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Roxy's watery eye.

B

binkygirl2013

Young Bun
My house bunny Roxy is coming up 4 years old and for the past couple of weeks she's had a slight watery right eye. She doesn't have any other symptoms, no sneezing, runny nose etc and her other eye is completely fine. I took her to the vet a week gone Friday, my usual rabbit savvy vet was on holiday so I saw another vet who prescribed Isathal for 7-10 days. She put orange dye in her eye and said there was no ulcer or signs of trauma so presumed it was an infection. Today is the 10th day of using Isathal however her eye still waters from time to time . It isn't running constantly...sometimes I look at her and it looks fine and can go a few hours without watering but I'm beginning to wonder if it's maybe a tooth root or tear duct problem. Having spent a lot of time with them over the weekend I've noticed that it seems to water more after she's been preening herself...she's quite a meticulous preener and it's when she's been stretching round to clean her back that it seems to water more...I was wondering if this is causing pressure on her tear duct or something? It doesn't seem to be bothering her, she's happy and playful and has a healthy appetite and she has an attentive husbunny who grooms her so cleans her fur if it's wet.
I'm going to phone up tomorrow and make an appointment with my vet Honor Etherington but just wondered if anyone else had come across this before?
 
binkygirl2013 said:
My house bunny Roxy is coming up 4 years old and for the past couple of weeks she's had a slight watery right eye. She doesn't have any other symptoms, no sneezing, runny nose etc and her other eye is completely fine. I took her to the vet a week gone Friday, my usual rabbit savvy vet was on holiday so I saw another vet who prescribed Isathal for 7-10 days. She put orange dye in her eye and said there was no ulcer or signs of trauma so presumed it was an infection. Today is the 10th day of using Isathal however her eye still waters from time to time . It isn't running constantly...sometimes I look at her and it looks fine and can go a few hours without watering but I'm beginning to wonder if it's maybe a tooth root or tear duct problem. Having spent a lot of time with them over the weekend I've noticed that it seems to water more after she's been preening herself...she's quite a meticulous preener and it's when she's been stretching round to clean her back that it seems to water more...I was wondering if this is causing pressure on her tear duct or something? It doesn't seem to be bothering her, she's happy and playful and has a healthy appetite and she has an attentive husbunny who grooms her so cleans her fur if it's wet.
I'm going to phone up tomorrow and make an appointment with my vet Honor Etherington but just wondered if anyone else had come across this before?
Click to expand...

It may be that her nasolacrimal duct (tear duct) is blocked. Sometimes this can be related to elongated tooth roots, as you have eluded to.

An examination of the crowns of the teeth may reveal that some are rather long, which can indicate the possibility of tooth root problems. But the only way to assess the tooth roots is from skull radiographs. This link gives some information about 'runny eyes' (Dacryocystitis)

http://veterinarymedicinejournal.usamv.ro/pdf/vol.LVIII_4/Art16.pdf
 
binkygirl2013 said:
My house bunny Roxy is coming up 4 years old and for the past couple of weeks she's had a slight watery right eye. She doesn't have any other symptoms, no sneezing, runny nose etc and her other eye is completely fine. I took her to the vet a week gone Friday, my usual rabbit savvy vet was on holiday so I saw another vet who prescribed Isathal for 7-10 days. She put orange dye in her eye and said there was no ulcer or signs of trauma so presumed it was an infection. Today is the 10th day of using Isathal however her eye still waters from time to time . It isn't running constantly...sometimes I look at her and it looks fine and can go a few hours without watering but I'm beginning to wonder if it's maybe a tooth root or tear duct problem. Having spent a lot of time with them over the weekend I've noticed that it seems to water more after she's been preening herself...she's quite a meticulous preener and it's when she's been stretching round to clean her back that it seems to water more...I was wondering if this is causing pressure on her tear duct or something? It doesn't seem to be bothering her, she's happy and playful and has a healthy appetite and she has an attentive husbunny who grooms her so cleans her fur if it's wet.
I'm going to phone up tomorrow and make an appointment with my vet Honor Etherington but just wondered if anyone else had come across this before?
Click to expand...


Hi binkygirl :wave:


As kattymieoww has rightly said - it's highly likely to be related to dental problems.

Honor Etherington is an awesome vet, so you will be in excellent hands!

Often an elongated tooth root can impinge on the tear duct and cause it to be blocked. It's good that she's had the eye drops and got all that out of the way.

A runny eye is ever so common in rabbits. You can get the tear duct flushed, but often it doesn't resolve the issue completely. Having skull X-rays and finding out the length of the tooth roots and if they impinging on the tear ducts is something the vet may choose to do, but to be honest, it rarely if ever affects the treatment options.

Good luck with Honor!
 
Thanks everyone. I've always been told she has perfect teeth but I know you can't always tell the full story without x rays. I know Honor will get to the bottom of it and hopefully I can get an appointment with her this week.
I just worry about my poor babies haha ��
 
binkygirl2013 said:
Thanks everyone. I've always been told she has perfect teeth but I know you can't always tell the full story without x rays. I know Honor will get to the bottom of it and hopefully I can get an appointment with her this week.
I just worry about my poor babies haha ��
Click to expand...


Welcome :D

I love that you worry about them, cos that means you care a great deal
 
So went to the vet on Thursday and Roxy had her tear duct flushed...she was a very good girl and didn't even flinch :) The vet said there was quite a bit of gunk came out. I've now got Maxitrol drops for 7-10 days. The vet said although you can't really tell what's going on with the teeth without an x rays, she's not concerned that it's dental related at this stage. Her eye is still watering intermittently although her husbunny Oscar does a very good job of keeping it clean :) From what I have read on the internet I know this can be a common problem in rabbits and something we might just have to manage for the rest of her life. I was just wondering if anyone had any experience of dealing with this long term and if there's anything I can do for her. She's still happy and playful in herself and has a very healthy appetite.
 
binkygirl2013 said:
So went to the vet on Thursday and Roxy had her tear duct flushed...she was a very good girl and didn't even flinch :) The vet said there was quite a bit of gunk came out. I've now got Maxitrol drops for 7-10 days. The vet said although you can't really tell what's going on with the teeth without an x rays, she's not concerned that it's dental related at this stage. Her eye is still watering intermittently although her husbunny Oscar does a very good job of keeping it clean :) From what I have read on the internet I know this can be a common problem in rabbits and something we might just have to manage for the rest of her life. I was just wondering if anyone had any experience of dealing with this long term and if there's anything I can do for her. She's still happy and playful in herself and has a very healthy appetite.
Click to expand...


Yes I have certainly dealt with this long term. One rabbit was on tear duct flushes every six weeks.

In the meantime, a warm compress gently applied just under the eye area can help ease the gunk out of the tear duct to prevent it becoming completely blocked.

Use previously boiled water that's been cooled, and add a pinch of salt if you like.
 
binkygirl2013 said:
So went to the vet on Thursday and Roxy had her tear duct flushed...she was a very good girl and didn't even flinch :) The vet said there was quite a bit of gunk came out. I've now got Maxitrol drops for 7-10 days. The vet said although you can't really tell what's going on with the teeth without an x rays, she's not concerned that it's dental related at this stage. Her eye is still watering intermittently although her husbunny Oscar does a very good job of keeping it clean :) From what I have read on the internet I know this can be a common problem in rabbits and something we might just have to manage for the rest of her life. I was just wondering if anyone had any experience of dealing with this long term and if there's anything I can do for her. She's still happy and playful in herself and has a very healthy appetite.
Click to expand...

It can help if the effected Rabbit's partner cleans around the eye for them. But it's important to keep a check on the eye to make sure that the grooming does not become too 'enthusiastic' and cause additional inflammation in and/or around the eye.

There are a few things that can be done to manage a chronic 'runny eye'. This may include bathing the eye using cooled boiled water or a warm sterile saline solution. Nebulising can also actually help drainage of the nasolacrimal duct, but generally this would only be used in the more severe cases. Sometimes repeated flushing of the nasolacrimal duct may be required, but it would be a case of balancing the need to clear the duct with the risks associated with repeated cannulation. Flushing the duct too often can cause even more inflammation.

If infections occur then it would be necessary to apply a topical abx eye treatment such as Isathal.

Some additional information here:

http://wildpro.twycrosszoo.org/S/00dis/Miscellaneous/DacrocystitisRabbit.htm

https://books.google.co.uk/books?id...TAN#v=onepage&q=rabbit dacryocystitis&f=false
 
Thanks guys, I will try the warm compress and keep an eye on the grooming. I think it will be finalised as Oscar doesn't excessively groom her, he prefers to lie back and let her groom him :D
I know I'm in good hands with my vet so I will trust her judgement with regard to flushing. As long as Roxy's happy and healthy otherwise that's all the matters. It's probably bothering me more than it is her at the minute
 
binkygirl2013 said:
Thanks guys, I will try the warm compress and keep an eye on the grooming. I think it will be finalised as Oscar doesn't excessively groom her, he prefers to lie back and let her groom him :D
I know I'm in good hands with my vet so I will trust her judgement with regard to flushing. As long as Roxy's happy and healthy otherwise that's all the matters. It's probably bothering me more than it is her at the minute
Click to expand...


You're welcome :D

I'm glad you've a good vet - better than any advice here :thumb:
 
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