The animal will often rub the eye against objects such as the furniture or the carpet. In severe cases, the cornea may become ulcerated and appear bluish in color from the aberrant hair or from self-mutilation by the pet. Left untreated, severe corneal ulcerations and infections usually develop. The hairs can cause severe irritations and without treatment the condition usually worsens. As stated, the animal may further irritate the eye through scratching or rubbing against it to the point of self-mutilation.
Blindness can also result if infections develop.
The abnormal eyelashes are best removed through the use of surgery or electroepilation. With electroepilation, a fine needle is passed into the hair follicle and an electric current destroys the hair and its roots. This procedure may need to be repeated after several months. This is because all of the abnormal hairs may not have developed at the time of the first treatment. When these follicles do start to produce hairs, they will need to be treated.