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Corneal ulcer is a kind of ulcer that affects the cornea of the eyes. Cornea is the transparent and dome shaped film that provides cover for the eyes. There is no single blood vessel in cornea, as it is a shiny thin layer and its main task is to allow the light that falls on it to fall on the retina of the eyes. But if anything happens to the cornea, you do feel the pain and the discomfort, as cornea contains several nerve fibers that are interconnected to pain receptors. Corneal ulcer can affect the health of your pet and in dogs it can also cause blindness.
In pets the main job of cornea is to allow the light to refract and it helps the pets to focus on any object. Cornea has four layers, out of which the outer layer acts like a protective shield and don’t allow entry to microorganisms into the eye. Thus also prevents eye from all kinds of eye infections. Hence when this outer layer of cornea gets damaged then the pet falls sick. As microorganisms and bacteria can directly enter the eye and cause several eye infections, the pet health can get severely damaged. The corneal ulcer is a condition that is extremely painful and it can spread to other layers of cornea also within very short duration. In many cases corneal ulcer causes so much damage that it cannot be treated in any way.
Causes of Corneal Ulcer -
Any injury or abrasion no matter how minor it is can lead to corneal ulcer. Dogs have the habit of rubbing their face with their paws. These habits can casue injury to eye or when other animals scratch your dog then also there is chance of eye injury that can lead to corneal ulcer.
Symptoms of Corneal Ulcer -
You should regularly check your pet so as to know if there is any change in their behavior or the way their eyes are appearing. Some of the common corneal ulcer symptoms are redness of the eyes, increased tearing, squinting, some discharge from eyes that can be yellow or green in color, cloudiness on the cornea and pink colored eye. Along with this your pet will be lethargic and will rub its eye constantly. You will find your pet in terrible mood and you can surely notice these changes in your pet, if you observe your pet regularly.
Diagnosis of Corneal Ulcer -
If you see any of the above-mentioned symptoms in your pet, then take your pet to a veterinarian. The vet will do full eye check and will decide whether your pet has corneal ulcer or not. The vet will also put some eye dye in your pet's eyes so as to know the severity of the disease. This will also help in detecting the presence of any unknown object inside the eyes of your pet.
Treatment for Corneal ulcer –
After your pet is diagnosed with corneal ulcer, the vet will decide the proper treatment for curing it. The vet will give you an eye drop that you have supposed to put inside the eyes of your pet for the limited period of time. The vet will also give an ointment and eye cream that you have to apply on the infected eye of your pet 5 to 6 times in a day.
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