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Inner Ear Infections and Tetracycline

S

Sooz

Wise Old Thumper
Lexie has started to flick her head from side to side now and knowing that Pasteurella is the normally present bacteria isolated in an inner ear infection I suspect this may be the problem (Lexie has known snuffles).

Can anyone tell me what the inside of the ear should look like normally/abnormally?

I am pretty sure its not Canker before someone mentions that :)

Also Baytril is supposed to be the drug of choice for treating an IEI but Lexie has been on this for nearly a fortnight now, is there another suitable antibiotic? Are Tetracycline (Achromycin) drops of any assistance?

Any ideas appreciated.
 
I *think* with middle ear infections its preferable to use systemic abx and not ear drops. Perhaps a long acting Tetracycline like Oxytet LA :?
If the infection is in the middle/inner ear there may be nothing obvious to see from the outside.

Janex
 
Ditto Jane

The pus from an inner ear infection caused by pasteurella is only evident on a post mortum...that's why vets often treat for an ear infection in cases of head tilt...even though they have no way of knowing for certain that an inner ear infection is the cause.

Hope Lexie gets better soon.

Amy xx
 
Charlie's infection was so far down, the vet couldn't see anything, plus there was a lot of wax. he was given ear drops but they made him roll over badly - vet said he must have a perforated ear drum so we stopped them. So you might not see anything anyway.
 
So there should be nothing obvious from using an otoscope? Its just I can see some debris in her ear canal, not sure if its pus or ear wax though :?
 
kibbles had constant ear infections and shed have a few jabs of abx and ear drops..soooo many ear drops and eye drops bless her....if i only knew then what i know now...

she was a dwarf lop..a bloomin big un....i stupidly fell in love with her at a pet shop...she had a breeders ring on..and she went on to develop oral syphilis and teeth probs her jaw must have been maloccluded but the vet just said she needed dentals a lot..monthly usually....

is your bun an uppy eraed bun or a lop as i was told lops are more prone to ear infections ?
 
Hi Sooz,

Mollys abscess caused a 'slight' head tilt, he always looked very confused when he was looking up. He lost his balance a few times also. The trouble was the pus was so far in the inner ear that my vet could not see it when she looked down the ear (hes a lop). Best thing is to treat with abx. Molly was on baytril for 3 weeks then the abscess appeared on the outside also.

Hope Lexie is better soon xxx
 
Lexie is a Dwarf Lop. What I suspect is that the bacteria from her pasteurella has tracked into her ear :?

The puzzling thing is she has been on Baytril for 2 weeks (of 6) and this has started whilst on abx, which makes me think maybe enrofloxacin is not the right antibiotic to be using :? I am happy to treat her with a systemic abx, am considering moving to Septrin/Trimethoprim but wondered if a topical abx would do any good (assuming she has not perforated an ear drum).

Also I believe Trimethoprim has contraindications with NSAIDs, so would that mean with holding Metacam during treatment?
 
Charlie has pasturella and had a really bad bout of pneumonia at the end of August which was treated with anti B's (Baytrill) and it settled him down, he was fine. But then a couple of weeks later, I noticed that the left side of his face was 'concave'. It just wasn't symmetrical and his eye looked sunken in. Low and behold, a week or so after that he started head tilt and rolling! he was on Baytrill for weeks after and Stemetil ever since. He's OK now, although i cannot stop the Stemetil yet as he rolls if I do. It obviously didn't make any difference that he was on Anti B's at the time. I'm sorry, I don't know enough about the medication to recommend one or the other. I was, and still am, in the lap of the vets!!
 
Stemtil (prochlorperazine) is used to control vertigo which developes from head tilt when the rabbit looses its sense of balance. Thankfully Lexie is nowhere near this stage.

Intesrestingly its also contraindicated with Septrin (co-trimoxazole) in people, apparently it lowers the white blood cell count. I take a another form of Stemtil known as Buccastem to prevent nausea :)
 
Last edited:
hi...

i would stop the metacam or at least reduce this if you are going to be using Trimethoprim, just to be on the safe side, as yes it does enhance the effects of NSAIDs, although i dont no if meloxicam has been tested itself ... but personally because its a NSAID i would err on the side of caution.....

hope this helps

x:)
 
Thank you, there is a bottle of Septrin at the vets with Lexie's name on it (ordered in just for her) if the Baytril dosn't kick in over the next week. :)
 
FHB says that Tetracycline is effective against pasteurella. She actually gives a list of antibiotics and their effectiveness against pasteurella, however most of the other effective abx are not to be taken orally (enrofloxacin and tetracycline are the only 2 that are suitable for oral use).

No idea about whether you should stop the metacam
 
Where does co-trimoxazole rank in effectiveness? I really need to buy that book :oops:

ETA- Does she mention Bicillin?
 
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