What is Entropion in Dogs and How do You Treat It?

Entropion is the name of a medical condition in which either the upper eyelid, the lower eyelid, or both eyelids fold inwards. This is a huge problem because this causes the eyelashes to start rubbing on the cornea, thus resulting in irritation. In the short run, this means pain, redness, and other common signs of eye irritation. However, the real problem with entropion is that it can have long-lasting consequences as well, seeing as how the rubbing of the eyelashes on the sensitive cornea can result in permanent vision loss. Summed up, it is clear that entropion is something that needs to be handled sooner rather than later because it can become more and more serious in time.

With that said, entropion is something that can happen in a number of species. For example, it is something that humans can suffer from. However, it is something that can be found in both cats and dogs as well. Generally speaking, entropion is caused by genetic factors, which is why some dog breeds such as bulldogs, poodles, and pugs are much more susceptible to it than others.

Regardless, entropion in dogs is as serious as entropion in humans. After all, the same holds true in their case, meaning that if the medical condition remains untreated, the consequences can be catastrophic. In the worst case scenario, it is possible for entropion to inflict so much damage on the eye that it must be removed by a surgeon, which is a rather unpleasant outcome to say the least.

What Can You Do about Entropion in Dogs?

Fortunately, there are plenty of things that dog owners can do to protect their pets from entropion. For instance, they can learn the symptoms of the medical condition, which should provide them with a better chance of telling when something wrong. In turn, this should enable them to seek out professional help from a veterinarian sooner rather than later, which can make a huge difference when it comes to the ultimate outcome.

First, a dog who is suffering from entropion will show signs of discomfort. Sometimes, these signs can seem minor, with examples ranging from them tearing up to them either blinking or squinting too much. Other times, these signs can be much more concerning, with examples ranging from the dogs pawing at their eyes to the dogs exhibiting recurrent cuts and scratches on their corneas, which should be cause for immediate concern. Whatever the case, seeing these signs should cause dog owners to start paying more attention to the eye health of their dogs, which in turn, should cause them to seek out professional help when they see that they are not clearing up.

Second, there are a lot of things that veterinarians can do to help. For example, they can prescribe either eye drops or some other kind of eye medication that should soothe the symptoms while also providing some much-needed protection in the process. Likewise, they might tack the eyelids, which can help prevent further damage for a time.

With that said, these are not permanent solutions but rather ways to cope with the symptoms. Sometimes, a dog will have entropion when they are still young but grow out of it once they have fully matured. However, the chances of this happening are low, meaning that for most dogs suffering from entropion are reliant on a surgical procedure for their eyelids to be fixed. Fortunately, said surgical procedure is relatively commonplace, meaning that a good specialist should have no problems performing it.

Having said that, it is important that dog owners don’t put too much faith into their own diagnoses of their dogs’ eye problems. In part, this is because eye problems tend to show similar symptoms, meaning that it can be very difficult to tell one thing from another. However, it should also be noted that dogs can’t describe their condition in the same way that humans can, thus removing a valuable source of information for figuring out what is going on. Due to this, dog owners should seek out veterinarians if they feel that the situation is serious because veterinarians are the ones who can run the tests needed to figure out exactly what is going on before coming up with a potential solution to the problem.