# Does yellow/green eye discharge always mean infection?



## Abbydabbydo (Jan 31, 2007)

It could be infection or it could be a scratch. I can tell you what I just did, Finn came home from being boarded with super goopy eyes, I took him right to the vet and he prescribed antibiotic/steroid drops. By the next Friday I called the vet and was given a refill for Abby because she had developed the same symptoms.

I would wait and see, and use the drops you have on hand if it gets much worse. I'm pretty sure if it is a scratch instead of infection you would not want to be using a drop wih steroid in it. Good luck!

PS Abby and Finn's eyes got red, too. Just a little goop could be nothing at all.


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

Green doesn't necessarily mean infection. It could be that just got something in it that irritated it, and it'll pass. It could easily also mean infection or a scratch, though, so if it persists at all, head to the vet. Bring the bottle of drops with you. If it's close enough to what the vet would prescribe anyway, you can save yourself some money.

I agree with Abby, though, that I wouldn't just give the drops without having the vet do a full workup on the eye. There's too much that can go wrong.


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## cubbysan (Mar 13, 2007)

It could also mean an ear infection.


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## tonisaysss (Nov 6, 2009)

it could also be an allergy. my layla has been getting greenish goop since around november. i take her to my moms for a few days, the goop stops coming. i take her back home, it shows back up. 

could be coincidence go figure.


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## Maya's Mom (Apr 13, 2009)

*Vet visit*

I did end up taking her to the vet because the eye looked irritated. It got watery and red and the third eyelid came up higher to cover more of her eye. So we went to the vet to have it checked out. They examined her eye and said that she must have bumped into something. They checked for scratches and ulcers on her eye, but said it looked good. They did say that I could use the eye drops I have because that is what he would have prescribed, but the vet said no NEVER use eye drops from a previous incident without a vet exam. If there is an ulcer on the eye, it would cause the dog to permanently loose vision in the eye!!! :uhoh: He recently had that happen to a patient. The family had brought the dog in for an eye problem and been prescribed these drops. Three months later, they had what they thought was the same problem because it looked to same, so they used the drops again. Their dog is now blind in that eye.  The vet said that whenever he prescribes those eye drops, he makes people promise never to use them again without an exam, and he has a red warning sticker that he puts on the box. I believe he said it is the dexamethasone that does that. He also said that for ears and skin, there are many things that can just be treated at home, but for eyes, bring the dog to the vet. So I learned something new today and thought I would pass it on to everyone. It scares me to think I might have used those drops in a situation that could have caused such permanent damage (not this time, but theoretically).


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## rascals_family (Mar 2, 2010)

All of the sudden in the last 2 days Rascals eyes have had alot of green discharge from his eyes. Not just in the morning but throughout the day. Is it vet time?


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

rascals_family said:


> All of the sudden in the last 2 days Rascals eyes have had alot of green discharge from his eyes. Not just in the morning but throughout the day. Is it vet time?


48 hours of continuous green gunk? Yes, I'd head to the vet.


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## Maya's Mom (Apr 13, 2009)

rascals_family said:


> All of the sudden in the last 2 days Rascals eyes have had alot of green discharge from his eyes. Not just in the morning but throughout the day. Is it vet time?


I would definitely go to the vet.


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## Pointgold (Jun 6, 2007)

Maya's Mom said:


> I just noticed a very small amount of yellowish green discharge in the corner of Maya's eye. Otherwise, everything seems normal. What I'm wondering is if I need to take her in to the vet. Normally, I would definitely wait and see what developed, but I am a little more cautious on Fridays. Does yellow/green discharge always mean an infection? I was also trying to decide if her eye looked slightly more watery than normal, but I'm not sure if I just made that up from looking at it so much! I do have some antibiotic eye drops that I could use in a pinch over the weekend if things get worse while my vet is closed. On the package it says Neomycin and polymyxin B sulfates and dexamethasone. Wow, that's a mouthful! She was prescribed those drops for conjunctivitis before. What would you do? Take her in to the vet? Use the drops? Wait and see?


 
NEVER use any ophthalmic preparation that contains a steroid without a vet prescribing it!!! If there is a scratch or an ulcer causing the problem, this will make it worse. I would take it a step further and say that ANY med prescribed for another animal, particularly ophthalmic, should not be used unless directed by a vet.
It is not worth taking any risk, IMO, when the eye is involved. Any discharge that is not clear generally indicates the presence of infection. Get the dog to a vet.


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## rascals_family (Mar 2, 2010)

Thank-you for your replies, we have an appointment this morning at the vet.


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