What is dry eye and does it have a long term/permanent damage on a puppy/dog? Can it be treated easily? Does a dog recover from it fully? Does it make a dog go blind?

Hello

In the early stages of the disease, the main symptom is that the conjunctiva appears red , indicating inflamation , and the eye can be very painful , resulting in spasm of the eyelids making it difficult to examine.

Later this acute pain diminishes and only a mild irritation persists. There is often a thick yellow discharge from the eye , that can be very profuse.
The cornea appears dull , this is evident by viewing the reflection of a light bulb or a window into the cornea , instead of a good , clear reflection there is an indistinct blurred one.

As the condition progresses , the cornea becomes invaded with blood vessels and pigment. This obviously reduces the ability of light to pass through the cornea and the affected dog can become blind as a result.
Corneal ulcers can also occur and are usually very painful.

Antibiotics are required for the bacterial infection , and steroids are useful to inhibit the migration of new blood vessels into the cornea.

In dogs where there is an identifiable , underlying cause , such as thyroid hormone deficiency , thyroid hormone tablets are usually successful at treating this.
There are two types of long term medical treatment for "dry eye" , drugs that are used to wet the eye (artificial tears) , and drugs to stimulate tear production.

HTH , HELEN