Optixcare for dogs is an over-the-counter eye-care line manufactured for CLC Medica and distributed in North America by Aventix. Eye Lube and Eye Lube Plus are sterile carbomer gels that add moisture to the eye surface, the Eye Cleaner rinses debris and tear-stain build-up, and Eye Health is an antioxidant gel. None of them acts on an infection or restores tear production.
That last sentence is the part most product pages skip, and it explains why so many owners end up disappointed. A lubricant buys comfort; it does not fix the reason the eye is uncomfortable. And for most Australian dogs, the everyday problem isn't diagnosed dry eye at all — it's dust, beach sand, summer pollen and the crusty, rust-coloured tear stains that build up around the eyes. If what you actually need is daily cleaning rather than lubrication, that is the job Pure Majesty Pets Dog Eye Drops are built for: a sterile, non-medicated 120 mL rinse buffered to pH 7.0–7.2 and filtered to 10 microns, for A$30.00 (down from A$74.00), with free worldwide shipping — ships to Australia with duties and GST prepaid (DDP), nothing to pay on delivery. Below: the actual label of each Optixcare product, what the veterinary evidence supports about eye lubricants in dogs, how Optixcare compares with the eye-care products you'll find at Petbarn, Pet Circle and Petstock, and the signs that mean a vet exam today rather than another drop from a tube.
What is Optixcare used for in dogs?
Optixcare is not one product but a small family of over-the-counter topicals for dogs, cats and horses, each doing a different job:
- Eye Lube and Eye Lube Plus — sterile lubricating gels, labelled for eye lubrication during anaesthesia and as adjunctive support for dry eyes.
- Eye Cleaner (and the matching wipes) — a rinse for removing ocular secretions, sticky mucus, crusty debris and irritants such as pollen and dust, and for reducing tear staining and facial-fold odour.
- Eye Health — a sterile ophthalmic gel positioned as a topical nutritional antioxidant, indicated as an aid in protecting against ocular oxidative stress.
In plain terms: a lubricant adds volume to the tear film, a cleaner removes what has collected around the eye, and the antioxidant gel is a long-term maintenance idea. Buying the wrong one is the most common mistake, and easy to make when the tubes look almost identical on a shelf or in an online listing.
Can you buy Optixcare in Australia?
Optixcare is a North American range, labelled and distributed through Aventix in the United States and Canada. We have not confirmed an Australian stockist or an Australian shelf price, so we don't quote one here. If your vet recommends a carbomer or carbomer-plus-hyaluronic-acid gel for diagnosed dry eye, ask your vet clinic which lubricant they stock locally — clinics supply equivalent ophthalmic gels, and buying through the clinic means the product is matched to a diagnosis rather than guessed from a photo.
For the far more common job — cleaning — Australian pet stores carry a handful of options. On the eye-care shelf at Pet City you'll find Petkin Jumbo Eye Wipes (80 wipes, A$27.95) and TropiClean Tear Stain Remover (236 mL, A$29.95); big chains such as Petbarn, Petstock and Pet Circle carry grooming and eye-care ranges alongside their health aisles. Here's how they line up against a dedicated eye rinse:
| Product | Format | Price (A$, GST incl.) | What it's for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pure Majesty Pets Dog Eye Drops | 120 mL sterile rinse, pH 7.0–7.2 | A$30.00 (was A$74.00), free DDP shipping | Daily flushing of dust, pollen and discharge, plus tear-stain control with sodium phytate |
| Petkin Jumbo Eye Wipes | 80 pre-moistened wipes | A$27.95 | Wiping the fur around the eye; does not flush the eye surface |
| TropiClean Tear Stain Remover | 236 mL | A$29.95 | Stained fur under the eye |
| Optixcare Eye Lube / Lube Plus | 20 g sterile gel | No verified Australian price | Lubrication for diagnosed dry eye or under anaesthesia |
Wipes and fur products are fine for the face, but they don't reach the corner of the eye where grit and dried discharge actually sit. That's the gap a sterile rinse fills — at roughly the same price as a packet of wipes.
What is actually in each Optixcare product?
Ingredient lists matter more than star ratings. These come from the Aventix / CLC Medica labels, not a retailer description.
| Product | Size & form | Ingredients as listed on the label |
|---|---|---|
| Eye Lube | 20 g sterile gel | Deionised water, sorbitol, carbomer, sodium hydroxide, disodium EDTA, cetrimide |
| Eye Lube Plus | 20 g sterile gel | Deionised water, sorbitol, carbomer, hyaluron, sodium hydroxide, disodium EDTA, cetrimide |
| Eye Cleaner | 100 mL solution | Deionised water, PEG 80, polysorbate 80, sodium hyaluronate, sodium citrate, disodium EDTA, sodium chloride, sodium perborate, Chamomilla recutita |
| Eye Health | 20 g sterile gel | Deionised water, sorbitol, carbomer, resveratrol, astaxanthin, ethyl pyruvate, EGCG, disodium EDTA, cetrimide |
Two things stand out. There is no antibiotic, steroid or tear-stimulating drug anywhere in the range — expected for an over-the-counter line, and the reason none of it belongs on an infected eye. And the gels are preserved with cetrimide, with the label instructing you to discard an opened tube after 60 days and never touch the tip to the eye or any surface. Worth following: a contaminated tip on a scratched cornea is a real risk. Compare the Eye Cleaner with our rinse and you'll notice the overlap — sodium hyaluronate and chamomile in both — but ours swaps the sodium perborate (an oxygen-releasing whitener) for sodium phytate, which binds the oxidised minerals in tear stains without bleaching.
Optixcare Eye Lube vs Eye Lube Plus — what's the difference?
One ingredient: hyaluron (hyaluronic acid). Eye Lube is a carbomer-only gel; Eye Lube Plus is described by the manufacturer as a dual-polymer system combining carbomer gel and hyaluronic acid. Tube size, sterile format and dosing instructions are identical.
Does that matter? Research suggests it can, though the evidence is thin and worth reading carefully. In a prospective study of 25 dogs with keratoconjunctivitis sicca, Williams and colleagues moved animals from a carbomer-based tear-replacement gel to a hyaluronic-acid drop and recorded mean conjunctival hyperaemia falling from 2.12 ± 0.73 to 1.26 ± 0.59, and ocular discomfort from 2.11 ± 0.97 to 0.93 ± 0.75 on a 0–3 scale.[1] A measured improvement in redness and comfort — but from a small, unmasked before-and-after design with no control group, so read it as encouraging rather than settled.
There is a plausible physical reason. A later paper in Eye noted that native hyaluronic acid behaves as a Newtonian fluid, while a crosslinked carboxymethyl form shows the same shear-thinning as the natural tear film — thick and stable between blinks, thin and easy to spread during one.[2] Matching the physics of real tears is a sensible design goal for any eye lubricant for dogs, not a promise about your specific dog. It's also why we put 0.05% sodium hyaluronate into our own daily rinse: most plain saline washes contain none.
How a dog eye lubricant actually works — and what it can't fix
The eye's surface is coated by a three-layer tear film: an outer lipid layer, a middle aqueous layer, and an inner mucin layer that anchors it to the cornea. Cornell's Riney Canine Health Center describes keratoconjunctivitis sicca — dry eye — as a failure of the aqueous layer specifically, most often because the immune system inflames the tear-producing lacrimal glands.[3]
The mechanical consequence: a lubricant tops up the volume sitting on the cornea, but does nothing to the inflamed gland that stopped producing tears, so the dryness returns as soon as the gel clears. Cornell lists the options that address the cause — medicated drops such as cyclosporine or tacrolimus, artificial tears used alongside them, topical antibiotics if a secondary infection is present, and pilocarpine in neurogenic cases.[3]
The Merck Veterinary Manual is more specific: immune-mediated KCS is managed predominantly with topical cyclosporin A and tacrolimus, calcineurin inhibitors that block T-cell infiltration, reduce damage to the lacrimal acini, and increase natural tear production from viable glandular tissue. Cyclosporine A comes as a 0.2% ointment, with compounded 1% or 2% needed in some cases; topical tacrolimus at 0.02–0.03% is regarded as roughly 100 times more potent.[4] None of that is over the counter, none of it is inside an Optixcare tube, and in Australia those medicines come only through your vet.
Why Australian dogs get gritty, red eyes
Dry eye is a diagnosis; irritated eyes are an everyday event, and the Australian climate supplies plenty of triggers. Hot, windy summer days (December to February) carry dust and sand into the eyes on beach and park walks. Grass pollen peaks at different times depending on where you live — in northern coastal areas, subtropical grasses release most pollen from January to March, while southern grasses peak from October to December, according to ASCIA. And in higher-rainfall NSW, coastal Victoria and south-east Queensland, Wandering Trad (Tradescantia fluminensis) can trigger allergic skin reactions in dogs that often show up as puffy, rubbed faces, according to NSW DPI Weeds. The AVA's Vet Voice also lists buffalo grass and kikuyu among plants that can cause contact allergy in dogs.
None of those triggers is solved by a lubricant. What helps in the moment is getting the irritant out: a sterile, tear-matched rinse after a beach run, a dusty bushwalk or a spring afternoon on the lawn. That is precisely what our Dog Eye Drops do — 2–3 drops into the inner corner, then a gentle wipe outward. And if one eye suddenly reddens during the warmer months, remember that eye trouble and itchy faces can have other causes too; check the head and neck for ticks on the eastern seaboard, as the RSPCA Knowledgebase recommends daily checks for the paralysis tick (Ixodes holocyclus).
Lubricant vs cleaner vs prescription treatment: which one does what
Rather than pitting brands against each other, line the four categories up by what they are for. Match the tool to the problem and most of the confusion disappears.
| Category | What it does | Use it when | What it does not do | Vet needed? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
OTC eye lubricant (carbomer or carbomer + HA gel) |
Adds volume and viscosity to the tear film so the cornea stays wet between blinks | Diagnosed dry eye, wind and dust exposure, a dull-looking surface, or under anaesthesia | Restore tear production; kill bacteria; heal an ulcer | Not to buy it — but yes, to confirm the eye is dry and not ulcerated |
| OTC eye rinse / cleaner | Flushes discharge, crust, pollen and tear-stain residue off the fur and lid margin | Routine hygiene, morning crust, reddish-brown staining on light fur, after beach or dusty walks | Act on infection; change tear-duct anatomy; reach inside the eye | No for daily hygiene; yes if discharge is coloured or one-sided |
|
Rx tear stimulant (cyclosporine, tacrolimus, pilocarpine) |
Reduces immune-mediated inflammation of the lacrimal glands and raises natural tear output | KCS confirmed by a Schirmer tear test | Work instantly — Cornell notes improvement typically takes weeks | Yes — prescription only, and usually lifelong |
| Rx topical antibiotic | Targets a confirmed bacterial component | Diagnosed bacterial infection, or secondary infection over dry eye | Help allergic or purely dry eyes; substitute for a diagnosis | Yes — always |
Unsure which column your dog sits in? Our comparison of dog eye allergies vs infection walks through the signals a vet weighs first, and the colour chart in our guide to dog eye boogers decodes what the discharge itself suggests.
Is Optixcare safe for dogs?
The labels carry standard veterinary-topical warnings rather than serious cautions: for veterinary use only; discontinue and consult your veterinarian if the animal shows discomfort or irritation; sterile until the cap is removed; avoid touching the eye or any other surface with the tip; recap after use; discard an opened tube after 60 days; store at room temperature. In an Australian summer, "room temperature" matters — don't leave a tube or bottle of any eye product in a hot car or on a sunny windowsill.
Two practical precautions. Don't share a tube between animals — a tip that has touched one eye can carry organisms to another. And don't read "no reaction" as confirmation you chose correctly: a lubricant on an undiagnosed corneal ulcer is soothing and useless at once, which is how days get lost. Never improvise, either — human redness-relief drops from the chemist contain vasoconstrictors, and a leftover steroid drop is dangerous on an eye that has not been fluorescein-stained.
Can I use Optixcare on a dog's eye infection?
No. There is no antibiotic in any of these products, so nothing in the range acts on bacteria. Applying a lubricant to an infected eye softens the discharge and makes the eye look temporarily tidier — which is the problem: it masks progress you need to see.
Cornell notes that untreated KCS can cause corneal scarring, blood-vessel formation and secondary infection, potentially ending in permanent vision loss, and that thick yellow-green discharge is one of its hallmark signs.[3] That same discharge is also classic for bacterial conjunctivitis. You cannot separate the two by looking, and the medications differ. Where a sterile rinse does earn its place is alongside your vet's prescription: lifting crusted discharge painlessly between doses so the medicated drops reach a clean surface.
How often can I apply eye lubricant to my dog's eyes?
Follow the label and your veterinarian, in that order. For Eye Lube and Eye Lube Plus, the dry-eye instruction is 1–2 drops in both eyes, 2 to 4 times a day, or as often as your veterinarian or veterinary ophthalmologist recommends; under anaesthesia, 1–2 drops onto the corneal surface or conjunctival sac of both eyes. Eye Health follows the same 2-to-4-times-daily schedule.
Set supply expectations accordingly: a 20 g tube used four times a day in both eyes goes quickly, and the 60-day discard rule applies once opened. For genuine dry eye this is ongoing maintenance, not a two-week course — Cornell describes KCS as a chronic condition generally requiring lifelong management, with most dogs improving within a few weeks and some taking up to twelve.[3] The Eye Cleaner has its own rhythm: flush it onto the area or apply with a lint-free pad, massage and wipe the excess, and for tear staining apply twice daily for two weeks before dropping to maintenance — the same technique as our guide to how to clean dog eyes safely, and stained fur still has to grow out before it looks clean.
When does a red eye need a vet, not a lubricant?
Some eye problems are measured in hours. Put the tube down and call your vet clinic or an after-hours emergency vet for any of these:
- Squinting or holding the eye shut — the most reliable sign of pain in dogs.
- A cloudy, blue-tinged or bulging eye — possible corneal ulcer, glaucoma or uveitis.
- Thick yellow or green discharge, especially if it returns within hours of cleaning.
- Unequal pupils, or a pupil that does not respond to light.
- Any sudden change in vision — bumping into furniture, hesitancy on stairs.
- Visible trauma, blood or a foreign object under the lid — grass seeds are a common culprit after spring and summer walks.
The urgency is structural: the cornea is only a few cell layers thick and has no blood supply, so it heals slowly and a shallow scratch can deepen fast. An exam separates the possibilities with tests you cannot run at home — Cornell notes KCS is diagnosed with a Schirmer tear test, measuring aqueous tear production over one minute, with a fluorescein stain added because corneal ulcers can develop secondary to dry eye.[3]
Where Pure Majesty Pets fits
We'll be clear about the category: Pure Majesty Pets does not make an eye lubricant. If your dog has diagnosed dry eye and needs the tear film topped up, a carbomer or carbomer-plus-hyaluronic-acid gel from your vet is the right category, and Optixcare is a legitimate choice in it. Nothing we sell replaces that, or a prescription tear stimulant.
Where we lead is daily eye cleaning — and for most dogs that's the job that actually needs doing every day. Pure Majesty Pets Dog Eye Drops are a pH-neutral, ophthalmic-grade eye rinse: sterile, filtered to 10 microns, buffered to pH 7.0–7.2, and formulated with 0.05% sodium hyaluronate, 8% aloe vera, 2% chamomile, pro-vitamin B5 and 0.15% sodium phytate, without bleach, peroxide, alcohol, added fragrance or antibiotics. Those are label facts, not adjectives: the pH match is why it doesn't sting, the hyaluronic acid holds moisture on a dry, gritty surface, and the sodium phytate binds the oxidised minerals behind rusty tear stains rather than bleaching them.
| Feature | Pure Majesty Pets Dog Eye Drops | Optixcare Eye Cleaner | Typical wipes / stain removers |
|---|---|---|---|
| pH matched to tears | Yes, 7.0–7.2 | Not stated on label | Varies |
| Hyaluronic acid | 0.05% sodium hyaluronate | Yes (sodium hyaluronate) | Usually none |
| Soothing botanicals | Aloe vera 8% + chamomile 2% + pro-vitamin B5 | Chamomile | Varies |
| Tear-stain approach | Sodium phytate 0.15% — chelation, no bleach | Sodium perborate | Often whitening agents |
| Size | 120 mL | 100 mL | Varies |
| Price in Australia | A$30.00, free DDP shipping | No verified AU price | A$27.95–A$29.95 |
How to use it: steady your dog's head from above and behind, squeeze 2–3 drops into the inner corner of each eye (or onto a clean cotton pad for the surrounding fur), then wipe gently from the inner corner outward. For tear stains, wipe along the stained fur under the lower lid. Repeat daily, or after every beach, park or bushwalk outing, and never touch the dropper tip to the eye. It's gentle enough for dogs and cats of all ages, and especially useful for flat-faced and tear-stain-prone breeds — French Bulldogs, Pugs, Shih Tzus, Maltese and Doodles.
Every Pure Majesty Pets product is made in North America in a GMP facility, with a certificate of analysis (COA) on every batch. Shipping is free worldwide — it ships to Australia with duties and GST prepaid (DDP), so there's nothing to pay on delivery and no surprise charge at the door.
For inside-out support, our Advanced Vision eye & vision support drops (A$47.00) are a plant-based liquid built around antioxidant berry and botanical extracts with turmeric and ginger, supplied as two 30 mL bottles and dosed to weight by dropper onto food — more precise than a fixed-size chew, and without the starch binders a chew needs to hold its shape. It is a nutritional supplement that may help maintain overall eye health as part of a routine; it is not a medicine and won't resolve an active infection. Browse the full dog eye drops range to see both side by side.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Optixcare used for in dogs?
It depends on the product. Eye Lube and Eye Lube Plus are sterile lubricating gels labelled for lubrication during anaesthesia and as adjunctive support for dry eyes. The Eye Cleaner removes secretions, crusty debris and irritants and reduces tear staining. Eye Health is an antioxidant ophthalmic gel for ocular oxidative stress.
Can I buy Optixcare in Australia?
Optixcare is a North American range and we have not confirmed an Australian stockist or price. Ask your vet clinic for an equivalent ophthalmic lubricant if your dog has diagnosed dry eye. For daily cleaning, Pure Majesty Pets Dog Eye Drops cost A$30.00 for 120 mL with free worldwide shipping — ships to Australia with duties and GST prepaid (DDP), nothing to pay on delivery.
Is Optixcare safe for dogs?
The labels carry routine veterinary-topical warnings: veterinary use only, discontinue if the animal shows discomfort or irritation, keep the tip from touching the eye or any surface, recap after use, and discard an opened tube after 60 days. Do not share a tube between animals, or use any eye product on a painful or cloudy eye before an exam.
What is the difference between Optixcare Eye Lube and Eye Lube Plus?
Hyaluron. Eye Lube is a carbomer-only gel; Eye Lube Plus is described by the manufacturer as a dual-polymer system of carbomer gel plus hyaluronic acid, with size, sterile format and dosing otherwise identical. A small prospective study in 25 dogs with dry eye reported lower conjunctival redness and discomfort scores after switching from a carbomer gel to a hyaluronic-acid drop, though it had no control group.
Can Optixcare clear up a dog eye infection?
No. There is no antibiotic in the range, so none of it acts on bacteria. A lubricant on an infected eye can soften discharge and make the eye look temporarily better while the underlying problem continues. Thick yellow or green discharge, pain or cloudiness needs veterinary diagnosis and prescription medication.
How often can you put eye lubricant in a dog's eye?
The Optixcare Eye Lube and Eye Lube Plus label instructs 1 to 2 drops in both eyes, 2 to 4 times a day for dry eyes, or as often as your veterinarian recommends. Eye Health follows the same schedule. Always follow the current label and your own vet's direction.
Does an eye lubricant fix dry eye in dogs?
No. A lubricant adds volume to the tear film but does not act on the inflamed lacrimal glands behind immune-mediated keratoconjunctivitis sicca. Cornell's Riney Canine Health Center describes KCS management as relying on medicated drops such as cyclosporine or tacrolimus to increase natural tear production, with artificial tears alongside — generally a lifelong condition to manage.
The bottom line
Optixcare is a well-labelled, clearly indicated over-the-counter range, and telling its four products apart is the most useful thing you can do before buying: lube to add moisture, cleaner to remove debris, antioxidant gel for maintenance. What it cannot do is diagnose — and in Australia it isn't the easiest product to find. A red eye can be an allergy, an early infection, dry eye, or a corneal ulcer that will cost your dog its sight if the wrong tube is used for a week. Lubricate when a vet has told you to, and escalate the moment there is pain, cloudiness or colour.
For everything else — the daily dust, pollen, sand and tear stains — the simplest upgrade is a sterile, tear-matched rinse. Order Pure Majesty Pets Dog Eye Drops for A$30.00 (120 mL, down from A$74.00), with free shipping to Australia and duties and GST prepaid, and make clean, comfortable eyes part of your dog's everyday routine.
Sources and references
- Williams DL, Middleton S, Fattahian H, Moridpour R. Comparison of hyaluronic acid-containing topical eye drops with carbomer-based topical ocular gel as a tear replacement in canine keratoconjunctivitis sicca: a prospective study in twenty five dogs. Veterinary Research Forum. 2012;3(4):229–232. PMID: 25653763; PMCID: PMC4313040.
- Williams DL. Optimising tear replacement rheology in canine keratoconjunctivitis sicca. Eye (London). 2018 Feb;32(2):195–199. doi:10.1038/eye.2017.272. PMID: 29303147; PMCID: PMC5811739.
- Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, Richard P. Riney Canine Health Center. Keratoconjunctivitis sicca (KCS) in dogs. Reviewed by Cohen A, DVM, and Ledbetter E, DVM, DACVO. Page last updated 2 December 2025.
- Whelan N, BVSc, DACVCP, DACVO. Tear Stimulants and Immunosuppressants in Animals. Merck Veterinary Manual, Systemic Pharmacotherapeutics of the Eye. Reviewed/revised October 2021, modified November 2025.
- Aventix Animal Health Corp. / CLC Medica. Product labels for Optixcare Eye Lube, Optixcare Eye Lube Plus, Optixcare Eye Cleaner and Optixcare Eye Health, as published in the Drugs.com veterinary label database (Animalytix), updated 28 May 2026.
- ASCIA — Pollen allergy; NSW DPI Weeds — Trad; AVA Vet Voice — Plant allergies; RSPCA Australia Knowledgebase — Tick paralysis (linked in the text above).
Product names are used descriptively; Pure Majesty Pets is not affiliated with Aventix Animal Health, CLC Medica, Petkin or TropiClean, and label details should always be checked against current packaging. Dry eye, conjunctivitis, corneal ulcers, uveitis and glaucoma can look alike and some are sight-threatening. Pure Majesty Pets eye products are hygiene and nutritional-wellness items, not medications.
This article is for informational purposes and is not veterinary advice. Talk to your veterinarian before starting any supplement, especially if your dog is pregnant, nursing, on medication, or has a diagnosed condition.