My Dog Ate My Eye Drops : (7 Important Facts)

Realizing that your dog has eaten your eye drops can cause considerable worry. Once you realize that your dog has eaten your eye drops, you will want to know which effects the eye drops are likely to have, and what (if anything) you can do in the dog’s aid. Read on for answers.

How eye drops affect a dog depends on the ingredients in them. Therefore if my dog ate my eye drops, and they happen to contain ingredients such as imidazoline, then I would know that the dog is at great risk of severe poisoning.

The main determinants of the dog’s outcomes are the type of eye drops eaten, and the quantity ingested.

Take a case in which the dog licked eye drops bottle only. That surely has different implications from one in which the dog drank a whole bottle of the eye drops.

In some cases, a dog may ingest a certain type of eye drops and suffer no major harm. This may be the case if, for instance, the dog only eats saline eye drops.

But in some other cases, a dog may ingest another type of eye drops, and end up suffering life-threatening effects. This may be the case if, for instance, the dog eats imidazoline eye drops.

Whether my dog ate prescription eye drops or OTC eye drops may also be a relevant consideration.

Ultimately, if my dog ate my eye drops, and the eye drops contain ingredients such as brimonidine (which is an imidazoline), then I would rush him to the vet as soon as possible.

That is because ingredients like those can poison a dog even in relatively low quantities.

Are Eye Drops Bad For Dogs?

Upon learning that my dog ate my eye drops, one of the chief questions I would be having is as to whether eye drops are bad for dogs.

More specifically, are eye drops poisonous to dogs? Or are eye drops toxic to dogs?

These would still be the questions to ask if my dog ate contact lens solution…

Thus if my dog ate my contacts solution (which are essentially eye drops), I would still have these questions.

So, indeed, are eye drops bad for dogs? The simple answer is ‘yes’ – if dogs eat them.

For topical application to eyes, these eye drops can be good for dogs: if used under a vet’s direction.

Thus if, for instance, you ask your vet, can I use murine on my dog, the vet may, under certain circumstances, consent.

But if a dog eats eye drops, then that is a different matter. The eye drops may poison the dog badly. So eye drops are ‘bad’ for dogs to that extent.

What Happens If Dogs Eat Eye Drops?

If my dog ate my eye drops, I would be eager to know what is likely to happen.

That is what leads to this question, on what happens if dogs eat eye drops.

Now what happens if dogs eat eye drops depends largely on the ingredients in the eye drops.

In other words, it depends on the type of eye drops the dog eats.

Thus if, for instance, my dog ate Systane eye drops, the implications may be different. They may be different from a case in which another dog ate Lumify eye drops, or another in which a dog ate Pataday eye drops.

Xiidra for dogs may also have a different effect from, say, Visine. Thus if the dog ate Visine eye drops, that would be a case of Tetrahydrozoline dog ingestion, which is very risky…

Ultimately, in answering the question on what happens if my dog ate eye drops, I would focus on the specific type of eye drops eaten.

Take a case in which the dog ate Systane eye drops. The question to ask would be, are Systane eye drops poisonous to dogs?

Ultimately, the worst that may happen if a dog eats eye drops is poisoning. Even in cases of small amounts of eye drops ingested accidentally, this is still a possible outcome.

But not all cases of dogs eating eye drops lead to major poisoning. There are cases in which dogs that eat eye drops escape more or less unscathed.

But if, for instance, my dog ate Rohto eye drops, which contain Tetrahydrozoline, then I would know the outlook is poor.

But if the dog only ate saline eye drops, I would know that the outlook is somewhat better.

Will Eye Drops Hurt A Dog If Eaten?

The moment I learn that my dog ate my eye drops, I would be keen on knowing whether the eye drops can hurt a dog.

This is a relevant question, whether the dog chewed eye drops bottle, or accessed them in any other way.

The true position is that eye drops can indeed hurt a dog, if eaten.

For instance, Visine ingestion in dogs can cause severe poisoning.

Similarly, if my dog ate Clear Eyes eye drops, I would know that he is at risk of severe poisoning.

That is because those contain Naphazoline, which is an imidazoline, capable of poisoning a dog badly.

And even if my dog ate my eye contacts solution, I would know that he is at risk of poisoning.

Thus any cases in which the dog drank contact solution or my dog drank eye drops of any type, I would know that the dog is at high risk of poisoning.

If you research on the is eye drops poisonous to dogs question, you see that the answer is mostly ‘yes’.

You can even go further, and take a specific brand – like, say, Refresh. Then research on the Is Refresh eye drops poisonous to dogs question?

You soon see a pattern, in which these eye drop products are mostly potentially poisonous to dogs.

What that then means is that any case of an adult dog or puppy ingesting eye drops can hurt the dog.

Can Eye Drops Kill A Dog?

Yet another question I am likely to have, if my dog ate my eye drops, is on whether eye drops can kill a dog.

And the answer is ‘yes’, eye drops can kill a dog.

If a dog happens to ingest a great deal of eye drop solution, then there can be severe poisoning. And that may lead to death.

Therefore it is possible for eye drops to kill a dog.

My Dog Ate My Eye Drops – What To Do?

Ideally, if your dog ate your eye drops, you should consult a vet. Or at least call pet poison hotline, explain that your dog ate your eye drops, and request guidance.

So that is what to do if your dog eats eye drops.

You may not be very well placed to figure out, by yourself, whether or not the eye drops your dog ate are of the type that is very harmful to a dog.

But if you consult your vet or pet poison hotline, you can get proper guidance.

In these sorts of situations, the earlier you consult the professionals the better the outcomes.

You certainly shouldn’t wait until the dog is having seizures, to consult a vet.

An earlier intervention may save you and the dog a great deal of trouble.

Thus if, for instance, you had the dog chewed small bottle of lubricant eye drops what to do question, now you know the answer to it.

The most ideal thing is to consult a vet. In this case, there is the additional concern about the bottle. That may be a choking or internal blockage hazard.

Similarly, if my puppy ate a small container of eye drops, I would endeavor to consult the vet.

The vet will check through the eye drop ingredients, to see if any has high risk of poisoning.

If any has high risk of poisoning, the right interventions can be put in place in good time.

Final Verdict – My Dog Ate My Eye Drops

Certain ingredients in eye drops, especially imidazolines and their derivatives, can be very poisonous to dogs.

Therefore if my dog ate my eye drops, I would need to be aware of this poisoning risk.

The poisoning can cause symptoms such as lethargy, depression, vomiting and panting. It can then worsen to respiratory problems, seizures and ultimately even death.

Of course, there are certain eye drops that are simply saline solutions, and which may not harm the dog too much.

But it can be hard for a layman to figure out whether they are dealing with the potentially poisonous or more benign eye drops.

For these reasons, if your dog ate eye drops, it is best to consult a vet – or at least the pet poison hotline – urgently.

As a pet lover, make sure to learn about pet more and give your pet dog a good and comfortable life!

Rajkumar Ravichandran

Welcome to Learn About Pet. My name is Rajkumar Ravichandran and I love all pets, travel, and amazing food. I write about my passion and personal experience caring for multiple pets in this blog! ❤️