Natural, Herbal Treatment for Dogs, Cats with Blocked Tear Duct
If your dog
or cat is suffering from a suspected, or confirmed blocked tear duct, a natural herbal treatment can help. A blocked tear duct is a
symptom of an underlying condition. It’s important to treat the blockage, and
identify the root cause.
In order to
keep the eyes lubricated, a dogs and cats body naturally produces a thin layer
of tear-film, called a pre-corneal tear film. This film protects the surface of
the eye from debris, bacteria, virus and other pathogenic microbes. The
tear-film is replenished on a regular basis, and distributed over the surface
of the eye when your dog or cat blinks. Excess tear film normally drains from
the eye, into tear ducts (lacrimal) - located at the inner corner of the eye;
and into then into the nose via the nasolacrimal duct.
When a tear
duct is damaged or blocked, tear-film cannot drain as it normally would. This
can lead to an overflow of the tear film, and overflow of tears (epiphora) from
the eyes. Overflow can result in wet fur under the eye, red or brown stains,
irritation, inflammation and infection of the skin under the eye.
Root Cause
of Blocked Tear Duct
·
Age-related narrowing of duct
·
Birth defects of the face or eye
·
Conventional drugs – ingested or
topical
·
Cysts in the tear-drainage system
·
Eye infections, including chronic
eye infections, infections caused by Lyme disease, etc.
·
Inflammation of the eye
·
Injury to the eye or face
·
Nose polyps
·
Particulate, and stones in the
tear drainage system
·
Scar tissue in nasal passage
·
Tumor
·
Other causes
Symptoms of
Blocked Tear Duct
·
Chronic…
o
Excessive discharge from eye
o
Tearing
o
Mucous discharge
o
Eye infections
·
Eye inflammation, conjunctivitis
·
Swelling at inside corner of eye
·
Tinge of blood in tears
Natural
Herbal Treatments for Blocked Tear Duct
Step 1 -
Calm Anxiety
If your dog,
or cat is anxious or otherwise adversely reactive to having his / her eyes or
nose touched, you may want to consider an initial calming step.
Aromatherapy
using an essential oil (EO) can help. For a dog, you can hold an uncapped
bottle of essential oil, in-front of your dog’s nose and let him sniff (not
lick, not touch) the EO. Offer one of the options I provide further below – you
can also let your dog choose which EO he / she prefers.
Cats are
more sensitive to the natural chemical compounds in essential oils. For cats
use a hydrosol. Add 1 drop of EO to just under 8 ounces of distilled water
mixed in an 8 ounce or larger spray bottle. Use the resulting hydrosol to give
one spray (one pull on bottle trigger) in the room were you will be treating
your cat. Wait a few minutes to allow diffusion of the hydrosol. Then bring
your kitty into the room.
Appropriate
Essential Oil Options for Cats
·
German chamomile - anxiety,
inflammation
·
Lavender - worry, infection
Appropriate
Essential Oil Options for Dogs
·
Bergamot - anxiety, infection
·
Clary sage - high strung
temperament
·
English yarrow - over-sensitive,
pain
·
German chamomile - anxiety,
inflammation
·
Hemp - anxiety, stress, pain
·
Lavender - worry, infection
·
Rose (rosa damascene) - Past
trauma, infection
·
Jasmine - comfort, inflammation
Step 2 -
Herbal Tea Cleanse
Choose from
one of the following herbal teas - organic chamomile, eye bright (euphrasia), or Echinacea.
·
Brew a tea bag in 8 ounces of
distilled water.
·
If treating both eyes brew a
second tea bag.
·
Allow to cool, until just
slightly warm.
·
Remove the tea bag, place the tea
bag on a clean plate.
·
Pour a little of the tea into a
small cup, pour the remainder of the tea into a clean glass bottle.
·
Dip a clean soft cotton pad into
the tea in the cup.
·
Use the tea-dipped cotton pad to
gently wipe around the eye, from inner corner to outer corner.
·
If doing both eyes use a fresh
pad for each eye.
·
Wash your hands.
·
If you are treating both eyes,
wash your hands in-between treating each eye.
·
Cleanse the eyes two time to
three times a day.
·
Store the brewed tea in the
refrigerator.
Step 3 -
Warm Herbal Tea Compress
·
Take the slightly warm tea bag,
and gently place against eye.
·
Gently hold in place for at least
30 seconds, if your dog will tolerate your doing so – keep compress in place
for at least 60 seconds.
·
Wash your hands.
·
If you are treating both eyes,
wash your hands in-between treating each eye.
·
When you are finished doing the
compress, discard the tea bag – do not reuse.
·
You will need to brew a fresh tea
bag for each application.
·
Do this warm compress two to
three times per day.
Step 4 – Simple
Eye Massage
·
Massaging after compress can help
open the blocked tear duct.
·
Place your index finger close to
the inner corner of the eye, next to your dog’s cat’s snout, follow the line of
the nasal duct (see photo below).
·
Gently apply light pressure to
the inner corner for several seconds, release pressure.
·
Slide your finger down from the
corner along the side of the snout.
·
Wash your hands.
·
If you are treating both eyes,
wash your hands in-between treating each eye.
·
Repeat this massage at least 3
times.
·
Do this two times to three times
per day.
If your dog or cat is
experiencing a lot of pain from inflammation at the corner of the eye, don’t do
the above.
Step 5 -
Natural Eye Drops
DIY Eye
Drops
·
Use a glass eye dropper to
administer eye drops 2 times to 3 times per day. Choose one of the following
options…
·
Silver water – i.e. colloidal silver, ionic silver, sovereign silver, etc.
·
Herbal eye drops – i.e. the herbal tea from Step 2 above, or select another herbal
tea drop option as discussed here.
Purchased Eye
Drops
·
Or you can purchase a commercial
pre-made eye drop product, i.e.
·
Homeopathic eye drops.
·
Herbal eye drops
·
Make sure the product you choose
is toxic additive-free.
·
Follow the instructions for use
on the product label.
Step
6 - Natural Antibiotic, Ingested Treatment
A
natural, ingested antibiotic is a good course of action to help treat, and
prevent infection while dealing with tear duct blockage.
Silver
water
An
excellent choice for dogs and cats.
For
extensive information on dosage, cautions and interactions go here.
Garlic
This
is another good choice for dogs only.
For
extensive information on dosage, cautions and interactions go here.
Raw,
100% Natural Honey
An
excellent addition for dogs and cats.
If
you are treating a puppy or kitten use pharmaceutical grade honey only.
For
extensive information on dosage, cautions and interactions go here.
The
above are just a few of the natural antibiotics that can be used alone or
together to naturally help fight infection.
Step 7 -
Diet
Make sure
your dog and cat are on an appropriate, anti-inflammatory immune system
supporting daily diet that support immune system and eye health.
Highly processed pet food (kibble or wet/canned) is not health-supporting – this is so for
all such products, including veterinary prescription dry and canned food; off-the-shelf so called ‘premium’ dry and canned pet food products; and vegetarian/vegan pet food.
If you must
use highly processed pet food, consider adding herbs and fresh foods that
support eye health, for ideas you can go here.
Best choice
is a good quality commercial or homemade raw
food diet.
Second best
choice is a good quality homemade raw and gently cooked diet made with fresh whole food ingredients.
Third best
choice – gently cooked, home made diet.
Cautions
Do take
action to identify, and address the root cause of your dog's or cat’s blocked
tear duct.
If your dog
or cat has a medical condition always check for health condition interactions
and drug interactions with foods, herbs and essential oils you are considering
using.
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Affiliations to Companies
✓ None.
✓ I don't sell food or supplements.
✓ I'm not aligned with any companies.
✓ None.
✓ I don't sell food or supplements.
✓ I'm not aligned with any companies.
Article and graphics by Karen Rosenfeld
