If your pet has inflamed eyes with pus and other fluids leaking from them, then chances are that your animal has conjunctivitis. When a pet gets this eye infection, it can also be referred to as red eye or pink eye. Medically, this is the inflammation of the conjunctivital membrane that covers the back of the eyelids and the surface of the eyeball. It goes all the way up to the cornea.

This is a common eye problem in dogs, and can often be treated with the proper medical attention and medication. Conjunctivitis is easy to identify, as your dog's eyes will get red and have a mucous-like discharge. It is not typically painful, but rather is irritating. Pets with this illness may tend to squint, or the discharge may glue their eye shut, making it hard for them to blink.

If your pet seems to be in legitimate pain, and tries to scratch at his or her eye or blink excessively, then you may want to consider the possibility of another, more severe eye disease. Pups can also contract keratitis, glaucoma, and uveitis. If you fail to quickly treat any of these eye conditions, it can lead to permanent blindness, so you will want to get a veterinarian involved as soon as possible. In some cases, your dog may have a discharge in both eyes.

While this is often a sign of pink eye, make sure that it is not an allegoric reaction to new pollen in the air or another airborne chemical. You will also want to make sure that your pet does not have canine distemper. When the discharge is only in one eye, you should make sure that there is not a foreign body in the eye before automatically diagnosing the illness as conjunctivitis.

If you have explored all possibilities and come to the conclusion that your pet must have conjunctivitis, then you will want to seek medical attention. Normally, dogs develop this illness because they have an inadequate tear volume which makes their eyes dry. Serous conjunctivitis is considered a mild condition. Normally it is caused by physical irritants. Your pet can contract conjunctivitis just because of dust in the air, wind outside, or a drop in the temperature. Sometimes allergens can also cause this illness. When a pet has allergic conjunctivitis, he or she will probably try to rub his or her face on carpet or furniture because the eye will itch.

Another type of conjunctivitis is follicular conjunctivitis. This is a condition win which the small mucous glands on the underside of the membrane in the eye react to an infection by forming a rough surface. As a result, this will irritate the eye and cause a mucous discharge. Oftentimes the follicles can become a chronic irritant if the situation is not resolved quickly. Pets can also receive a form of this illness called purulent conjunctivitis. This is a serous conjunctivitis that gets infected with dangerous bacteria.

The basic version of the illness (serous conjunctivitis) can be treated with saline eyewash or artificial tears. While you can typically treat the illness yourself with a saline solution, you may want to consider taking your pet to the vet if his or her eyes seem to be getting worse. If your pet has follicular conjunctivitis, then you may want to give your pet a corticosteroid eye antibiotic to try and treat the problem. You can also take your animal to the veterinarian to get an eye ointment prescription. In cases where the disease persists, a veterinarian may need to a chemical cauterization which will get rid of the follicles. This will need to be performed by a trained professional.

If your dog has purulent conjunctivitis, then you will want to take him or her to the veterinarian immediately. It is very important that a vet remove the mucus and pus from the eyes and eyelids. You can also continue to take on this responsibility after you have taken you pet home. In addition to this, you may need to apply topical antibiotics to your pet's eyes and continue those medications even after the apparent cure.

Dogs with purulent conjunctivitis should never be treated with corticosteroid medications as these can impair the local inflammatory response that will help to fight the infection. If you are raising puppies and they have neonatal conjunctivitis when they first open their eyes, then you will also need a professional to help you. You will not want to treat these sensitive new puppies on your own, so make sure to have an attorney there to help you immediately.