The 5 Minute Veterinary Consult Pdf Free' title='The 5 Minute Veterinary Consult Pdf Free' />A Veterinary Guide to Tear Stains. Classic before and after picture of the type used by tear stain snake oil salesmen. Oy vey, this topics a mess, isnt it I tell you what, researching this article revealed a TON of misinformation. Im going to attempt to clear it up. Quick rule of thumb any time theres a million suggested treatments for something, that means that no one treatment works for everyone. This much is clear. Some dogs produce excessive tears primarily because when humans turned wolves into poodles, bichons, Maltese, boxers, bulldogs, etc, that selective breeding created short noses and protruding eyes that contribute to abnormally narrow and often crooked tear ducts. Excessive tears, then, is a problem that cant necessarily be fixed in most of these dogs because we bred it into them in the first place, but the effects of too many tears can be managed. Other veterinary medical causes for excessive tearing, by the way, include ingrown eye lashes, abnormally large tear producing glands, abnormally small tear duct openings, stress, drugs, poor quality diet, smoking, ear infection, and plastic food bowls. ALL OF THESE SHOULD BE RULED OUT BY YOUR VETERINARIAN BEFORE YOU READ THE REST OF THIS ARTICLE. Importantly, young puppies will tend to produce more tears when they are teething. When the dog reaches maturity, tear staining should lessen. Now, assuming you and your veterinarian have ruled out medical causes of excessive tear production, what now can be done for the stains that often resultAnd why do these stains happen in the first place Lets begin Grab yourself a cup of tea, this might take a minuteTear stains are usually caused by dye molecules called porphyrins. Porphyrins are iron containing molecules, produced when the body breaks down red blood cells. Porphyrins are excreted primarily through bile and the intestinal tract, but in dogs a significant amount of porphyrin is excreted through tears, saliva and also urine. When porphyrin containing tears or saliva sits on white fur for any length of time, stains result. These iron related stains intensifydarken in the presence of sunlight. All dogs produce porphyrin, but of course porphyrin staining is most noticeable on light colored dogs. If you have ever noticed a white dog who has been licking or chewing on his leg, the hair in that area will turn iron brown in color as well. Fonts In Adobe Font Folio 11. Primarily, then, most tear stains in most dogs can be simply prevented by keeping the face meticulously free of porphyrin containing tears. That means keeping the face hair trimmed, and wiping the face at least twice daily with a slightly damp wash cloth, to dilute out and wash away the tears. Or, if you want to get really fancy, cleaning under the eyes with ordinary contact lens cleaning solution containing dilute boric acid, that oxidizes the iron in the porphyrins and lightens the color will help keep things neat and tidy. But cleaning the face certainly isnt the whole story, is it. What about Red Yeast Oy, Red Yeast, also known on various websites, blogs and forums as Ptyrosporin. Well folks, Ptyrosporin do not exist. Time to learn about yeast AFTER A QUICK HISTORY LESSONOnce upon a time 1. Malassez isolated yeast cells from human dandruff scales ew. In 1. 88. 9, a different fellow named Baillon included this group of yeasts under the genus Malassezia, named after the first guy. Infection control guidelines for long term care facilities emphasis on body substance precautions. I/51xnC%2BupmHL._SR600%2C315_PIWhiteStrip%2CBottomLeft%2C0%2C35_PIAmznPrime%2CBottomLeft%2C0%2C-5_PIStarRatingTHREEANDHALF%2CBottomLeft%2C360%2C-6_SR600%2C315_ZA(31%20Reviews)%2C445%2C286%2C400%2C400%2Carial%2C12%2C4%2C0%2C0%2C5_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg' alt='The 5 Minute Veterinary Consult Pdf Free' title='The 5 Minute Veterinary Consult Pdf Free' />A third dude named Sabouraud 1. Pityrosporum malassez. In the following years, there was controversy regarding the generic name of the fungus, and in 1. Malassezia finally gained priority over Pityrosporum and was accepted as the generic name for the fungus. So Malassezia Pityrosporum, but Ptyrosporin doesnt exist. Somewhere along the line, probably before the official name change in 1. BEFORE the internet was even invented LOL someone boogered up the spelling and mislabelled this yeast as Ptyrosporin. Suffice it to say, the Red Yeast everyone is talking about is not some magical red stain making yeast strain found only in dog tears, its the same, brown, boring ol Malassezia that causes ear infections and skin infections and all kinds of other routine grossness in dogs. This finding was a shock to me, as a tiny little misspelling propagated over thousands of websites has led to a massive misunderstanding of what causes tear stains. Who cares what its called, Dr. Magnusson How do you treat it Well, I care, and heres why. If your dog develops a YEAST INFECTION aside her nose as the result of the fur under her eyes being chronically wet with tears, because youre not cleaning her face and keeping her fur trimmed, thats a medical condition easily treated with proper grooming and upkeep. BROWN staining from yucky yeast infection secondary to poor grooming maintenance, and RED staining from porphyrins, are two different problems, which is why oral supplements aimed at reducing porphyrin production will not work in all dogs. Now thats cleared up, why do some dogs make more porphyrin than others Thats the 6. The answer, of course, is not a yeast problem but rather a bacterial problem. RjMydXOxCQ/hqdefault.jpg' alt='The 5 Minute Veterinary Consult Pdf Free' title='The 5 Minute Veterinary Consult Pdf Free' />Which bacteria, exactly, contribute to excessive porphyrin production We dont know for sure. There is some suspicion though nobody has ever proved this that our old friend Malassezia aka Pityrosporium, aka NOT Ptyrosporin are still involved somehow, even though we know very well the problem is primarily bacteria. Some believe the Malassezia somehow interacts with the bacteria in the tears of these dogs, and that somehow Malassezia fueled bacteria or bacteria fueled Malassezia then produce porphyrin. The mechanism of this bacterial porphyrin production is unclear. What is clear, however, is that giving dogs certain antibiotics eliminates excessive porphyrin production in some dogs, so yeast infection is not the only possible cause of tear stains. Tylosin, the antibiotic in Angels Eyes, is often effective in these bacterial cases. Responses to 4157 Dogs Reported Dead From Rimadyl Marilyn Says January 31st, 2014 at 741 am. Im wondering if Metacam has similar effects to this medication. Since we know Tylosin is NOT effective against Malassezia Pityrosporium Ptyrosporin, that MUST mean that chronic low grade bacterial infections are the cause of tear stains in some dogs. Wait, did you just say that Angels Eyes and Angels Glow are effective because they contain ANTIBIOTICS Yup. Why isnt the FDA more concerned about the OTC use of an antibiotic Shouldnt that be illegal Its clearly illegal for any company to make a product containing any other antibiotic, but somehow supplements containing Tylosin have managed to fly under the radar. Probably not forever, as every other country in the world has outlawed Angels Eyes and their ilk and some have taken action to remove these products from store shelves heres a supporting document from the UK. As with any antibiotic, Tylosin is usually harmless in small doses, but may be harmful to some dogs. At the very least, giving low dose broad spectrum antibiotics to any dog is likely to encourage bacterial resistance, a problem the human medical community has been hounding the veterinary community about for years pardon the pun. ARE THERE ORAL MEDICATIONS THAT REDUCE PORPHYRIN PRODUCTION AND DO NOT CONTAIN TYLOSIN Im so glad you asked Of course there are Naturally, now that were getting into the fuzzy realm of nutraceuticals, probiotics and other poorly studied supplements with little to no oversight or regulation, I cant really vouch for any of these products.