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Ongoing eye infection

Foofy

Alpha Buck
My bun Smudge has an on-going eye infection. I have had him for a few months now and he has had the infection for all of this time. He has been treated for all of this time by my vet and is on Tiacil eye drops and Baytril. He has also had lots of tear duct flushings. He has now had a swab test done of the white runny stuff and it is an infection and a nasty one that is usually found in dog ear infections rarely in buns. The test showed infection is treatable with the above antibiotics and is not resistant. So why won't it just go away? It has also been confirmed his teeth, mouth etc are fine.

Does anyone else have any experience of eye infections in rabbits that go on for months? and how was it treated? It did clear up in one eye for a few weeks and the other eye did improve but it is now coming back again. He has another flushing booked for this Thursday. Any suggestions welcome especially if you have experience of similar with your buns and how you got rid of the eye infection?
 
My opal has eye infections now and again. They occur in both eyes. Her teeth have tiny little spurs but nothing causing any problems. Opals eyes clear up after a tear duct flush and a course of Tiacil.

Just wondering if your bunny has had an x-ray to see if there are underlying teeth problems.
 
No he hasn't had an x-ray just the swab test a few weeks ago. My vet and also the rescue's vet (he was a rescue bun) have both said it is not his teeth, but just an eye infection.
 
There is only an X-ray that would rule out any teeth problems for sure. It may be worth asking again.

I hope it is only an infection and it clears up soon.
 
It just seems strange that it isnt clearing up, it sounds as though there is an underlying problem. Hopefully cleverer people will be along to advise you like Sooz and Jack's-Jane who have both had experience with eye problems
 
Firstly you say he has had several duct flushes....did these 1. flush out and debris 2. flush clear or 3. fail because the duct was too blocked?

Was the duct flushed with anything other than sterile saline?

Did he have Metacam for a few days following each duct flush?
Has he ever exhibited pain at having his eye touched and does it appear inflammed/red?
Is the discharge clear or milky with a slightly sticky consistancy?
How long were the courses of Tiacil & Baytril given for?
Has he been tried with Fucithalmic instead?

Sorry for all the questions!
 
My bun Smudge has an on-going eye infection. I have had him for a few months now and he has had the infection for all of this time. He has been treated for all of this time by my vet and is on Tiacil eye drops and Baytril. He has also had lots of tear duct flushings. He has now had a swab test done of the white runny stuff and it is an infection and a nasty one that is usually found in dog ear infections rarely in buns. The test showed infection is treatable with the above antibiotics and is not resistant. So why won't it just go away? It has also been confirmed his teeth, mouth etc are fine.

Does anyone else have any experience of eye infections in rabbits that go on for months? and how was it treated? It did clear up in one eye for a few weeks and the other eye did improve but it is now coming back again. He has another flushing booked for this Thursday. Any suggestions welcome especially if you have experience of similar with your buns and how you got rid of the eye infection?

I would advise requesting a skull Xray to assess your Bun's tooth roots. Elongated tooth roots can occlude the nasolacrimal duct and thus cause recurrent infections.

I have seen good results in using a combination of alternate day injections of Depocillin combined with topical Fucithalmic Eye Ointment. But if the tooth roots are occluding the nasolacrimal ducts the problem will be chronic.

Janex
 
Thanks so much for everyones replies.
Sooz - He has had quite a lot of flushings in both eyes, yes they both flush OK and they flush several times if needed until they run clear, neither have been so blocked it hasn't been possible to flush. Always flushed with the saline solution.
No Metacam has never been prescribed following the flushings. Doesn't appear to be in any pain when you touch around his eyes and doesn't mind having the drops put in. Somtimes the botton rim of his eye/s looks a little redder and inflamed but sometimes it doesn't. Discharge is white and not clear and is a little sticky i.e. thicker than water. I have had him for about 3 months or so now and he has been on Baytril & Ticail for all of this time. No he hasn't had the Fucithalmic instead of Tiacil. Any advice would be most welcome.
I will talk to my vet again tomorrow when I take him in for his flushing about maybe having a skull x-ray and changing treatment if that is what people think may work?
 
Our bunny is three years old and has suffered with eye infections for about two years. He had been infection free for 15 months until this week .... and now has the most awful looking eye. He has a blocked tear duct, which vets have tried unsuccessfully to unblock on several occasions. He had a visit to the vets on Monday where he was given a tear-duct flush, antibotics and eye drops (fortunately, we always have a spare bottle just in case too ... these things tend to flare up when the vets are closed!). He hasn't been able to keep his eye open since Monday, although we are cleaning it several times a day and there has been no change despite the drops and antibotics. We've another trip planned to the vets tomorrow ....

Sadly, we did not insure him ... his bill so far is around £900 since we bought him ... and rising!

Don't forget that your rabbit may be allergic to the hay/bedding that you are using!
 
Thanks for the reply Carol. Sorry to hear your bun has bad eyes again. Smudge is about a year old. Just off to take him to vets for his flushing as I leave him there all day and pick him up on my way home from work.
His eyes vary from weeping every day in both eyes to weeping in one eye only, although they are never so bad that the eyes are shut, and vet is always able to flush the tear ducts. He has been free of weeping in one eye for about 3 weeks until a few days ago! It is really weird how it seems to come & go in both eyes.
I sympathise with you about the vets bills I am too scared to add mine up now for Smudge's eyes! He is insured but I am not sure if they will pay for his eyes as he already had it when I got him and they don't usually pay for existing illness :( Will let you know how he gets on today. Vet says he is not allergic to the bedding either. How is your bun now?
 
Bunny not too happy! His eye looks like something out of a horror film, even the vet looked shocked. He had another tear-duct flush, had his eye lashes trimmed (very gunky) and is now on anti-inflamatories, antibotics, eye drops .... oh and for an extra £45 he also had a swab taken!

The vet says if he is no better by Tuesday he wants to give him a general to have a good hunt around in his eye. I'm just hoping he trims his nails and teeth at the same time for free!


Our previous bunny was called Smudge ... she was a lovely grey colour. We though we had a boy, until "he" was seriously ill. Sadly, she didn't survive (she was only 18 months) but we have some good memories and we know she was well cared for by us.
 
So sorry to hear your bun is not too good with his eye. Hope he improves before Tuesday. Smudge has also had a swab done a couple of weeks ago. My vet wants to do another one when it clears up (if ever!) to check the bacteria/infection has gone.
I have attached a picture of my little Smudge. Just picked him up from Vets eyes looking really good now just hope it continues! Sorry to hear you lost your Smudge when she was so young so sad isn't it when you loose them :(

At least I had one bit of good news from the vets today his mites have gone they did the sellotape test and he's clear, as not only did he have his eye infecton he had mites as well on his body not in his ears. He has to go back next week for another flush, I thought this was the last one until a few days ago when his eyes suddenly got worse again :(

DSCF0636.jpg
 
is your bun a french lop cos Will had ruuny eyes all her life.She had entropian.They tried eye flushes but they were clear and her teeth were fine.Think it was hereditory cos her mum had runny eyes and when asked why they said all french lops have that problem.Not knowing any different i bought her anyway.Touchwood-B not had problems with her eyes so far.Now know all french lops dont have that problem!
 
Hi, Willowholly :wave: No he is not a French lop, he's a dwarf lop.
What is Entropian? I haven't heard of it before.
When Smudge's eyes are flushed the stuff that comes out is white in colour not clear. Thanks for your reply :)
 
Hi, Willowholly :wave: No he is not a French lop, he's a dwarf lop.
What is Entropian? I haven't heard of it before.
When Smudge's eyes are flushed the stuff that comes out is white in colour not clear. Thanks for your reply :)

Entropian is when the eye lids roll in and irritate the eye,actually Will had the opposite,her eyelids used to roll down/out,she had too much eyelid.It was like if you pull your bottom eyelid down with your fingers you see all the blood vessels.Dont know what this is called,but her eyes were always gunky and her fur often had to be cut from around the eyes.
 
Thanks to a hefty dose of anti-inflamatories, some of the swelling has gone down overnight ... but I didn't think such a small animal could produce so much *!*&!! :shock: We're still cleaning his eye several times a day ... he's pretty much himself, running around the garden (our last two rabbits have loved beach balls - try one!) and sunbathing in the sunshine. He's now on Fucithalmic instead of Ticail.

Has your vet taken a swab to send away for testing - we had one done a couple of years back and the results showed that the correct eye drops had been prescribed. As Ticail isn't working this time round, new drops have been prescribed but the vet has taken a swab for analysis.

We've decided to remove all hay from his hutch and run - when he first had eye infections we used to get his hay from a local farm that claimed not to use chemicals. He was tested by a kineisologist for allergies (fortunately, she just happened to be related, so no fee here!)who said that he was allergic to the hay, so we started going elsewhere and his eye was fine for a year. The last batch of hay we used was from the original place, as our new supplier was constantly closed. We feel there is some sort of connection and with the warmer weather upon us, I'm sure he can put up with reading the tabloid press for a while!

Oh, almost forgot to mention .... he's had mites in the past a well. He had to have a course of three injections ...

The joys of having a pet!
 
Thanks to a hefty dose of anti-inflamatories, some of the swelling has gone down overnight ... but I didn't think such a small animal could produce so much *!*&!! :shock: We're still cleaning his eye several times a day ... he's pretty much himself, running around the garden (our last two rabbits have loved beach balls - try one!) and sunbathing in the sunshine. He's now on Fucithalmic instead of Ticail.


Oh, almost forgot to mention .... he's had mites in the past a well. He had to have a course of three injections ...

Glad to hear some of swelling has gone down a bit. Yeah Smudge is acting as normal too. I have got a beach ball up in our suitcase in the loft will have to get it down and see if my two buns like it. Thanks for the tip never thought of that before :lol:

Wonder if the mites has anything to do with buns getting eye infections? Or maybe it's because their immune system is a bit low or something.

Got some more Baytril & Tiacil from vet yesterday for Smudge, as his swab test from a couple of weeks ago showed the Baytril & Tiacil were working. His eyes look a lot better today after his flushing. Let me know how your bun gets on over the weekend.
 
I hope your bunnies like the beach ball .... it's hilarious watching them play with one :lol: . Ours' have never liked a normal football - I think because it is too heavy for them.
 
hiya! just read your post...oh my god it is scary how alike smudge is to my rabbit muffin he died years ago :( but glad smudges eye has cleared up and hopefully itll stay away, but i would recommend getting an xray to make sure nothing is wrong with tooth roots, my rabbt pepper had a runny eye and had all the usual eyedrops and flushing her eyes twice and it not getting better, eventually vet saw she had an abscess....just a suggestion, hope smudge doesnt have anything like that though, but just a precautionary check, coz its upsetting finding out they have an abscess, peppers getting treated but not looking like going to have her around as much as i hoped :cry:
 
hiya! just read your post...oh my god it is scary how alike smudge is to my rabbit muffin he died years ago :( but glad smudges eye has cleared up and hopefully itll stay away, but i would recommend getting an xray to make sure nothing is wrong with tooth roots, my rabbt pepper had a runny eye and had all the usual eyedrops and flushing her eyes twice and it not getting better, eventually vet saw she had an abscess....just a suggestion, hope smudge doesnt have anything like that though, but just a precautionary check, coz its upsetting finding out they have an abscess, peppers getting treated but not looking like going to have her around as much as i hoped :cry:

Thanks for your reply Laura. Spooky that Smudge is so like your Muffin.

Will definitely talk to my vet next week when he goes in for another flushing, about the underlying causes of the eye infection. Touch wood both his eyes are still fine at the moment, but this has happened before it goes away for a week or so then comes back again, although it usually only goes away in one eye.
One thing I have noticed when giving him his oral Baytril is all 4 of his front teeth look quite discoloured. Anyone know what could be the cause of this? As he is only a year old?
 
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