One day, Chamggae started rubbing one of her eyes over and over.
Usually, when she licks or scratches herself, all I have to do is call her name in a firm voice and she stops, or at least tries to while glancing at me. This time was different. She kept pawing at the eye no matter what.
Something felt wrong, so I took a closer look. She was having trouble even opening that eye. A little later, the area around it started to swell.
It was already past midnight. I thought about waiting until morning, but it didn’t seem like something that could wait, so we went right away. Luckily, her vet runs a 24-hour clinic.
When I explained the symptoms, the vet suggested checking for a scratch on the cornea. The test was a fluorescein stain test, where eye drops containing a fluorescent dye are put into the eye to show right away whether the cornea is damaged.
The vet said corneal scratches are fairly common. Thinking back, Chamggae had played pretty roughly with a friend earlier that day, and I suspected that was when it happened.
The results came back quickly. As expected, there was a scratch on her cornea.
In the photo above, the green dye should only sit along the bottom of the eye, but you can see a thin line of it on one side of the eyeball. That’s where the scratch is.
She got two injections and a prescription for eye drops. The vet said there was no need for a follow-up visit as long as I put the drops in every four hours.
Back home, Chamggae looked completely miserable, one eye swollen and making sure everyone knew she was hurting. She kept pawing at it, so I put a cone on her.
The injections seemed to work well. By the next morning, she could open her eye again and had stopped rubbing it. I kept up with the eye drops, and the scratch healed as if nothing had happened.
Dogs can also scratch their eyes on branches during walks, or pick up tiny particles when they stick their heads out of a car window. Some breeds may be more prone to it depending on the shape of their face.
From now on, I’ll keep a closer eye on her when she plays face-to-face with other dogs.
Dog Corneal Scratch: Signs It’s Time to See the Vet
In Chamggae’s case, she kept rubbing only one eye with her paw, didn’t stop even when I called her name, had trouble opening the eye, and then the area around it began to swell. If you see signs like these, I think it’s better to get your dog seen right away rather than waiting until the next day.
Until you can get to the vet, putting a cone on your dog to stop the rubbing can help.
Chamggae’s scratch was fortunately shallow, and she got better within a day with just injections and eye drops. But recovery can vary depending on how deep the scratch is, so please make sure your dog is examined by a vet.