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My dog has red eyes. Can I diagnose and treat dog conjunctivitis at home?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Chihuahua | Female | spayed | 13 years and 4 months old | 5.4 lbs

I am almost positive my dog has conjunctivitis, are there ways to confirm this myself, or do I absolutely need to take her in? And if it is, are there ways to treat it myself?

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Jeffrey Milner

Veterinarian

Published on May 25th, 2017

By definition, conjunctivitis is simply an inflammation of the conjunctival membranes in the eye. Usually this appears as redness and swelling of these associated tissues. Often, conjunctivitis is paired with scleritis and corneal ulceration. While anyone can simply look at the eye and plainly see that it is red and inflamed, the most important thing is to make sure that the corneal is not ulcerated. A staining solution has to be placed on the surface of the eye, and then a cobalt blue light is utilized to determine if there are any scratches. The reason we do this prior to treating is because the choice of medication differs considerably if there is versus isn't an ulcer present. The eye medication can not include a steroid if there is an ulcer or it will make things worse or delay the healing process considerably. Hope this helps.

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