Cataracts in Dogs: Causes and Treatment

Like humans, many breeds of dogs are susceptible to certain ailments. Such a disease, as a cataract, is common in dogs. It sometimes flows at the beginning imperceptibly, but with time it is considerably aggravated. Therefore, it is important to detect this ailment in time and begin treatment.

What is cataract in dogs?

Experienced breeders recommend before purchasing a puppy to ask the owners about the health of the parents of the baby. It is always preferable to pay more for a healthy dog with a good heredity, than to treat it later.

What is cataract in dogs? This is a violation of the transparency of the lens, which leads to a decrease in vision. If in the early stages of the disease does not greatly affect the quality of vision, then over time, there is a fogging up to complete blindness. Of course, most problems with vision occur in older animals, but cataracts in dogs can occur at any age.

In addition, it is worth noting that distinguish between congenital disease and acquired. Congenital cataracts are rare. But the acquired - more often. It can occur as a result of trauma, after inflammatory eye diseases, as a result of diabetes, etc.

The lens of the eye is nothing more than a transparent biological lens that focuses light streams on the retina of the eye. In the normal state, it is transparent and elastic, which gives it the ability to change shape, adjust vision at different distances. With age, the lens loses its elasticity and hardens, and therefore loses its natural properties.

Causes of the disease

Cataract eyes in the dog occurs for various reasons. The precondition for the development of the disease can be thermal, mechanical and chemical injuries. Also, the presence of common diseases, such as, for example, diabetes mellitus, affects not the best way.

The cause of cataracts may be a genetic predisposition. In addition, acquiring a pet, it is necessary to study what diseases the breed is exposed to. For example, cataracts are more likely to suffer from cocker spaniels, poodles, golden retrievers and miniature schnauzers. The disease can be present from birth or begin to develop between the first and third years of life.

Cataract in dogs: symptoms

Age cataract occurs in animals older than eight years. In breeds predisposed to this disease, the first manifestations can occur much earlier. Symptoms of cataracts are very different, but in general it is necessary to focus on the visual impairment of the dog. When the disease develops, partial and, in the future, complete clouding of the lens is observed . The process may initially be invisible if it occurs in the peripheral areas. And if the central part of the organ is affected, the visual impairment comes quickly enough, because the cloudy lens blocks the way to the rays of light.

It is very important to monitor the health of the animal's eyes and contact the veterinarian at the first symptoms. The lack of proper treatment leads to the fact that the disease can go beyond the eye tissues. In this case, there is a blockage of natural outflow of fluid from the eyes, which leads to the development of glaucoma.

Veterinarians emphasize that almost always you can immediately notice the first symptoms of cataracts, if you are attentive to your pet. And this will allow to start treatment on time.

Diagnosis of the disease

The appearance of the first alarming symptoms is a signal to an immediate appeal to a specialist who will help you to understand the situation. The fact is that many of the signs of cataracts are similar to other eye diseases. Therefore, only a veterinarian, if equipped, will be able to correctly diagnose an animal, which affects how the further treatment will be carried out.

All the diagnosis of cataract can be divided into four stages:

1. The expert fully examines the dog and determines the general state of health.
2. Then the external part of the eyes is examined.
3. In the event that a specialist has reasonable suspicions about the presence of cataracts, an electroretinogram is performed, which allows to determine the type and stage of the disease.

Only in the presence of diagnostic results, a veterinarian can make an accurate diagnosis and prescribe the right treatment.

Stages of the disease

A lot depends on the stage at which the cataract is found in the dog. Treatment directly depends on the degree of neglect of the disease.

So, we can distinguish several stages:

1. The initial cataract is manifested in the turbidity of the lens, which appears along the periphery. At the same time, vision is disturbed to an insignificant degree. An animal may simply not see individual parts of objects.
2. Immature cataract is a process in which turbidity occurs in the central part of the optical zone of the lens. In this case, the dog sees only the outlines of objects.
3. Mature cataract - opacities occupy the entire area of the lens. Vision falls so much that only light is left. The animal ceases to orient in the surrounding space.
4. Perezrela cataract is a stage on which the destruction of lens fibers occurs, the lens itself becomes completely milky white. At this stage, even the light effect can become wrong.

Then comes a period of major complications: glaucoma, fakolitic uveitis, iridocyclitis. The rate of development of the disease is a very individual parameter, which depends on many factors, including the general health of the dog.

Often the breeders do not notice the first manifestations of the disease on time and come to the veterinarian when the cataract is already mature or overripe, and this complicates the treatment.

Conservative therapy

Much depends on the stage at which a cataract is found in a dog. Treatment of a conservative nature is possible only in the early stages, and even then with it you can not get rid of the disease. It simply prevents the process of rapid progress of the disease.

Unfortunately, Cataract drops for dogs have not been developed yet. And even universal means for the prevention of the development of the disease are also unknown. Therefore, the only possible solution is surgical intervention.

Operative intervention

How to treat cataract in dogs? Currently, the only way to effectively treat is surgery. And it is worth understanding that it is better to conduct it in the early stages.

Cataract removal for a dog is an operation in the course of which a clouded lens is replaced with an IOL (intraocular lens) or an artificial lens. Why is it important to start treatment in the early stages? The fact is that in an unannounced form, surgical intervention with the help of low-traumatic technology using ultrasound is possible. This technique is called phacoemulsification.

The operation to remove cataract in dogs by phacoemulsification is as follows. The lens is crushed with ultrasound, turning it into an emulsion. After this, through a small puncture with a diameter of up to 2 millimeters, the emulsion is removed. And in place of the old lens through the same incision in a collapsed form, an artificial elastic lens is introduced. Then he straightens in the lens bag and takes his natural position. The puncture is done in the peripheral part of the cornea, which sometimes allows not even to apply seams, since this part has the property of self-sealing, and therefore independently heals within seven to ten days. Sometimes the stitches are nevertheless superimposed, it all depends on what decision the surgeon will make.

Treatment in advanced stages

Modern equipment makes it possible to perform phacoemulsification at various degrees of cataract maturity, even when overripe. However, a more favorable option for the patient and surgeon is the operation performed in the early stages. At this time, the lens is still soft enough, so it can be removed with minimal tissue trauma. Currently, viscoelastics are used in the course of operations - these are special viscous substances that are injected into the eye to protect it from injury. This approach makes operative intervention even more sparing.

The only weighty drawback of such operations is their high cost.

Whether other ways of treatment are possible or probable?

Can I get rid of conservative methods from such a disease as cataract in dogs? Treatment, drops, drugs, advertised by dishonest manufacturers, not only will not help cure such ailment, but also can lead to deterioration of the animal's condition. Currently, there are no drugs that can reduce the growth of cataracts or prevent its appearance. Therefore, the only way to treat people and animals is surgery.

Preventive measures

In order to protect your pet from all sorts of diseases, it is necessary to carry out preventive measures. Therefore it is very important to regularly show the dog to the veterinarian so that dangerous symptoms can be detected on time.

Experienced breeders recommend adhering to certain rules:

1. When purchasing an animal, check the pedigree. The documents usually indicate the disease.
2. Regularly inspect your pet.
3. Try not to allow injury to the eyes of the animal.
4. For dogs, diabetes is dangerous. If your dog has such a disease, then first it is necessary to treat it, and only then - cataract.
5. Always try to keep the condition of your four-legged friend under control.

Following such simple advice, you can protect your pet and prevent the development of ailment.

Folk methods

As we have already said, cataract in dogs (photos are given in the article) is treated only with the help of an operative intervention. Of course, there are a lot of folk recipes that guarantee a quick recovery of the pet. Whether to use such folk remedies or not, it's up to you. But you should not start the disease.

Here are three most popular options for preparing folk remedies for cataracts:

1. In a water bath, you must melt the honey. For treatment it is best to use May or acacia. Within three weeks, it is necessary to dig in the eyes of the dog twice a day. Then take a break for four months, then repeat the course again.
2. Two tablespoons of calendula flowers should be poured into 0.5 l of boiled hot water, wrap and insist for half an hour. Then wash the eyes of the dog with a liquid several times a day.
3. Crushed chamomile, burdock and petals of rose hips mix in equal quantities. Next, prepare two pans for a water bath. In the smaller dishes we cover the grass and water. We put it in a water bath, bring it to a boil and reduce the heat. After a while, remove the pan from the fire. The present liquid can be used as drops after percolation.

Traditional methods of cataract treatment are ineffective, so any drops and remedies should be used after consultation of the veterinarian, because it is very important not to aggravate the condition of the animal.

How to prepare a pet for surgery?

It is necessary to know that the operation of dogs is carried out under general anesthesia. Therefore, it is very important that the animal is in good physical shape. Before surgery advise to visit a veterinarian and make general tests. Some surgeons recommend using eye drops before the operation to relieve inflammation. They can be instillated for two weeks before surgery. And before the appointed day, the frequency of application can be increased.

As a rule, surgeons recommend "Flurbiprofen" - these are classic anti-inflammatory drops, prescribed before the removal of cataracts.

In addition, it is not necessary to feed the dog for half a day before surgery, so that food intake does not affect the medications used during the intervention. But diabetic dogs, on the contrary, should be fed and given the right portion of insulin, since any diet for such an animal is extremely harmful.

Instead of an afterword

Postoperative rehabilitation of dogs occurs quickly enough. It will take several more times to pay a visit to a veterinarian and wear a special collar. Otherwise, caring for an animal is not complicated. In most cases, a timely operation will restore the eyesight of the pet. Therefore it is very important to always monitor the animal and visit the veterinarian regularly.