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MrsHec4 · May 20, 2008, 04:49 PM

Recently my 3 year old yorkie has had excessive yellow mucous building up in his eyes, I have just started a new job and I know he hates when I leave but I don't think its just tears from him crying because before when he whined and "cried" his tears were clear now he has yellow mucous in both eyes, I clean them everyday but it keeps coming back. This started within the last week. Last week I had him out with me when someone said to me "your dog is getting cataracts" I said "how would u know?" he said "cuz i jus put my yorkie down because it went blind from cataracts" I didn't believe him but now this. Could my dog have cataracts? What would be the symptoms? BTW: my dog didn't have any yellow mucous when the guy said that which is why I didn't believe him. Any help is greatly appreciated thanks.

carolbcac · May 20, 2008, 08:25 PM

Cataracts form in the lens deep inside the eye. Instead of seeing a dark pupil it will start to look cloudy or milky. These usually develop slowly in older dogs. One exception is the diabetic dog, where cataracts can literally develop over a period of a few days. Cataracts in a dog are not a death sentence. Some can be surgically removed by a veterinary eye specialist, and even totally blind dogs do well in familiar environments, so don't get too worried until you find out more.
If the yellow mucus just started, it's more than likely a superficial infection of the tissues around the eye, and may have started as an allergy.
Any eye problem warrants a trip to the vet; the dog's vision is too valuable to take chances with. Ask him about cataracts while you are there.

shellyjo68 · May 20, 2008, 08:28 PM

Yellow or green mucus frequently means eye infection or irritation. Take him to the vet. The doctor will prob check for scratches in the eye (do you have other dogs or cats?) then RX an eye ointment and possibly a rinse.

MrsHec4 · May 21, 2008, 03:54 PM

I don't have any other pets just him, and it probably is a superficial infection it seems a little better today but I'm still going to take him to the vet this weekend to make sure its nothing serious. I'm not too worried about the cataracts anymore because I haven't seen any bluish hues in his eyes. I think that guy was a liar anyway. He was the mechanic that worked on my car and he gave me a long list of things that were wrong with my car. I took my car to another mechanic for a second opinion and he told me there's nothing wrong with my car. So anyway I don't believe the guy about the cataracts but it was just weird that right after that my dog would develop an issue with his eyes.
In the mean time would saline solution be okay to flush out the phlegm? Because I think I'm irritating his eyes even more by cleaning them with wet q-tips and cotton swabs.

bushg · May 21, 2008, 03:58 PM

Mrs hec... I would not put anything in his eyes until a vet told me to. I read in some info once that putting the wrong thing in depending on what is wrong could lead to worse problems or even losing the eyes. If I can find that article I will post it for you.

shellyjo68 · May 21, 2008, 04:54 PM

Steril saline solution is fine. My vet frequently rec. it.

carolbcac · May 22, 2008, 07:15 PM

Excuse spelling above; meant to type "sterile saline"--my fingers got away from me.

MrsHec4 · May 22, 2008, 07:44 PM

Yea the solution is simple sterile saline nothing else, I haven't used it on him though his eyes seem to be better today, still some mucous but not like the first day where it completely covered his eyes. His vet appt isn't until the weekend so I still have a day to see if it gets better still, if so then I'm sure it was just a minor infection that may have cleared itself or some irritation
Oh yea thanks for the advice though, it's appreciated