Does tap water cause tear stains?

Question

Joshua Broadwater · Answer

Does tap water cause tear stains in dogs? So short answer, we don't really know. It may play a small role, but the biggest reason we see as veterinarians for this to occur happens a lot in small little poodles or bichons that have white fur and they have this brown tear staining on the inside. And if we've ruled out any true disease that can cause this, then many times we're left with a congenital issue about how the eye was formed from birth and why this occurs. And this usually involves a little tight ligament on the lower eyelid near where the tear duct is, the tear puncta, and some hairs that grow on the inside part that serve as a wick to wick some of those tears from the eye onto the face instead of going down into that little tear puncta and that little tear duct. So when that occurs, that's what causes the staining. And the actual staining, what causes the brown, is something called porphyrins, which is something that is found commonly in tears in saliva, and it's in varying degrees, but whenever it's exposed and dried in the environment, it can turn brown or rust-colored. And some dogs happen to get this more than others, and that may involve an environmental change, a diet change, a water change, we don't always know what, you know, from the first five years a dog never had it and then starts to develop it, and other dogs develop it from birth. So there's different things that may play a small role, but the majority of the reason for this is the congenital conformation or shape of the face and the eye that gives way for something like this to develop and sometimes get worse over time. And if it is, there are some treatments that are available that can be utilized to try to help the staining, since many times it's just a cosmetic issue, but we may be able to treat that and improve it.

Christine Wickenheiser · Answer

Does tap water. Cause tear stains, does not the pH of their tears and saliva is what causes the tear staining. You can give them Omega fatty acids and try probiotics dealt with it, but it's shouldn't be caused by tap water as far as I know.

Swimming

Strength

Triathlon

Photography

Track & Field

Nutrition

Physical Therapy

Running

Pets

Cycling

Podcasting

HealthCare

Musculoskeletal

Hockey

First Responders

Integrative Medicine

Chiropractic

Cross Country Skiing

Adaptive Sports

Climbing

Mental Health

Surfing

Tennis

Military

Mind Body

Scholars

Criminal Justice

Liquor

CrossFit

Golf

Soccer

Pickleball

Hunting

Public Speaking

Venture Capital

"Does tap water cause tear stains?"