Eye Injury — Injured Eyes Lose Function in Hours

Types of Eye Emergency

1. Corneal scratch/ulcer — squinting, watery eye, cloudy spot, pawing at face
2. Foreign object — visible debris, hay, branch, claw scratch
3. Proptosis — eyeball partially or fully out of socket (Frenchie classic)
4. Blunt trauma — hit by ball, dog fight, fence collision
5. Chemical exposure — shampoo, cleaning product, citrus oil

For PROPTOSIS (Eye Out of Socket)

• ❌ DO NOT push eye back in — permanent damage
• ❌ DO NOT let cornea dry out
• ✅ Keep the eye wet with sterile gauze soaked in saline, re-wetted so it never dries out
• ✅ Cover loosely with damp clean cloth (NOT pressure)
• ✅ Cone, or hold his paws gently, so he can't paw at it
• ✅ CALL THE ER BEFORE YOU GET IN THE CAR — ten seconds; they need to prep for tarsorrhaphy (after the eye is put back, the eyelids are stitched closed for a while to protect it). If someone is with you, they call while you take care of the dog
• Goal: the vet as fast as you safely can

For FOREIGN OBJECT

• ❌ DO NOT try to remove — even a "small" stick fragment can be embedded into the cornea
• ❌ DO NOT rub or wipe
• ✅ Saline rinse ONLY if surface debris is loose (sand, grass)
• ✅ Put a cone on him and take him to the vet right away

For CHEMICAL EXPOSURE

• ✅ Flush right away with lots of water or saline for at least 20 MINUTES — tap water is fine if you have nothing else. It is the one thing you can do at home that saves vision in a chemical burn (Merck)
• Use a syringe or a squeeze bottle — not a shower head
• Then call the vet and take him in right away

For CORNEAL SCRATCH (Squinting, Tearing, Cloudy)

• ✅ Cone immediately to prevent self-trauma
• ❌ DO NOT use human eye drops — steroid drops can stop an ulcer from healing and cause serious complications (VCA), and other human drops are not made for dogs
• ✅ Take him to the vet now, not tomorrow — the vet checks for an ulcer with a fluorescein stain test (orange dye, glows green on ulcers under blue light)

Why Frenchies Are Extra Vulnerable

• Shallow orbits — eye sits more exposed than long-nosed breeds
• Large eyelid openings (palpebral fissures) — eyelids don't fully cover cornea even when "closed"
• Decreased corneal sensation — they may not feel early surface damage, and many blink incompletely
• Proptosis can occur with minimal trauma — even rough scruffing or restraint (pressure around the eyes or neck)
• Misplaced eyelashes or in-rolled eyelids can let hair rub on the cornea

Cost of Emergency Eye Surgery

• We found no official figure for this. Prices vary a lot by country and clinic — ask for a quote.
• Pet insurance: get coverage BEFORE the first incident — an eye problem that already exists is usually excluded as a pre-existing condition. Ask the insurer what the policy excludes.

Recovery and Follow-Up

After tarsorrhaphy:

• Eyelids sutured shut, usually for 2–3 weeks (sometimes longer)
• Topical antibiotics (vet-prescribed — your vet sets the schedule)
• Oral anti-inflammatory (vet-prescribed)
• Keep the cone on day and night, for as long as your vet says
• Recheck weekly

Possible complications: blindness, glaucoma, dry eye (keratoconjunctivitis sicca, KCS) requiring lifelong eye drops, corneal ulceration recurrence.

Time-Critical Takeaway

Injured eyes lose function in HOURS, not days.

• Squinting + cloudy spot = vet right away. Do not wait for the evening or the next morning
• A small corneal ulcer can get worse within hours — do not wait for tomorrow

About the Author

Spike’s Dad

Not a veterinarian — the human behind Spike, a dark brindle Frenchie, for 7+ years. What is written here is checked as carefully as we can against the sources listed above. When real life with Spike differs from the studies, we say so.

How this site is researched →