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fluid swelling in ears

doorkeeper

doorkeeper

Mama Doe
Poor Old Lace, my rescue with head tilt, has got a new complication. Both ears have blister like areas filled with fluid. It isn't pus - I pulled a syringe full of it out to check. It is mostly at the base of the ears, but moves up if you put any pressure on it.
I think it is because she has her head upside down all the time. Has anyone come across this before? I have searched to try and find out, but you find such disgusting websites doing that :cry: :cry:

She is already on pain meds and two different antibiotics. She doesn't seem to be fussing with them, but it can't be a good thing. She scoffs whatever appears in her cage with great gusto; she isn't ready to give up.

Any ideas how I could help her with this?
 
I hate to ask but is vaccinated against myxi? Swollen areas can be one of the symptoms. It doesn't sound like what you describe that as that's more an all over swelling than fluid filled blister.

The other thing that springs to mind is Hematoma but I think thats usually filled with blood. I've not heard of it in rabbits but its what dogs with ear infections can get.

I don't think either of those sound like the right match, can't think of anything else though :(

Tam
 
Animals can get what we call cauliflower ear in rugby players. It's were the skin covering the ear area gets filled with fluid or more commonly blood, a vet can get rid of it but it requires an operation to slice open the fluid filled sacks and drain them. You would need to ask your vet what it is as i have never heard of the above in rabbits. XX
 
Every search I do for edema in ears comes up myxi, but I don't think it can be although she hasn't been vaccinated. She hasn't been well enough. She doesn't have any other myxi symptoms, thank goodness. Just the head tilt and ear infections. As if that wasn't enough :roll: She did have a nasty eye but that has cleared up, and was from being on the bottom side that she lies on.


I have given her some arnica as that helps with swelling. I took a couple of pics of her ears. The flash took some of the colour out of the swellings, they look more purple in normal light, and the blisters are thicker than they look in the pics:
ear1.jpg

ear2.jpg


And the whole rabbit, very pleased that it dry enough to go outside:

lacecage.jpg

lacegrass.jpg
 
Aww louise she is beautiful, i have no other ideas sorry i would definatly ask your vet XXX
 
I'm nervous about taking her back to the vet as I think she will want to put her to sleep :cry: I don't think Lace is ready to give up yet, not the way she is eating, but the car ride really upset her last time I took her and she just lay there kicking looking about to die :cry: The vet was horrified at the state of her, so was I. I won't take her in a car again unless I have made that decision. You can see from the pics she is on her feet and her eye is bright. She tucked straight into the grass as soon as I put her down. She will have mown the lot in no time and I'll have to move the run.

And anyway it is a bank holiday. I don't think this is urgent, just another thing to deal with in her illness. I just hope it isn't her kidneys giving up :( She can't take too much more having enough on her plate already. I may have to take her :cry:
 
Oh louise, poor old lace if she reacts that way i wouldn't want to take her in the car either. Could you give the vet a ring and explain over the phone, just see if there is any advice they can give? I have done this with my vets on several occasions. XX
 
It doesn't look like myxi - that looks quite localised where as myxi the whole ears feels thickened.

It does look like hemotoma. The treatment for that is usually to drain the fluid and put a stitch through to stop it reaccuring.

Info here: http://www.sniksnak.com/cathealth/hematoma.html

I think it's a side effect of the tilt/ear position as far as I know it's not related to anything more serious such as kidney problems.

Tam
 
Thanks for that Tamsin, it does sound like it, although she hasn't been shaking her head. It is isn't blood in there, but pink tinged tissue fluid. I have drained them once, but it came back overnight. It sounds as if we need to try a steroid injection, but bandaging them tightly would be rather horrible for the poor girl, she has enough trouble with her head already :cry: Surgery would definitely be too much for her.
At least it isn't kidneys, but bad news none the less :cry:
I'll have to talk to the vet tomorrow. At least it is just an uncomfortable condition rather than a painful one. Perhaps we can wait it out and see if she gets stronger :?
 
my rabbit pepper had one of her ears that was filled up with fluid, i was really worried because i thought it may have been filled with pus but it wasnt. my peppers ear was like that because she had an abcess that the top of her ear and had cut the circulation off to her ear. i took her to the vet and she had to remove the abcess and was undecided whether to take the ear off as well. she didnt remove her ear but her ear did die and fell off because no blood was reaching to it.

her ear was very cold, are your bunnys? maybe you should take him to the vets.

hope he is ok!

sophie
 
Lace had an abcess at the base of the one ear, although it has gone right down, and the other is infected too - this is what has caused the head tilt. So far blood is reaching the top of her ears, I had a good look at the blood vessels last night. Her ears are a bit cold though. :?
Poor old girlie, I certainly can't let her go through having her ears die on top of everything else :cry: I have put so much into getting her better, but I don't want her to suffer. I felt so hopeful when her eye cleared up. And when she began eating again after I had syringe fed her for a week.
 
sorry i have been calling her him!!!

it is really dishearting when you have put so much effort into them. i was really upset when peppers ear started to go black and the vet said we couldnt do anything about it.

i hope your girlie pulls through this, i will have a look and see if i have any piccies of my girl to show you.

sophie
 
Awwwww Louise - sending you hugs gal - I carn't really help you with this one as I've not had any experience of anything like this, but your a great bunny mum and you know your gal and whats best for her.

Thinking of you both and sending positive vibes.
 
So have you still got Pepper Sophie? How did she cope with it? Do you think she felt much from the ear or did the nerves die quickly so she couldn't feel it? I don't want to make a decision based on my not liking what is happening to Lace, but on how she feels. I think whether she wants to eat is a good gauge of that.
Did she have head tilt when she had the abcess? And how old was she? I would really like to see her pic.
 
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