If you’ve got furry friends in your life, you may notice dry skin around your dog’s eyes, periodically or chronically. While not dangerous in and of itself, dry skin around the eyes can be indicative of a deeper problem. Fortunately, all of the common causes of dry eye skin can be fixed. For general dry skin, you may not even need veterinary intervention. Instead, try dog skin products from Wondercide, PetAlive, and Pet Wellbeing. For more serious issues, seek veterinary care for the following health concerns.
Demodectic Mange
Demodectic mange is caused by parasitic mites. Normally, a healthy dog’s immune system would be enough to fend off these bugs, but puppies and malnourished strays often fall victim to them.
Bad infestations result in hair loss and dry skin lesions, particularly around the face and eyes. Treatable with medicated shampoo and antibiotics for secondary infection, these mites are pretty easy to beat.
Ringworm
Ringworm is a fungus that affects your dog’s skin. It can be spread through touch, so it’s not an infection you want to ignore. Where affected, your pup’s skin will develop ringworm’s characteristic circular lesion. Fur may fall out and the area could become itchy and scaly. With a combination of antifungal medication, antibiotics, and topical steroids, your dog’s ringworm should be eliminated, along with the itchy, dry skin around the eyes.
Atopic Dermatitis
Atopic dermatitis is an infection that causes inflammation of the skin. This could be due to sensitivity or ab allergy to something in your pet’s external environment.
It can be hard to narrow down what your dog is allergic to, but this won’t stop the effects from being somewhat distressing. Dermatitis is typically itchy. When the itching occurs around the face and eyes, the dog will scratch these places. This can result in hair loss, damaged skin, and secondary infection. There are numerous ways to cure atopic dermatitis, depending upon the type and severity. Do your part by keeping your dog clean, giving her a high quality food, and avoiding household products with strong chemical agents.
Atopic dermatitis is often seasonal, with summer and winter being the most troublesome periods, depending on the dog’s sensitivities. In some cases, atopic dermatitis can be a secondary result of a bigger problem, such as fleas, so be alert to your dog’s health state and take them to the vet if you have any questions.
Yeast Infection
Yeast infections are the result of yeast fungus from the air colonizing dirty areas in your dog’s skin. Yeast infections can occur in people, but they’re not transferable from dog to human. These infections tend to occur in places that are difficult to clean. For this reason, you’ll find them in your dog’s ears, in skin folds, and in crinkly areas around the eyes and eyelids.
Yeast infections can get very painful and inflamed, but they’re fairly easy to treat. If you see itchy, red skin around your dog’s eyes (or anywhere else for that matter), and you smell a musty, yeasty odor, clean carefully with anti-fungal shampoo and 90% diluted vinegar. If the condition has progressed to the point of secondary infection, don’t hesitate to take your pup to the vet, as antibiotics and medicated cleansing aids may be required to clear it up.
These are the most common causes of persistent dry, itchy skin around your dog’s eyes. There can be other causes, such as autoimmune illnesses, but the issue will likely be related to one of these four causes. Make sure to follow your vet’s orders to the letter, and your dog should start seeing an improvement in just a few days. Keep up the regimen as directed, and your dog’s eyes will hopefully remain free from redness, itching, and dryness.