• Forum/Server Upgrade If you are reading this you have made it to the upgraded forum. Posts made on the old forum after 26th October 2023 have not been transfered. Everything else should be here. If you find any issues please let us know.

Urgent- Constant Runny/Gunky Tear Duct

Starlight

Warren Veteran
Muffin one of our permanent residents, occassionally in the past had a runny tear duct, which would be flushed and then would be clear for a good 6-8 months.

Three weeks ago, I came home to find his eye filled with white runny discharge again. I had an appointment that morning, so took him along, and they flushed his eye in front of me consciously. There was a big build up of hard gunk in his tear duct.

This has now happened 3 weeks in a row. A conscious tear duct flush each week, only to have the same problem the following week.

The last time the vet said there wasn't even much of a build up, and he is unsure of why, suggesting that the following week, if the eye is the same again, an x-ray of his skull.

Does anyone know what it could be?

No other symptoms at all, just this one eye. He does have a scar on his eyelid, where it was ripped by another rabbit and had to have a stitch, but this has never caused problems before.

The vet mentioned pressure from the tooth roots pushing up.
It is also costing £70 a go for a conscious flush :shock: So three weeks running, it hasn't been cheap!
 
Muffin one of our permanent residents, occassionally in the past had a runny tear duct, which would be flushed and then would be clear for a good 6-8 months.

Three weeks ago, I came home to find his eye filled with white runny discharge again. I had an appointment that morning, so took him along, and they flushed his eye in front of me consciously. There was a big build up of hard gunk in his tear duct.

This has now happened 3 weeks in a row. A conscious tear duct flush each week, only to have the same problem the following week.

The last time the vet said there wasn't even much of a build up, and he is unsure of why, suggesting that the following week, if the eye is the same again, an x-ray of his skull.

Does anyone know what it could be?

No other symptoms at all, just this one eye. He does have a scar on his eyelid, where it was ripped by another rabbit and had to have a stitch, but this has never caused problems before.

The vet mentioned pressure from the tooth roots pushing up.
It is also costing £70 a go for a conscious flush :shock: So three weeks running, it hasn't been cheap!

that is stupidly expensive, shouldnt be as much as that.
i would think, tooth roots, an infection (has bun had antibiotics and antiinflammatrys) as an infection or allergy can cause inflamation, also allergy to bedding or dusty bedding? we had a rabbit with scarring of her tear duct after myxi, and she just had to have eye bathed daily,
i wonder also if the duct of your rabbit may have become damaged due to repeated flushes? x
 
Angel has/had same problems (if you read our story Not just a rabbit) we were having flushes every other day for several weeks then we had her done twice a week under GA.
Eventually we found our rabbit vet who done x-rays and discovered that its her roots pushing up on her duct and that she has severe mouth disease (originally told it would kill her eventually) however when we got her she had a sore eye that cleared up and only had one dental a year which now is every 1-3 months dentals and no more flushing as on x-ray it showed how bad her tear duct was and that the next flush would burst the duct and kill her
. Her teeth are now just about all gone they are absorbing back into her gums so shell be toothless which hopefully will stop her tear duct from being under pressure. But means she wont die like originally was told.
Our vet said she had never saw it before but a few weeks ago we took her in and her tear duct has actually began to work by itself again the shape of her mouth is changing due to losing teeth and she no longer has her eye drops put in (used to be evryday twice) her eyes doing really good but this has took 3 years and over £6,000 in vet costs!
I would def go with x-ray and do you know how to massage the tear duct to express the white guck?
 
Prior to the three in a row, he has only had 3 other flushes with me.

He had baytril, but they didn't perscribe metacam, saying it wasn't necessary :?

That is what I thought, for a conscious flush, I was expecting it to be £30!
 
Angel has/had same problems (if you read our story Not just a rabbit) we were having flushes every other day for several weeks then we had her done twice a week under GA.
Eventually we found our rabbit vet who done x-rays and discovered that its her roots pushing up on her duct and that she has severe mouth disease (originally told it would kill her eventually) however when we got her she had a sore eye that cleared up and only had one dental a year which now is every 1-3 months dentals and no more flushing as on x-ray it showed how bad her tear duct was and that the next flush would burst the duct and kill her
. Her teeth are now just about all gone they are absorbing back into her gums so shell be toothless which hopefully will stop her tear duct from being under pressure. But means she wont die like originally was told.
Our vet said she had never saw it before but a few weeks ago we took her in and her tear duct has actually began to work by itself again the shape of her mouth is changing due to losing teeth and she no longer has her eye drops put in (used to be evryday twice) her eyes doing really good but this has took 3 years and over £6,000 in vet costs!
I would def go with x-ray and do you know how to massage the tear duct to express the white guck?

That is really fascinating! And so bizarre how her body is changing.
I do know how to express it, yes.

He is incisorless due to malocllusion, but has never had molar problems in the past.

He looks so sad :(
 
She used to get really ratty as in go for you when hers was needing done, and as soon as it was flushed she was hoppy again like a weight had been lifted.
We began with a flush every week but then the vet says its time for tough action as sometimes if you really flush it constant then it stops it. In our case it didnt. She was also on baytril I think the clear one you get for buns but we injected her as she got to point she wouldnt take it that was for few weeks with a flush every other day must have been for about for about 2-3 months then it did stop and restarted again after about 6 weeks so we done more flushing every other day and the vet got in touch with the royal vet college then we moved to our vet now who said she wants an x-ray.
I would say see how it goes but if your vet thinks x-ray do that sooner rather than later just incase it is the duct closing as if it is like angels was and they do a conscious flush it could burst.
I think we paid £120 for ga flush and about £20-60 for conscous (which altered each time we went :?)
 
I agree that skull x-rays might be a good idea.

IMO if it is a dental issue, there's probably not much point in doing repeated duct flushings. Getting him a partner who'll clean his eye will the most effective solution in the long run.
 
He is bonded with 7 other rabbits, maybe he needs to suck up more to them in return for more groomings!

Will get him booked for x-rays
 
Back
Top