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Update on Melanie and Prince- advice please re skin condition

toffee

Mama Doe
Melanie and Prince went back to the vets yesterday. He is happy that Prince has recovered fully. Mel is still a bit under the weather.

He did not do bloods as both rabbits seem improved and he said it would only distress them. He suggested that it is probably a virus of some kind and said that there are lots of viruses and conditions in rabbits that are not well understood. He seems to think Melanie will recover by herself as Prince has done.

We have started her on Panacur as this is what Prince was on. Fortunately she seems to like the taste!:shock:

Vet did not seem overly worried about her skin condition and suggested "wait and see".

Melanie has got more bald patches now. The skin does not appear to be sore and irritated but is a little dry. I intend to put some baby cream on in the next couple of days to see if that helps. Is sudocrem ok for rabbits? If not can someone suggest an alternative please.

She is not scratching. Vet could not find evidence of parasites.

Does anybody have any idea what this could be? An aggressive moult perhaps? Or related to the virus she may be recovering from?

If there is no improvement I will just have to change her name to "Melanie Bigglesworth"!! (as in Austin Powers):lol:
 
She is now eating normally and the vet did examine her abdomen by feel and by sound and all is normal.

What is autoimmune alopecia and is there a treatment? I assume this would be something inherent in her genetic makeup with it being autoimmune? I have MS which is an autoimmune disorder which there is no treatment for so I guess most autoimmune disorders are similar in that they can't be cured, only symptom management?
 
She is now eating normally and the vet did examine her abdomen by feel and by sound and all is normal.

What is autoimmune alopecia and is there a treatment? I assume this would be something inherent in her genetic makeup with it being autoimmune? I have MS which is an autoimmune disorder which there is no treatment for so I guess most autoimmune disorders are similar in that they can't be cured, only symptom management?

I dont know much about the condition but her is an extract from Blackwell Veterinary Dermatology


A 5-year-old rabbit with inappetence, symmetrical alopecia and skin lesions was examined. No mites or Malassezia were found in skin scrapings and tape impressions and dermatophyte culture was negative. Trial therapy with ivermectin did not reduce skin lesion severity, and euthanasia was performed because of anorexia after 1 month. Histopathology of the skin showed hyperkeratosis, lymphocytic exocytosis, cell-poor interface dermatitis (lymphocytic infiltration and apoptotic cells in basal layer of epidermis), absence of sebaceous glands and lymphocytic mural folliculitis comparable to sebaceous adenitis and thymoma-associated exfoliative dermatitis previously described in rabbits. The liver exhibited an interface hepatitis, comparable to autoimmune hepatitis in man. The occurrence of morphological similarities to exfoliative dermatitis and sebaceous adenitis in rabbits, in association with an autoimmune hepatitis, has not been described before.

This is a description of Alopecia Areata in Humans

http://www.patient.co.uk/showdoc/23069060/

Janex
 
Thanks Jane. after reading the article about humans, it seems likely that this is the problem and that it is purely coincidence that she has also been unwell. I will monitor the hairloss and skin condition.

The article mentions the use of steroidal creams for humans. Do you know of any such creams or lotions suitable for use in rabbits?

I will also mention this to my vet.
 
Thanks Jane. after reading the article about humans, it seems likely that this is the problem and that it is purely coincidence that she has also been unwell. I will monitor the hairloss and skin condition.

The article mentions the use of steroidal creams for humans. Do you know of any such creams or lotions suitable for use in rabbits?

I will also mention this to my vet.

Fuciderm contains a glucocorticoid steroid ( Betamethasone)

http://www.noahcompendium.co.uk/VetXX_Ltd/Fuciderm_gel/-36467.html

Janex
 
:oops: Oh yeah!! Doh!!

I have ordered some of that aloe vera gel so we'll see if that helps with the dryness.

I wondered about a hormonal problem as well as I read somewhere online that hairloss in rabbits can be due to hormone imbalance. In which case I hope it will clear up when she is spayed. If it doesn't I will get my vet to do bloods to check thyroid function (although at present she is not anorexic).

What do you think?
 
Its made by the same company....I often get them confused!

I have had good results using Fuciderm on skin conditions and inflammations but it is a corticosteroid preperation and therefor thins the skin (like may eczema treatments in humans)...so wear gloves when applying it!
 
Thanks.:D

I'm moving house this weekend and then I intend to book her in for a spay. If it's hormonal then I'm hoping it will clear up when she has been spayed. If not I will ask my vet to run tests.
 
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