Dog with red eye because sleeps with eye opened (photo)

Question

I adopted an old boxer that sleeps with one eye a little open.

This part of the eye is red and I think is because it get dry.

Is there any nutrient or solution so he close his eye while he sleeps?

This photo has two months. I think his eye is still the same. His nose is much better: I put on it mometasone cream for some days, then vaseline and then milking cream. The milking cream was the best:

Translated to English: Milk cream with Aloe Vera. Healing - Lubricant - Moisturizing. For milky cows.

He was in the street without food and eating from the garbage. But now he is very happy with me, the veterinary and real food!

Answer 1

Looks like his nictitating membrane (the "third eye lid") is inflamed. You should go to the vet for several reasons:

• Get some antibiotic or anti-inflammatory eye drops to treat the current inflammation. Eye drops work better than antibiotic pills, because the active substances cannot be transported very well from the blood stream into the eye.
• I think vets put special eye drops with vaseline into the eyes of animals they put under anaesthetic to prevent the eyes drying out. Maybe you can get some of those for your dog.
• His eyes look somewhat bulging and he may be unable to completely close his eyelids. In this case his eye may get infected again and again. Ask the vet if this can be corrected with an operation.

Edit:
And I only now noticed that his nose looks really dry and flaky. A healthy dog should have a cool and moist nose. While this is by no means an indication that he is somehow ill, it sure looks uncomfortable. Doesn't hurt to do a general health check while you're at the vet.

Answer 2

Many stroke patients or folks who have contracted Bell's Palsy lack the ability to close their (affected side) eye completely, and it does lead to problems with dryness, irritation, and at worse, ulceration.

The treatment is to put a small amount of a minimally medicated opthalmic ointment in their eye every night at bedtime, then closing their eyelid manually, to move it around, rubbing/spreading it around the globe.

It probably wouldn't hurt to use a lubricating eyedrop a couple times a day until the redness diminishes to equal that of the unaffected eye. (Some redness is not necessarily a sign of pathology. One of my dogs had red conjunctiva for 13 years for no apparent reason.)