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Syringing saline solution into ears?

W

Wattywatts

New Kit
Hi everyone. :wave:

I took my bunny to the vets yesterday as one of her ears was hanging down when it is usually upright. The vet could see no sign of earmites, and only a bit of build up of wax or gunk. He told me that there were no licensed eardrops for rabbits, only for cats or dogs. On checking with a colleague they have asked me to make up a saline solution and syringe 1.5 ml into her ear and massage the base of ear twice a day. In addition I have Baytril to give orally in case of infection. They also advised that whilst there are no other visible/ known health problems, a dropped or hanging ear ear is usually secondary to something underlying.

Does syringing ears sound right? Has anyone else had to do this?

Many thanks for any advice.
 
A Vet can prescribe 'off licence' and my Vet has prescribed at least 3 different types of ear drops for some of my Rabbits.

Saline can be used for ear cleaning, but if there is a lot of hard wax build up the saline wont be helpful, it'll just float on top of the wax. Personally I would obtain a second opinion from another Vet. Whilst many Vets are great with treating Cats and Dogs their knowledge of Rabbits is all too often sorely lacking.
 
I would echo Jacks Jane's advice - there are many ear drops that can be used for rabbits - yes they are 'off licence' but then most medicines used on rabbits are off licence due to the cost of licencing for specific animals. However a rabbit savvy vet will know all this and have good experience of diagnosing and using rabbit appropriate medicines even off licence.

Saline is going to do nothing for wax or pus build up and if the wax is hiding something more serious in the inner ear (as it may well be doing) this needs correct diagnosis and testing for which antibiotics may be appropriate (your vet has given baytril as it is licenced for rabbits BUT without testing for pus or testing any pus to see what it will respond to this may not be the best antibiotic.

I would try and locate a more rabbit savvy vet. try posting a thread on here asking for one in your location.

Ear issues can become very serious quite quickly if not treated appropriately.
 
Just to add to the off licence thing, sometimes vets will just ask you to sign something to show that you are understand that drugs they might have to prescribe for your rabbit are off license.
 
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