Dog Third Eyelid Inflammation & Mucousy Eye Discharge

Hi Jane,

(Thank you for the photos!)

This may require a lot of back and forth emailing but here goes:

Since this is a chronic situation, she will need a ‘chronic’ remedy. Silicea (a homeopathic remedy) comes up top of the list when I put in the symptoms for chronic inflammation, inflamed conjunctiva with discharge of mucous that is yellow.

1. Give her Silicea 6c or 12c either dry pellet by mouth,(pull out her lower lip at the corner, and drop in a pellet) or dissolve one pellet in Spring Water to give with an eye dropper by mouth TWO times daily.

2. Her third eyelids have been inflamed so long and irritated due to the discharge that she needs to have her eyes cleaned. Will she allow you to clean the mucous by squirting saline into her eyes? Or at least wiping the inner corners of her eyes with a damp wash cloth or cotton?

3. Diet- She should NOT eat only dry dog food. She needs some *fresh* food in her diet to provide moisture. Add 1 cup of cooked green beans plus 1/3 cup cooked carrots, and 2-3 TBSP RAW chicken, turkey, beef or lamb in every meal. You can alternate vegetables and use yams, or white potatoes with zucchini or broccoli.

4. Vaccinations- If this started after a vaccination, then I would NOT want to give her any more vaccinations. If she is DUE for a vaccination, (even Rabies), I would advise NOT to vaccinate her. Read Dr Richard Pitcairn’s book, Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats, section on ‘Harmful Effects of Vaccinations’.

5. Try one or more of the following three supplements to boost her immune system:
1. Missing Link Canine Formula
2. Immuplex from Standard Process
3. OrthoMolecular Specialties, Mega C Powder

Please keep us posted by coming back to this page and clicking the ‘click here to add your own comments’ link below.

Take care,
Dr. Carol Jean Tillman

DISCLAIMER: The above should never replace the advice of your local veterinarian, as they have the ability to evaluate your dog in person.

1. I ordered the silicea.
2. She does NOT like the saline in her eyes, but I’ll keep at it. I do clean them with washrag regularly.
3. This will be hard. They have been on dry diet, top of line food. I have been Using Grandma Lucy’s Chicken freeze dried as an adjunct treat 2-3 times a week. Will step that up. Even though living in rural area we have NO fresh produce. All they produce out here is oil and natural gas.
I have freeze dried veggies, which I’ll add to Lucy’s. Is that acceptable? I’ll try to add some fresh meat (not something I use much of).
4. She just had Vaccinations 3/5/13, but problem existed prior. Lots of wild critters out here so I have kept vaccinating. Maybe should stop?
5. I have been using TUrkey Tail Mushroom for other dog tentatively diagnosed with hemangiosarcoma (I’m skeptical). Will start giving it to her too for immune system. Univ of PA did clinical studies on Turkey Tail that were impressive.
I may sign up to fill you in on other dog supposedly with sarcoma. He definitely has HUGE tumorin belly by ultrasound.
THANK YOU SO MUCH, YOU ARE ALL GREAT!!!!!
Jane Saville

Hi Jane,

While waiting for the Silicea, it sounds like we will need to ‘fine tune’ her diet!

You wrote,
“They have been on dry diet, top of line food. I have been Using Grandma Lucy’s Chicken freeze dried as an adjunct treat 2-3 times a week. Will step that up. Even though living in rural area we have NO fresh produce. All they produce out here is oil and natural gas.I have freeze dried veggies, which I’ll add to Lucy’s. Is that acceptable?”

Lucy weighs 134 lbs. She needs about 1,600 calories per day. (I am not sure how active she is, so this may need to be adjusted). If you feed her two times daily, then each meal should have 800 calories.

Use your ‘top of the line’ dry food as a base. So she gets 400-500 calories (1/2-2/3) of her meal from the dry food, and the rest of the calories should be from cooked or canned green beans plus cooked or canned carrots and the 2-3 TBSP of raw chicken or turkey, depending on the calorie count. Would that be possible??

What do you eat? Are yams or sweet potatoes available? Dogs can eat most of the same vegetables as people EXCEPT NO ONIONS, NO RAW PORK or RAW FISH, NO TOMATOES and NO CITRUS.

For your other dog with hemangiosarcoma, almost his entire diet should be vegetables and raw meat with NO dry food.

Since Lucy JUST had a vaccination, the Silicea will be even more important to get started!

OK, keep us posted!

Take care,
Dr. Carol Jean Tillman

DISCLAIMER: The above should never replace the advice of your local veterinarian, as they have the ability to evaluate your dog in person.

Hi, Dr. Tillman,
I have been giving Marlee 6c of silicea 3 times daily for 8 days, am using turkey tail mushroom caps for immune system, and she is getting rehydrated Grandma Lucy’s along with pumpkin or veggies, and a large medallion of Nature’s Logic Beef or several chunks of fresh stew meat. She is eating very little dry food. Her eyes are no better. I had the vet out to euthanize my other dog with hemangiosarcoma a week ago (he quit eating and was vomiting all the water he drank) and the vet looked at her eyes and had NO suggestions. Am I expecting too much too soon? I am really getting concerned and don’t know what to do at this point.
Thanks for any further suggestions you might have.
I can’t even bear the thought of losing both of my dogs, the one has really torn me up.

Jane Saville

Hi Jane,
April 9, 2013

You wrote,
“giving Marlee 6c of silicea 3 times daily for 8 days… Her eyes are no better”

At the beginning of the original post, you wrote,
“For a few months my…Mastiff/Black Lab mix has had irritated eyes…”

It has only been 8 days since you have given Marlee Silicea 6c. That is a very low dose, and considering her eyes have been inflamed for a few months, it will take longer to see an improvement. (Hopefully, her eyes are the same and not worse!)

You wrote,
“using turkey tail mushroom caps for immune system”
Would it be possible to order one of these other immune supplements to use in combination with the mushrooms?

1. Missing Link Canine Formula
2. Immuplex from Standard Process
3. OrthoMolecular Specialties, Mega C Powder

You wrote,
“and she is getting rehydrated Grandma Lucy’s along with pumpkin or veggies, and a large medallion of Nature’s Logic Beef or several chunks of fresh stew meat. She is eating very little dry food.”

Her diet sounds GREAT! She should start to lose some weight in about 3-6 weeks!

1. Continue the Silicea 6C three times daily.

2. Rinse her eyes as well as you can with the saline rinse. Hopefully, Marlee will start to tolerate the cleansing of her eyes, as the Silicea starts to heal them.

3. Send us an update at the end of the month, after 3-4 weeks of the Silicea 6C. Send one SOONER if she is in distress, or WORSE!

Another resource for vets knowledgeable in homeopathy is AVH.org.

Please keep us posted by coming back to this page and clicking the ‘click here to add your own comments’ link below.

Take care,
Dr. Carol Jean Tillman

PS–I am so sorry to hear of the loss of your other dog from hemangiosarcoma. I am sure you loved her a great deal, and you will miss her deeply.

DISCLAIMER: The above should never replace the advice of your local veterinarian, as they have the ability to evaluate your dog in person.

Hi, Dr.Tillman,
Marlee is definitely worse!! I have been giving her 12c of silicea twice daily, Immunoplex, turkey tail mushroom, and the food as described before. Her 3rd eyelids are up about 1/2 inch, are scarlet, the whites of her eyes are red, and the newest development is sores just inside her nostrils. Took her to the vet yesterday. He is relatively unconcerned (she’s not a cow or horse, and they are all country vets out here). He mentioned lupus and some other disease I can’t remember, showed me pictures of dogs with such and said “She doesn’t look like that.” My response was, “No, and I don’t want her to get to that point.” I have no idea what is going on with her but it is definitely getting worse. He put her on Simplicef tablets, 300 mg daily. It’s probably beyond your ability to diagnose or prescribe sight unseen, but she looks like a dog from a horror movie when she looks up at you. I’ll keep on with everything I’ve been doing, plus the antibiotic, but I am getting genuinely concerned that something is seriously wrong with her.
Thanks for all your help. If you have any ideas please let me know.
Jane

Hi Jane,
May 2, 2013

This sounds like the problem is worsening. I do not think that antibiotics will help. And a ‘current’ photo of Marlee would help. From your description with the white of her eye becoming red, the third eyelid is red, I am sure she is even more resistant to having you clean her eyes now!

It would be best to stop the Silicea, and switch to the remedy, Aconitum napellus. In whatever potency you can get. 6C 12C or 30C.

Give her one dose THREE times daily for 24-48 hours, either dry or dissolved in Spring Water.

Dry: you can give her one pellet by mouth

Wet: dissolve one pellet in 2 oz of Spring Water, in an eye dropper, and give her 1/2 dropperful by mouth.

Send me an update in three days.

Please keep us posted by coming back to this page and clicking the ‘click here to add your own comments’ link below.

Take care,
Dr. Carol Jean Tillman

Related Pages:
– Dog Eye Problems,
– Ask a Vet Online Library – Dog Eye Problems Section

DISCLAIMER: The above should never replace the advice of your local veterinarian, as they have the ability to evaluate your dog in person.

Hope I can squeeze it into 3000 characters. I have been on low-dose naltrexone for Hashimoto’s for almost a year, and it has cured me!! After researching on use in dogs, I finally got my vet to prescribe it. Dosing was problematic, as they say too much won’t work and neither will too little. We started at 4.5 mg twice daily (I’m on 1.5 mg, so that is a large dose for her). It didn’t work, so dropped to 4.5 once daily. Oh,my goodness, what a thrill — it worked. Her eyes are almost completely normal, just a little speck of 3rd lid showing in inner corner of right eye, which was always the worst eye. My vet was very skeptical, had to tell him I would assume all responsibility. I am so pleased with the results, both for myself (no more Hashi’s), and for Marlee. She has been clear for a couple months now. You might want to check LDN out at the web site, lowdosenaltrexone.org. The stuff is a miracle for so many problems. I have continued her new diet and the silicea also. I adopted a new rescue dog, Pit Bull/English Mastiff mix. He’s a real challenge. I put him on the same diet.Thanks so much for your help. Check out LDN! Best wishes to all of you!

September 23, 2013

Hi Jane,
Using low dose Naltrexone in dogs is definitely ‘off-label’ and I also would be very hesitant to use it. (It is certainly not a holistic treatment!)

I am glad that Marlee is doing better. Hopefully, there will be no adverse reactions and she will not relapse after the treatment is finished.

Please keep us posted by coming back to this page and clicking the ‘click here to add your own comments’ link below.

Take care,
Dr. Carol Jean Tillman

DISCLAIMER: The above should never replace the advice of your local veterinarian, as they have the ability to evaluate your dog in person.