Treatment For Warts Around The Dog’s Eyes
Warts are superficial benign tumors of the skin. They can appear in many parts of the body such as the mouth, muzzle, ears, armpits, abdomen or genitals. In this article we will explore the topic of warts around the dog’s eyes .
Dogs are not the only animals to suffer from it, in fact they can also appear in other non-mammalian animals: birds, for example, can have warts on various parts of the body.
Let’s find out more about the problem of warts around the dog’s eyes.
Warts around the dog’s eyes: why do they appear?
Warts around the dog’s eyes are usually caused by one type of virus, the papilloma virus, specific to each species. In the dog it will be canine papilloma. Warts do not spread between different animal species, so your dog will not be able to pass them to you.
This virus can attack a dog of any age, but it usually happens for older dogs with lower immune defenses.
Causes of warts around the dog’s eyes
Canine papilloma can be infected through direct contact. The most common form of contagion is oral, through the infected dog’s water bowl or its objects.
But the contagion does not imply that the animal develops warts: everything will depend on its immunological system at that moment. The incubation period is usually long, between one and two months.
Warts around the eyes tend to affect mainly young, elderly or immunosuppressed dogs due to a disease, cancer, infection or congenital immunodeficiency typical of some dog breeds.
There are types of warts that do not have a viral origin. An example is sebaceous adenomas, which appear mainly in older dogs, due to a malfunction of the sebaceous glands and usually on the eyelids or paws.
What are warts like?
Warts have a round shape, with an irregular surface similar to a small cauliflower. They are easy to spot once they reach a certain size, especially if they are around the eyes or mouth.
In general, warts do not cause pain but can be placed in areas that are annoying for the animal. They shouldn’t bleed unless your dog scratches or licks the area too frequently.
Treatment of warts
Warts grow to a certain extent. Normally they do not reach a worrying size and over time they dry up and simply disappear. Their presence is in no way harmful to the dog, so there is no treatment.
However, if you see that the wart changes color, size or shape, the best thing to do is to go to the vet to eliminate the hypothesis of a malignant tumor; in fact, many tumors appear in the form of warts.
In these cases, a tissue analysis will be carried out: the liquid inside the wart is aspirated with a needle and the cells are observed under a microscope.
Veterinary surgery and cryotherapy
If cancer is suspected or if the wart prevents the animal from running, seeing, eating, walking well, or if it tries in every way to scratch it off, it is best to eliminate it at a specialized veterinary center.
To get rid of a wart you can perform a small surgery or use cryotherapy, which consists of freezing it until it disappears.
In addition, the dog will have to start a treatment to strengthen his immune system and thus fight the virus.
Under no circumstances should you try to eliminate or shrink warts on your own. Do not use household tools or products for humans on your pet, especially if they are placed around the eyes; you run the risk of damaging their skin and doing damage to their visual system.
