Carafate (sucralfate) in the eyes

Carafate is a med for the GI tract basically to treat ulcers. The vet prescribed it for my dog when she began to have some GI bleeding. I give the med in a syringe orally (5 ml squirted in to her mouth tid). About 10 days ago as I was administrating the sucralfate, my dog closed her mouth and the sucralfate splashed back in my face. I washed it off my face right away, but did not rinse my eyes right away because I did not think any went in my eye. It was on my glasses, but my eyes did not hurt or sting. A few hours later my eyes did start to sting a little and I rinsed them out with standard eyewash solution. I did this again the next morning. However, 10 days later, my eyes are burning each day. I have rinsed them again a few times and used a lot of artifical tears. I am really worried I have damaged them, but my vision is ok and the eyes are not red or bloodshot. Should I keep irrigating the eyes and using eye drops? Is this stuff dangerous to the eyes? All I can find out is that sucralfate is a sucrose aluminium sulfate suspension. Thank you for your advice.

[Sandy Feldman, MD, MS]

Dear al1953,

I would recommend that you seek the care of an eyeMD to determine the cause of your burning eyes.  Dryness can cause burning as well as toxicity from medications.  

Dr. Feldman

Sandy T. Feldman, M.D., M.S.
ClearView Eye and Laser Medical Center
San Diego, California

[al1953]

I forgot to mention, I was diagnosed with dry eye back in July 2008 by my ophthalmologist. However, it was not bad I and I seldom needed artificial tears. Now, I feel I need them daily.