Before my French Bulldogs, Yoda and Luna came into my life; I was clueless about corneal ulcers in dogs. I knew that corneal ulcers were more common in brachycephalic breeds, but that was the extent of my knowledge.
I had my first experience with corneal ulcers in April of 2020 when Yoda injured his eye while playing outside. Since then, we’ve dealt with corneal ulcers four times. We are currently helping Yoda through his third ulcer in his right eye. His left eye just healed from one a few weeks ago!
The day after I started the rough draft of this blog, I had to rush Yoda to the Vet for his most recent corneal ulcer. I can not make this stuff up. These French Bulldogs give me a run for my money, no pun intended. They keep my wallet feeling pretty…
L I G H T.
I want to share my experience because, like with all things Frenchie-related, I had a lot to learn, and I hope my experience can help others. Before we dive into corneal ulcers in French Bulldogs, please know that I am not a Vet. I am just a dog mom sharing my experience.
If you believe your dog has injured its eye, make sure to contact or visit your Vet as soon as possible. The eyes are sensitive, and quick medical attention is critical. Everything I am sharing in this entry comes from my personal experience, research that I have done, or information provided to me by our Vet.
What Causes Corneal Ulcers In French Bulldogs?
The most common cause of a corneal ulcer is trauma to the eye. Far less common causes include but are not limited to dry eye, endocrine diseases, epithelial dystrophy, but trauma is the most common cause.
My only experience has been with corneal ulcers due to trauma. Yoda’s first corneal ulcer happened during a game of fetch in the backyard; Luna’s happened while playing with one of her dog toys, and I am unsure of the exact cause of Yoda’s most recent third and fourth corneal ulcer.
Understanding The Cornea
The cornea is a transparent membrane that makes up the front of an eyeball.
The three layers of the cornea:
- Outer layer Epithelium
- Supportive tissue called the Stroma
- The deepest layer called Descemet’s Membrane
Corneal abrasions are not as severe as corneal ulcers and can sometimes heal in as little as five days. When dealing with corneal abrasions, the trauma has only occurred on a few layers of the epithelium.
*This blog may contain affiliate links that allow me to make a small commission if you make a purchase by clicking the links – including Amazon. This is at no additional cost to you and any money I may receive is put right back into this blog. Thank you all so much for your support! As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
**Disclaimer: Any information in this blog is not meant to replace high-quality Veterinary care. Everything in this blog is based on my experience and opinion. Corneal Ulcers can only be diagnosed by a Veterinarian and your Vet can prescribe a proper treatment plan. Please seek medical attention for your dog as soon as possible when dealing with eye problems or injuries.
How Is A Corneal Ulcer Diagnosed?
An eye injury does require a Vet visit. The sooner you get to the Vet, the better as the eyes are very sensitive, and severe injuries to the eye need immediate attention. Corneal ulcers can be very painful to your dog as well.
Your dog will try to rub their eye to relieve the pain, which will potentially worsen the injury. If you have an E-Collar (Elizabethan Collar, or we lovingly refer to it as the cone of shame), I suggest putting it on your dog as soon as possible. The cone can help prevent further injury before you can make it to the Vets office.
Your Vet will use a stain called Fluorescein to determine if and where the corneal ulcer is. This dye is a liquid placed on the cornea; the dye turns neon green and adheres to the corneal ulcer. Your Vet may perform other tests, but Fluorescein is the most common test.
How Did I Know My Dogs Had Corneal Ulcers?
I was horrified the first time Yoda hurt his eye. I looked down at Yoda, and one of his pupils was the size of a pinpoint while the other pupil was normal. I thought something neurological was happening, but he was acting completely normal.
After about 15 minutes, his pupil returned to its normal size. I was utterly clueless as to what was going on. Other than a watery eye, Yoda’s behavior was pretty normal.
When we woke up the following day, Yoda’s eye had a very milky appearance (this is normal when dealing with corneal ulcers, but I was clueless about this as well). I contacted our Vet so that we could be seen as soon as possible. My Vet completed her exam with the Fluorescein and confirmed we were dealing with a pretty serious ulcer.
Our second corneal ulcer experience was with Luna, and it was right after she came out of her IVDD crate rest period. I had noticed her eye was also watery, and she was squinting quite a bit. Sure enough, she was diagnosed with a small superficial ulcer.
Our third experience was in March of 2021. I am not sure what caused this injury for Yoda, but I knew that we were dealing with a corneal ulcer. He was trying to rub his eye quite a bit, squinting, and just wanted to sleep. Once we received our diagnosis, we were able to move towards the healing and treatment process.
My fourth experience was this week as I was wrapping up my rough draft of this blog. Luckily, it’s a more mild abrasion and seems to be healing very well.
How Long Do Corneal Ulcers Take To Heal In French Bulldogs?
I have read online that some corneal abrasions can heal in about five days with treatment. Many should heal within one to two weeks. On the three separate occasions that Luna and Yoda have been diagnosed with corneal ulcers, it has taken 2-3 weeks to complete the healing process.
Corneal Ulcer Treatment and Medications
The first line of defense is an Elizabethan collar or cone. Both Yoda and Luna wore a cone for their entire recovery period. The cone kept them from scratching their eye or trying to rub it on the furniture.
Our Vet prescribed an antibiotic ointment that had to be applied every four hours for the entire recovery period. The ointment is thick and comes in a very tiny tube. We had to administer a thin strip of ointment gently across Yoda and Luna’s eyeball.
Yoda’s corneal ulcers were more severe than Luna’s, and our Vet created a custom eye serum from his blood. How cool is that?! The blood is spun in a special device that separates plasma from the blood. This serum was given to us in a small eyedropper and had to be kept in the refrigerator.
I have a very basic understanding of the custom serum. The cornea has very little blood supply, and a good blood supply is what allows wounds on other parts of our body to heal. The custom plasma serum greatly helps along the cornea’s healing process, which doesn’t have much natural blood supply.
The plasma had to be applied every four hours and five minutes before the ointment is applied. Wating a few minutes allows the plasma to absorb into the eye.
Don’t Let Your Dog’s Corneal Ulcer Intimidate You!
I don’t deal well with eye injuries. It’s one of the few things that makes my skin crawl. I won’t lie; I struggled initially with administering the drops and ointment into their eyes. My husband was a complete pro at it, though! Once I got the hang of it, it wasn’t so bad, though.
Fun little fact: As a child, my grandpa got a paper cut on his eye and had to wear an eye patch. I think I was scarred for life from that and am now scared of eye injuries in general. Dealing with corneal ulcers isn’t my favorite thing (I don’t imagine anyone loves it).
But if I can successfully help my dogs through three corneal ulcers, then I believe that you can too!
This blog may contain affiliate links that allow me to make a very small commission if you make a purchase by clicking the links – including Amazon. This is at no additional cost to you and any money I may receive is put right back into this blog. Thank you all so much for your support! As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Disclaimer: Any information in this blog is not meant to replace high-quality Veterinary care. Everything in this blog is based on my experience and opinion. Corneal Ulcers can only be diagnosed by a Veterinarian and they can prescribe a proper treatment plan. Please seek medical attention for your dog as soon as possible when dealing with eye problems or injuries.
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