A new study has found that over 80 per cent of Renfrewshire’s pet owners are not aware that their pets have allergies.
The study, conducted by All About Vision, saw 1,000 UK pet owners surveyed by the eyesight experts to help raise awareness on eye diseases in pets and how important it is to look after your furry friends’ eyes to avoid irreversible damage.
Discussing the results, leading Medical Reviewer and specialist in veterinary medicine, Dr Matthew Belden, said: “These statistics are not surprising at all. Most people don't know they have allergies, much less their pets.
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“Allergies are very common in dogs and the types of allergies we usually see include food allergies - which can cause chronic diarrhoea, inhalant allergies and contact allergies.”
Untreated eye disease can lead to intense pain and suffering. Resulting in permanent damage such as corneal scarring and partial or total blindness.
The most common sign your furry friend is suffering with allergies is excessive itching or scratching to the point where the skin is damaged. Other signs include itchy, watery eyes and sneezing.
Dr Belden said: “If allergies are left untreated, your pet can suffer terribly. Damage to the skin from excessive itching can become prone to yeast infections, which can become difficult to treat. Since our pets can't tell us when they are suffering, we need to be observant.”
Unsurprisingly, 84 per cent of Renfrewshire pet owners said that better education is needed on how to look after their pets’ eyes correctly. As 29 per cent wouldn’t know what they would need to do to help improve their pet’s eye health.
For more information on how to look after your pets’ eyes, please visit the All About Vision website https://www.allaboutvision.com/eye-care/pets-animals/top-tips-for-pet-eye-care/
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