Senior Boston Terrier With a Red Eye and an Inward-Turned Lower Lid

An eyelid that turns inward is called entropion. When it happens, hair and lashes rub against the eye, which causes redness, watering, squinting and sometimes corneal ulcers. Flat-faced breeds like Boston Terriers often have it at the inner corner of the lower lid. In older dogs, it can also develop when a painful eye makes them squint.

Other causes of a red eye and pink tissue in the inner corner include conjunctivitis, dry eye, which Boston Terriers and older dogs are prone to, and cherry eye, a slipped gland in the inner corner. Please have your vet look at it soon. They'll check for an ulcer with a dye test and measure her tears.

Treatment depends on the cause. Lubricating drops and treating any ulcer help in the short term, but entropion that's been there a while usually needs a small surgery to roll the lid back out. The outlook after treatment is excellent. Please don't try human eye drops in the meantime.

See red eyes in dogs and watery eyes in dogs.

This is general information, not a diagnosis. Please follow your own vet's advice.