Those Unsightly Eye Stains
Eye staining! Oh the trials and tribulations! There is no subject on any of the list serves that comes up more frequently than this
one. God, Allah, Yaweh, Krishna and Mohammad bless all those long time participants in dutifully replying to a newbies cry for
help.
There are as many answers as questions about what causes eye staining. I will provide you with the answers I have heard
and/or researched which make sense to me.
1) Regardless of why some dogs produce more tears than others, the reason the staining occurs is due to a substance
called porphyrin that is present in tears. When porphrin is exposed to light, it turns reddish brown in the same way chlorophyll
turns green. Since Cotons are white, this discoloration becomes very apparent.
2) Many if not most puppies go through a stage of eye staining; some more than others. There seems to be a consistency
in litters with respect to the degree of eye staining. This may be a result of other reasons I will mention later. Sometimes the
eye staining clears as they grow older, sometimes not. Staining can occur with teething as a consequence of pressure areas
in the upper jaw changing the angle of the space beneath the eye.
3) Whether your Coton stains or not is a consequence of several factors: the facial structure of the eye, the angle at which
the hair is growing around the eye and likely some other factors I don’t know about yet. Regarding the facial structure, some
dogs structure provide a little “shelf” for the tears to pool and in so doing allow more time for exposure to the chemical reaction
with light. The mechanism of hair growth stimulates increased tear production through irritation, the same mechanism that will
cause your eye to tear when confronted with a foreign body. With the addition of more tears, the turnaround time for tears to
evaporate decreases thereby allowing more tears to be exposed to the air which results in increase staining.
4) In some cases the tear duct is not patent or the lower lid is too shallow. Both of condition result in an increase
accumulation of tears spilling onto the outside of the eye; the more tears, the more discoloration!
5) The possibility of infection should always be considered in the event of a change from baseline. If your dog has not had
much tear-staining and suddenly develops stains, a visit to your vet is in order.
So now that we know some of the causes, what can we do to prevent or fix it? The remedies are equal to or greater than the
causes. There are pros and cons for each treatment some of which concern your lifestyle and what is realistic for you to do.
1) Tylan added to the water daily will interfere with the reaction of porphrin with light. Tylan is an antibiotic so the cause and
effect is not entirely clear to me. I suspect that since an antibiotic is involved there must be some sort of bacteria that work with
the porphryn and light to cause the staining. This is probably the easiest remedy but I a personally reluctant to give antibiotics
on a daily basis just for the sake of cosmetic appeal. However, keep in mind that there are thousands of people on daily doses
of antibiotics for the prevention of acne (including myself), so who am I to judge? Also, the amount of antibiotic required is
really very small. How antibiotic administration could be managed in a multidog household is another question. This particular
antibiotic should not be given to pregnant bitches or puppies as it can result in tooth discoloration. There are definitely foods
that result in an increase in eye staining. I experienced this personally with Iams dog food. I also have noticed a difference in
beard staining between using purified water and tap water. I haven’t noticed that this has any effect on the eyes.
2) I have heard many people swear by Angel Eyes which is a product that can be found on the internet. Just do a google
search by entering angel eyes dogs and a number of websites will pop up. I appreciate the explanation provided about how
their product works:
“Angels’ Eyes works to prevent tear staining by tying up circulating porphyrins. A porphyrin is a compound that reacts with light
to produce a reddish brown stain to the medial canthus. The ingredients in Angels' Eyes will prevent your dog from contracting
Ptyrosporin (Red Yeast) and bacterial infections which causes excess tearing and staining.”
This appeals to my passion for knowledge based on evidence or at the very least, containing logic.
3) A cheaper solution is to use Boric acid mixed with distilled water. This definitely works as long as you apply it religiously
each night for at least six weeks and then on a somewhat regular basis after the initial therapy. I know this works because I
have used it. Unfortunately, my religion didn’t have the staying power necessary for maintenance so the stains are back and I
haven’t yet become born again. Should you decide you have what it takes, I will provide instruction. Basically, you mix up about
three tablespoons of pharmacy grade Boric Acid in a cup of boiling distilled water and stir until dissolved. You will store this in
a bottle from which you will be able to either squeeze out a controlled amount of well-placed solution or simply or wet a cotton
ball or pad. Contrary to some sources, you do not want to get Boric Acid in the eye However, should a small amount
inadvertently find itself in your dog’s eyes, do not worry.
So, now you have the Boric acid solution in a manageable container. If you were fortunate to find the perfect squeeze
container, you will invert the bottle and carefully squeeze several drops onto the hair on the inner aspect of the eye, AKA, the
part that’s stained. After doing so, you will take one or several cotton balls and firmly wipe away the solution and hopefully
along with it, some of the discoloration. If using a cotton ball in conjunction with the container holding the solution, just simply
wet the cotton ball and wipe. You will do this every night until the staining is gone. Subsequently you the go to the maintenance
part of the program, which is probably every 3-4 days but I wouldn’t know for sure since I flunked maintenance. My excuse is
that I have more dogs than you, what’s yours?
Eye staining! Oh the trials and tribulations! There is no subject on any of the list serves that comes up more frequently than this
one. God, Allah, Yaweh, Krishna and Mohammad bless all those long time participants in dutifully replying to a newbies cry for
help.
There are as many answers as questions about what causes eye staining. I will provide you with the answers I have heard
and/or researched which make sense to me.
1) Regardless of why some dogs produce more tears than others, the reason the staining occurs is due to a substance
called porphyrin that is present in tears. When porphrin is exposed to light, it turns reddish brown in the same way chlorophyll
turns green. Since Cotons are white, this discoloration becomes very apparent.
2) Many if not most puppies go through a stage of eye staining; some more than others. There seems to be a consistency
in litters with respect to the degree of eye staining. This may be a result of other reasons I will mention later. Sometimes the
eye staining clears as they grow older, sometimes not. Staining can occur with teething as a consequence of pressure areas
in the upper jaw changing the angle of the space beneath the eye.
3) Whether your Coton stains or not is a consequence of several factors: the facial structure of the eye, the angle at which
the hair is growing around the eye and likely some other factors I don’t know about yet. Regarding the facial structure, some
dogs structure provide a little “shelf” for the tears to pool and in so doing allow more time for exposure to the chemical reaction
with light. The mechanism of hair growth stimulates increased tear production through irritation, the same mechanism that will
cause your eye to tear when confronted with a foreign body. With the addition of more tears, the turnaround time for tears to
evaporate decreases thereby allowing more tears to be exposed to the air which results in increase staining.
4) In some cases the tear duct is not patent or the lower lid is too shallow. Both of condition result in an increase
accumulation of tears spilling onto the outside of the eye; the more tears, the more discoloration!
5) The possibility of infection should always be considered in the event of a change from baseline. If your dog has not had
much tear-staining and suddenly develops stains, a visit to your vet is in order.
So now that we know some of the causes, what can we do to prevent or fix it? The remedies are equal to or greater than the
causes. There are pros and cons for each treatment some of which concern your lifestyle and what is realistic for you to do.
1) Tylan added to the water daily will interfere with the reaction of porphrin with light. Tylan is an antibiotic so the cause and
effect is not entirely clear to me. I suspect that since an antibiotic is involved there must be some sort of bacteria that work with
the porphryn and light to cause the staining. This is probably the easiest remedy but I a personally reluctant to give antibiotics
on a daily basis just for the sake of cosmetic appeal. However, keep in mind that there are thousands of people on daily doses
of antibiotics for the prevention of acne (including myself), so who am I to judge? Also, the amount of antibiotic required is
really very small. How antibiotic administration could be managed in a multidog household is another question. This particular
antibiotic should not be given to pregnant bitches or puppies as it can result in tooth discoloration. There are definitely foods
that result in an increase in eye staining. I experienced this personally with Iams dog food. I also have noticed a difference in
beard staining between using purified water and tap water. I haven’t noticed that this has any effect on the eyes.
2) I have heard many people swear by Angel Eyes which is a product that can be found on the internet. Just do a google
search by entering angel eyes dogs and a number of websites will pop up. I appreciate the explanation provided about how
their product works:
“Angels’ Eyes works to prevent tear staining by tying up circulating porphyrins. A porphyrin is a compound that reacts with light
to produce a reddish brown stain to the medial canthus. The ingredients in Angels' Eyes will prevent your dog from contracting
Ptyrosporin (Red Yeast) and bacterial infections which causes excess tearing and staining.”
This appeals to my passion for knowledge based on evidence or at the very least, containing logic.
3) A cheaper solution is to use Boric acid mixed with distilled water. This definitely works as long as you apply it religiously
each night for at least six weeks and then on a somewhat regular basis after the initial therapy. I know this works because I
have used it. Unfortunately, my religion didn’t have the staying power necessary for maintenance so the stains are back and I
haven’t yet become born again. Should you decide you have what it takes, I will provide instruction. Basically, you mix up about
three tablespoons of pharmacy grade Boric Acid in a cup of boiling distilled water and stir until dissolved. You will store this in
a bottle from which you will be able to either squeeze out a controlled amount of well-placed solution or simply or wet a cotton
ball or pad. Contrary to some sources, you do not want to get Boric Acid in the eye However, should a small amount
inadvertently find itself in your dog’s eyes, do not worry.
So, now you have the Boric acid solution in a manageable container. If you were fortunate to find the perfect squeeze
container, you will invert the bottle and carefully squeeze several drops onto the hair on the inner aspect of the eye, AKA, the
part that’s stained. After doing so, you will take one or several cotton balls and firmly wipe away the solution and hopefully
along with it, some of the discoloration. If using a cotton ball in conjunction with the container holding the solution, just simply
wet the cotton ball and wipe. You will do this every night until the staining is gone. Subsequently you the go to the maintenance
part of the program, which is probably every 3-4 days but I wouldn’t know for sure since I flunked maintenance. My excuse is
that I have more dogs than you, what’s yours?