Tear Stains in Bulldogs and French Bulldogs

Tear Stains in Bulldogs and French Bulldogs are a common complaint among bulldog owners, especially if their bully’s coat is light-colored.

Many bulldogs and French bulldog owners blame the mysterious, infamous, “RED YEAST” for those unsightly, wet, reddish, tear stains, citing “Dr. Yahoo” and his associate “Dr. Google”.

This is a FALLACY!

Tear Stains in Bulldogs and French Bulldogs PORPHYRIN:

The true origin of those mysterious tearstains is a red blood cell (RBC) by-product called “porphyrin”.

BULLDOG TEARS PORPHYRIN EXCRETION:

Your bulldog’s average RBC life span is about 4 months. When your bulldog’s red blood cell dies (expires), its remains, including porphyrin, are processed via the liver, biliary system, GI tract, and urine, and extracted via your bulldog’s saliva and tears.

BULLDOG TEARS PORPHYRIN LIGHT ACTIVATION:

Porphyrin contains a light-sensitive iron molecule that when exposed to sunlight turns reddish (oxidizes), thus when your bulldog licks its paws or leg, such as in the cases of

• Bulldog Allergies
• Bulldog pododermatitis
• Bulldog lick granuloma

Those areas often turn reddish and dark upon exposure to sunlight.

SALIVA & TEARS: Porphyrin is excreted in your bully tears and saliva

EXCESSIVE TEARING & LICKING: The activated porphyrin in your bully tears and saliva turns the licked and teared fur area into a reddish color.

Tear Stains in Bulldogs and French Bulldogs EXCESSIVE TEARS 

Excessive tears are the most common reason for tear stains. The two common reasons for excessive tears are:

• Tear overproduction
• Tear insufficient drainage

Tear Stains in Bulldogs and French Bulldogs OVERPRODUCTION:

The most common reasons for tear overproduction in bulldogs and French bulldogs are:

BULLDOG ABNORMAL EYELASHES:

Bulldog eyelash problems like Distichiasis, Trichiasis, and ectopic cilia, all of which will irritate and injure the cornea.

BULLDOG ABNORMAL EYELID:

Bulldog eyelid problems like entropion, which is an inner rotation of the eyelids.

BULLDOG CORNEA ULCERS:

Bulldog corneal ulcers are painful, irritating injuries to your bulldog’s cornea.

BULLDOG EYEBALL ABNORMALITIES:

Bulldog exophthalmos, which is a protrusion of the eyeball, is common in brachycephalic breeds.

BULLDOG ALLERGIES:

Bulldog allergies, such as bulldog atopic itch dermatitis and bulldog food allergy.

Tear Stains in Bulldogs and French Bulldogs TEAR DRAINAGE :

Tears’ insufficient drainage, such as occluded tear ducts due to the breed’s compressed facial bones are the second reason for excessive tears.

Tear Stains in Bulldogs and French Bulldogs PRESENTATION:

Common clinical presentations for those conditions are:

• SHUT EYELIDS: Difficulty opening eyes
• SQUINTING: Squinting and shying away from direct light
• RUBBING: Scratching and rubbing face and eyes
• DISCHARGE: Discharge and gunk
• REDNESS: Red, puffed, irritated eyes (Conjunctivitis, Scleritis)
• CLOUDINESS: Cloudiness, scaring, the opaqueness of the cornea

For additional information about those common bulldog conditions, please read Dr. Kraemer’s “Eyes & Eye Lids” pages.

Tear Stains in Bulldogs and French Bulldogs “RED YEAST” :

The “Red Yeast” is an urban myth.

The red-colored tearstains are due to porphyrin, a red blood cell (RBC) by-product, that is excreted from your bulldog’s tears and saliva.

The myth propagation is possibly an innocent mix-up with the common bully skin and ears yeast organism, Malassezia(a Pityrosporum NOT Porphyrin).

BULLDOG RED YEAST MALASSEZIA:

Yeasty bully (Malassezia) stains and discharge are usually dark brownish and might have an odor.

The “red yeast” (Malassezia) is typically found in the wet, moist areas, such as inside your bulldog’s ear canal, skin, and skin folds (i.e. Bully Yeasty Otitis, Bully Yeasty Moist Skin-Fold Dermatitis, Bully Yeasty Dermatitis).

Bully Malassezia can be diagnosed by culture or cytology taken from your bully’s skin, skin fold, and ear canal via a swab or skin impression.

YEASTY BULLDOG TOPICAL V4B PREVENTION & TREATMENT:

Dr. Kraemer’s provides a wide range of topical v4b bully anti-yeast products:

• V4B Bully Skin-Fold Antiseptic Wipes
• Bully Yeasty Antiseptic Shampoo
• Waterless Rinse-Free Lotions
• Bully Yeasty Antiseptic Ear Rinse

Tear Stains in Bulldogs and French Bulldogs WARNINGS:

Bulldog tear stains warning#1 EXAM:

For all of the above conditions, please see your veterinarian as soon as possible.

Bulldog tear stains warning #2 TYLOSIN ANTIBIOTICS:

Antibiotics, like Tylosin, have occasionally been shown to help reduce porphyrin in the tears, thus in those cases, a bacterium is implicated. The bacteria are possibly contracted by contact with unclean plastic water bowls and face scratching due to allergies.

BULLDOG TEAR STAIN OTC WARNING:

Most of the over-the-counter tear stain removal products such as “Angel Dust”, “Tear Stain  STy, and “Pet Spark” contain antibiotics like Tylosin, which is borderline illegal, unethical, and potentially harmful to your bulldog (i.e. drug adverse reaction, such as well as endangering and propagating resistance to those essential antibiotics for nothing more than vanity and cosmetics).

BULLDOG TEAR STAIN ANTIBIOTICS WARNING :

I don’t recommend using prescription antibiotics for cosmetic issues, never forget our “Do No Harm” rule.

Antibiotics for any bulldog medical condtion are prescription-only and should be supervised by your veterinarian.  

Bulldog and French Bulldog Tear Stain TREATMENT & CARE:

Listed below is a short summary of six sound steps to prevent and remove bulldog and French bulldog tear stains.

BULLDOG TEAR STAIN GROOMING:

Proper Grooming of the area under the eyes keeping the hair short and the skin dry

BULLDOG TEAR STAINS BULLY WIPES:

Bulldog tear stains can be reduced by wiping often the wet surface using an appropriate wipe like Dr. Kraemer’s V4B Bully Tear StainLess XL Wipes.

Skinfolds and Tear Stains timely wiping is critical, I recommend at least once or twice a day.

BULLDOG TEAR STAINS NON-TYLOSIN SUPPLEMENT SAFTY:

In contrast to other OTC products that contain unauthorized potentially harmful antibiotics, Dr. Kraemer’sV4B Bully Tear StainLess Chews are Tylosin Free (ANTIBIOTICS FREE).

Dr. Kraemer’s Bully Tear StainLess contains botanical, natural ingredients and is an easy-to-administer chew.

BULLDOG TEAR STAIN WATER & FOOD BOWLS:

Stainless steel feeding and water bowls are less likely to crack, and easier to clean, thus less likely to harbor and colonize porphyrin-stimulating bacteria.

BULLDOG SKINFOLD MOIST YEAST DERMATITIS:

Maintain and dry your bulldog and French bulldog skin folds to help eliminate bacteria and Malassezia yeast microorganisms (skin fold moist dermatitis),

Dr. Kraemer’s V4B Bully Antiseptic Skin Fold XL wipes are ideal for the daily maintenance of those folds.

BULLDOG TEAR STAINS STRESS & NUTRITION:

Reducing stress, boosting the immune system, and feeding a balanced nutrition diet could help prevent and/or eliminate tear stains.

Treating bulldog tear stains can be complemented with various supplements, such as Dr. Kraemer’s:

• V4B Bully Immune Support
• V4B Bully StressLess Formula
• V4B Bully Fish Oil Immune-Skin-Joint
• V4B Bully Multi-vitamin Advanced Formula
• V4B Bully Pre & ProBiotic.

” An Ounce of PREVENTION Is Worth a Pound of CURE” 

*This guide was compiled courtesy of Dr. Kraemer, a “must-read” manual for any current or future bully owner