Diseases that cause vision loss in animals are not uncommon, especially in older individuals. These diseases range from acute and jarring in onset to very slowly progressive changes. Often when we diagnose such issues in older individuals, pet owners are disinclined to pursue aggressive or expensive treatment measures for vision restoration. And that’s okay.
What’s not okay, though, is failing to follow the subsequent advice. “But how much worse can it get?”, people often say. By taking a few simple and inexpensive steps, we can ensure your bind pet remains comfortable.
For instance, the owners of a 16-year-old Labrador Retriever with a heart murmur, kidney disease, and diabetes mellitus may not wish to pursue cataract surgery. In this case, we should take precautions to prevent cataracts from causing painful issues like uveitis (intraocular inflammation) and glaucoma (elevation intraocular pressure). Daily application of topical anti-inflammatory medication is often enough to accomplish that goal. In fact, one study showed that untreated cataracts invariably led to inflamed, glaucomatous, and/or painful eyes, while medical treatment successfully reduced the risk of these issues by 65 times!*
Although this is only one example, treatment and monitoring by trained professionals are important even for blind animals. After all, blind people routinely go to ophthalmologists too! If your pet is visually impaired or blind, please do not neglect his or her eye care! You can schedule a convenient and affordable evaluation with us anytime using our online scheduler.
*Cataract surgery reduced the likelihood of painful problems by 255 times.
