Last August, the FDA sent a letter of warning to three manufacturers of tearstain removal products. The reason? They contain the antibiotic tylosin tartrate, which is not approved for use in dogs or cats, or for the treatment of tearstain-related conditions.
The companies receiving the letters included the makers of Angels’ Eyes, Angels’ Glow, Pets’ Spark, and two exported products, Glow Groom and Health Glow. One or more of these products may be familiar to you if you’ve ever had a pet with tear staining – though you may not have been aware they contain an antibiotic.
The FDA has warned that if the products remain on the market, the agency may seize them or file an injunction against the manufacturers. Tylosin tartrate is approved by the FDA for use in livestock, but not in dogs and cats except when prescribed by a veterinarian. I think this is a good move (which is not a blanket endorsement of the FDA, by the way). I can’t imagine how these over-the-counter products containing tylosin tartrate have been sold under the radar for so long, especially since it is widely acknowledged that antibiotics are overused in the U.S., and antibiotic-resistant bacteria is a serious public health concern.
Tear Staining: What Is It? What Causes It?
Tear staining is usually caused by epiphora, which is the technical word for excessive tear production. The tearstains themselves are reddish-brown streaks under a dog’s (or cat’s) eyes. The condition is much more prevalent in certain breeds (for example, the Maltese, the Lhasa Apso, and the Shih Tzu), and is much more obvious in animals with light-colored coats. While tear staining is typically no more than a minor annoyance, it can also be a symptom of a serious eye health problem.
Medical causes of tear staining can include: ingrown eyelashes, infection of the eye, unusually large tear glands, unusually small tear duct openings, glaucoma or another eye disease, entropion (inverted eyelid), brachycephalic syndrome, ear infection, medications, exposure to secondhand smoke, poor-quality diet, plastic food bowls, stress, and teething in puppies. If you have a dog or cat with tear staining, I recommend talking about it with your veterinarian at your next appointment. It’s important to rule out medical causes before you assume it’s a simple matter of too much tear production.
Why Some Pets Have or Show More Tear Staining
Tearstains are typically the result of porphyrins. Porphyrins are naturally occurring molecules containing iron – waste products from the breakdown of red blood cells — and are mostly removed from the body in the usual way (in poop). However, in dogs and cats, porphyrin can also be excreted through tears, saliva, and urine.
When tears and saliva containing porphyrins sit on light-colored fur for any period of time, staining will occur. And if it seems your pet’s tearstains are worse after he’s been outside, you’re not imagining things. The iron-containing stains do indeed darken when exposed to sunlight.
Now, if the stains are more of a brown color than rust colored, it’s likely your pet has developed a yeast infection on her face because the fur under her eyes is constantly wet with tears. Brown stains from a yeast infection are different from red staining caused by porphyrins. This can be important to know if you’re trying to resolve brown stains with a product intended for red stains, or vice versa. Yeast infections are also odiferous, so if your pet’s face smells, think yeast. Pets can also have both a porphyrin stained face and a secondary yeast infection from the constantly moist skin.
To confuse matters further, currently, we can only guess at why some dogs make more porphyrin than others (and therefore have more tear staining). We can assume genetics and innate bacterial levels are involved, because certain breeds can be more prone to staining. But I have seen excessive porphyrin production in healthy animals eating a clean diet little or no environmental toxin exposure (including vaccines). And I have seen the same amount of porphyrins in very unhealthy animals that I know are eating toxic food and living in toxic environments.
How to Treat Tearstains Safely
First, drug therapy, like tetracycline, to reduce tear staining is NOT an acceptable or healthy strategy. You can do a lot to control your pet’s tear staining by keeping his face meticulously clean and free of porphyrin-containing moisture. This means gently wiping his face at least twice a day with a soft, warm, damp cloth, keeping his face hair trimmed, and if necessary, making regular appointments with a groomer.
Other suggestions:
- Feed a high-quality, balanced, species-appropriate diet. The less unnecessary, indigestible stuff your pet’s body has to deal with, the less stress on her organs of detoxification.
- Provide your pet with fresh, filtered or distilled drinking water instead of tap water, which is often high in mineral content or iron and other impurities, including chlorine and fluoride, which are toxic to pets.
- Replace plastic food and water bowls with stainless steel, porcelain, or glass. Worn plastic containers can harbor bacteria that may irritate your pet’s face.
- Eye health in intimately connected to liver and GI health. So, I have used milk thistle, dandelion, olive leaf, chlorophyll, colostrum, and probiotics successfully to decrease the amount of staining in my patients.
- Clean your pet’s face with colloidal silver, which is completely safe around the eyes. You can buy it at any health food store, in a spray or liquid dropper. Apply a little of the colloidal silver to a cotton ball and wipe your pet’s face. Colloidal silver has antimicrobial properties and will help reduce opportunistic yeast infections and moist dermatitis that can occur in the corners of your pet’s eyes.
- HALO makes an excellent herbal eye wash for pets. If your dog or cat is prone to excessive crusting or matting in the corners of her eyes, ask your groomer to shave the hair away so you can effectively clean the skin under the eyes. Using a dab of coconut oil on the moist “tracks” of skin where tearstains accumulate can also prevent the skin from becoming irritated and inflamed. When there is a skin infection present, my local veterinary ophthalmologist recommends using a diluted organic, tear-free baby shampoo on the skin twice a day until the infection resolves.
- Ask your holistic veterinarian for suggestions on one or several of the all-natural tearstain removal products on the market.
Besides antibiotics, things I’ve seen suggested that I do not recommend you use to treat tearstains include: Tums, topical apple cider vinegar (oral is fine), milk of magnesia, hydrogen peroxide, makeup remover, gold bond in any form (or any powder intended for humans), or corn syrup. Additionally, never use human eye drops on pets, except for basic eye saline solution with no additives.
Becker, K. “The Hidden Message Behind Your Pet’s Tear Stains”. Retrieved July 17, 2015 from http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2014/11/12/pet-tear-staining.aspx