Sudden onset of blindness of dogs
Numerous eye diseases, as well as systemic diseases, can cause sudden blindness in dogs. Fortunately, many of these conditions are reversible and are easily treated if diagnosed at an early stage of the disease. Any sudden worsening or loss of vision should be reported to an ophthalmologist as soon as possible.
Sudden loss of vision and the appearance of “red eyes”
The most common conditions that cause severe redness of the eye and loss of vision are glaucoma, lens dislocation, severe intraocular inflammation (uveitis, chorioretinitis), acute trauma, bleeding disorders (causing blood accumulation in the eye), and rapid progression of cataracts (which is most common in dogs with diabetes, or as a consequence of trauma, or in some forms of hereditary cataracts in Bichon breed).
Sudden loss of vision and “normal” appearance of the eyes
The most common conditions that cause sudden vision loss and normal eye appearance are:
- sudden retinal degeneration syndrome (SARDs),
- immune retinitis (IMR),
- retinal detachment,
- optic neuritis/meningitis
- exposure to certain toxins and drugs (especially exposure to ivermectin),
- optic nerve tumors
- orbital tumors
- brain tumors and
- ischemic events (strokes) of the area of the brain responsible for vision.
Many systemic diseases may result in sudden blindness. In addition to causing sudden blindness, many of these diseases can be life-threatening, and therefore a detailed medical examination of every patient with sudden onset of blindness is mandatory.