsen the infection. Simply stick to the warm compresses.
  • In most cases, a dog eye stye will not bleed. It might, however, have some bloody drainage. In case you notice bleeding from a dog stye, seek immediate medical attention.
  • When the stye in dog’s eye lump is draining itself, ensure you keep the area clean to avoid crusts from forming around the eye.
  • Always use a clan piece of cloth or cotton ball during each cleaning.
  • Where the dog stye does not seem to get better with time and it hasn’t healed within a couple of days, visit your veterinarian to further advice on where a surgical removal is necessary.
  • Always wear gloves when handling the infection to avoid cross-contamination. Once you are done, remember to wash your hands.

4 Comments

  1. Does a with turn black and call off? Does it come back after it falls off?

Comments are closed.