# Blocked Tear Ducts



## maltese#1fan (Feb 20, 2012)

We had Bella tested and it turns out her tear ducts are blocked. That's explains why her staining gets bad -- even with all the face washing and everything else I've tried.

Anyway, she's at the vet now to have her tear ducts flushed. I just heard from my husband who said the vet's office called and said they were able to do one eye without any problems. However, the other eye has either a really small duct or it was malformed because they weren't able to flush it at all.

Have you ever heard of this? I haven't spoken to the vet myself yet, but just wondering what our next step should be. What should I ask the vet?


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## silverhaven (Sep 6, 2009)

When Lolas were done the vet said hers were closed and that the flushing just caused the liquid to seep out of her eyes, thought she would need a opthamologist consult, but after having it done her eyes cleared up and she never had a problem again. So hopefully same will happen for you


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## Summergirl73 (Sep 18, 2011)

I'm not sure about it all Karen, but wanted you to know I'm keeping Bella in my thoughts. Give her snuggles for us!


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## IzzysBellasMom (Jan 16, 2013)

I don't know about tear ducts, because Izzy didn't have any issues. But wanted to let you know we took Jojo to an eye specialist in Houston, TX and the consult was only 100.00. I kinda expected it to be more than that.


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## educ8m (May 19, 2010)

The first time I tried to have Gracie's tear ducts flushed, the vet tried but couldn't do it because she didn't have a cannula small enough. I was NOT happy because she went under anesthesia for it. I then took her to a vet ophthalmologist who was able to do it without anesthesia. Should have just gone there first. Gracie's tear ducts are so small I've had to have them flushed about once a year.


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## mdbflorida (Feb 28, 2013)

Boo has started staining too. How do you find a doggie eye doctor? I am sure my vet is like most and would say he could do it, but I would feel more comfortable with a specialist.


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## Snowbody (Jan 3, 2009)

Karen - we had a similar thing happen. Tyler had terrible staining. I had gone to a specialist - who was useless. Said ducts weren't clogged and put Tyler on Tylan for months to no avail saying his ducts were inverted and she didn't recommend surgery because it was only 50% successful. I talked to my breeder and another breeder whom I'm friends with and they both suggested flushing Tyler's tear ducts. So his dental was coming up and I asked my vet to flush them while he was under. One duct flushed perfectly but she said the other one took three flushings and she didn't think it worked. Well, it totally did and (knock on wood) Tyler hasn't had a tear stain since and it's been two years.


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## my4jewels (Jul 8, 2013)

Tegan had her tear ducts flushed when she was spayed 2 months ago. One of them was totally blocked. She still seems to be staining badly. I wash her face and under her eyes twice a day with Spa Lavish. At least I know she is nice and clean, and I have just accepted the fact that she has tear stains. Maybe it'll get better, maybe not. She is only 8 1/2 months old.


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## maltese#1fan (Feb 20, 2012)

Poor Bella looked so sad when we picked her up from the vet. Not only did she have her tear ducts flushed, but we also had her dental done at the same time (only wanted her to go under anesthesia once). Then the technician told us that she was the last dog being picked up and she didn't like being by herself. Okay - make us feel like bad parents. :embarrassed:

The vet was able to flush the one eye without any problem, but could not do the second one. We are going to wait and see before we do anything else. The closest veterinary opthomologist is over 50 miles away and a car ride that long would be pure torture for Bella.:smpullhair:

On a positive note, he said she had beautiful teeth.:biggrin: Must be all that chewing on the nylabones.

Thanks for all your input.


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## Furbabies mom (Jul 25, 2011)

Laurel has very narrow tear ducts, but once I used Angel Eyes(ok'd by the opthamolgist) and her tear ducts irrigated she has none to very little staining. I just wash her face daily


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## The A Team (Dec 1, 2005)

Abbey used to have bad tear stains, and my vet would just say "oh, that's a little white dog thing". I told them I didn't want to hear that and that I wanted to be referred to a specialist. So about 7 years ago she had her tear ducts enlarged by a specialist. She still had staining for about a year afterwards, but after a round of Tylan, it was finally fixed!

No more tear stains in our house. Well Abbey still may get some at the change of seasons from allergies. But that can't be helped. 

It was kind of a big operation and cost $1800 7 years ago - but I'm glad I had it done.


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## sherry (Jan 4, 2013)

Sissy has the same problem. I need to take her in and get something done. She starts to get better, then bad tearing again!


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## Kathleen (Aug 4, 2011)

mdbflorida said:


> Boo has started staining too. How do you find a doggie eye doctor? I am sure my vet is like most and would say he could do it, but I would feel more comfortable with a specialist.


Mags, the website for the American College of Veterinary Opthamologists is acvo.org. There is a link to search for a specialist on their home page.

We take our Lhasa Buddy to a specialist at Angell in Boston for some eye issues and it is just completely different than going to a "regular" vet in terms of training, experience and equipment/tools. Just like with human doctors.


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## lols82 (Nov 13, 2012)

maltese#1fan said:


> We had Bella tested and it turns out her tear ducts are blocked. That's explains why her staining gets bad -- even with all the face washing and everything else I've tried.
> 
> Anyway, she's at the vet now to have her tear ducts flushed. I just heard from my husband who said the vet's office called and said they were able to do one eye without any problems. However, the other eye has either a really small duct or it was malformed because they weren't able to flush it at all.
> 
> Have you ever heard of this? I haven't spoken to the vet myself yet, but just wondering what our next step should be. What should I ask the vet?


Yes, same with Sammy. I was told that they managed slightly to do one of his eyes and the other they were unable to do. However I have noticed a marked difference in his staining. If I wash it every second day we don't have any.


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## The A Team (Dec 1, 2005)

mdbflorida said:


> Boo has started staining too. How do you find a doggie eye doctor? I am sure my vet is like most and would say he could do it, but I would feel more comfortable with a specialist.



You can ask your vet. ...is there an animal hospital or teaching school anywhere near you? Our nearest hospital is an hour from here, but I've taken Abbey there for her eyes and Archie was there for his ear canal removal.

All the animals you see in the hospital waiting room are or have been pretty ill, lots of 3 legged dogs, etc. They even treat cancer there. All the doctors are specialized. I took Archie there once for the dermatologist - they charged me an arm and a leg and didn't help us a bit though

You could try googling it...


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