Poor honey has a bad ear infection

Thanks so much both!

Well when giving the ear drops I am squirting in a good amount, holding her ears up right to try and get it to go down. I am massaging her ear bases but only for about 30 seconds as she's such a fidget. I do try to wipe off any excess but she still manages to shake quite abit out.

My Main worry is even after I do this she still scratches her ears quite abit & is forever grooming herself which can't be good if she is ingesting some of the ear drops?

I've just called my vet & asked for them to give me a ring, my normal vet who dealt with Harvey is back on this weekend so
I'm confident he knows what he's doing & hopefully will get her booked in for it to be done.

Thank you, honestly really appreciate your help & advice. Starting to feel I'm bit of a jynx for my poor bunnies & just want her better xx

Ruthy,

I hope all your hard work with Honey will soon eliminate her awful infection.
The abx drops probably do not contain anything that would be harmful to lick in such small quantities; plus your vet must realize that she would be able to lick any excess.
She does look very cute with her spiky hairdo.
Sending you and Honey more vibes.

Hi everyone, thanks so much for all your support, well today we have been for another check up and here is the latest!

Poor little honey still has pus in her ears they think it may have reduced slightly but can't be sure. Basically they are reluctant to change the anti-biotic as in their eyes 2 weeks isn't really long enough & she is on a high percentage of baytril which should be helping. Along with the chorophenical which is in her ear drops. And changing at this point may upset her tummy.

Basically they have told me today as her little ear canal is so small they honestly don't know if it has developed into a middle ear infection and the only way to tell is through a CT scan. Is this correct?

Then to add again, I only insured honey the day Harvey passed away, so therefore her first signs of this was in her first 14 days and not covered. Considering we have already paid out ourselves almost £1800 for Harvey we are pretty much broke and can't afford another £500 for a CT.

What I am trying to ask is how else can they determine if it is middle ear infection? As they have told me today if it is, then she will require surgery, which I just can't face at the moment. Otherwise just taking anti-biotics will only just keep it at bay but not actually sort out the problem.

Really appreciate anyone's views and advice?

Thanks xx

Sorry I don't have any experience of this, but just wanted to send healing vibes to lovely Honey, poor girlie, give her a gentle nose rub from me xxxxxx

A CT scan is the only way to establish the full extent of the infection. Pus in the outer ear canals does not always mean that the infection will spread to the middle/inner ear, although obviously it can do so. If the middle/inner ear is effected the Rabbit often displays some vestibular symptoms too- 'head tilt'.

Morse had a chronic otitis externa (outer ear infection) which never progressed to his middle/inner ear. But each case will be different and so it's impossible to advise you as to what may or may not happen with Honey's infection.

Has she had her ear canals flushed (under GA) ? This can be beneficial to clear out the purulent pus and debris to enable the antibiotics to get to the core of infection.

I am sorry to hear that you are having to cope with more problems after all you went through with Harvey. I hope that Honey remains feeling well within herself despite her gunky ears xx

Ruthyjones89 said:

Hi everyone, thanks so much for all your support, well today we have been for another check up and here is the latest!

Poor little honey still has pus in her ears they think it may have reduced slightly but can't be sure. Basically they are reluctant to change the anti-biotic as in their eyes 2 weeks isn't really long enough & she is on a high percentage of baytril which should be helping. Along with the chorophenical which is in her ear drops. And changing at this point may upset her tummy.

Basically they have told me today as her little ear canal is so small they honestly don't know if it has developed into a middle ear infection and the only way to tell is through a CT scan. Is this correct?

Then to add again, I only insured honey the day Harvey passed away, so therefore her first signs of this was in her first 14 days and not covered. Considering we have already paid out ourselves almost £1800 for Harvey we are pretty much broke and can't afford another £500 for a CT.

What I am trying to ask is how else can they determine if it is middle ear infection? As they have told me today if it is, then she will require surgery, which I just can't face at the moment. Otherwise just taking anti-biotics will only just keep it at bay but not actually sort out the problem.

Really appreciate anyone's views and advice?

Thanks xx

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Ruth, I really feel for you having to go through all of this, and the expense is absolutely crippling ... I'm so sorry!

I know that Parsnip Bun has a lot of experience with ear infections, and also CT scans and the like. Perhaps you could drop her a line?

I'm afraid that in my own experience, a CT scan is the only thing that will determine the extent of the infection, but I really appreciate that's not possible for you right now financially.

Is she in any pain at the moment?

Thanks so much both.

Jane, no she hasn't had her ears flushed yet.. I really don't know what to do as the vet today said yes they can flush her ears but as they don't know the extent of how bad it is, then they don't want to run the risk of pushing the pus down further & making her infection even worse! hence having a CT first! But I just can't afford it.. What would you do?

To be honest she has never shown any sign of a head tilt & has always been quite active & eating well. When they look into them, they say it doesn't look that bad to their eye but obviously can't see inside.

I know, I just feel maybe I shouldn't have any more rabbit as I'm obviously bit of a jynx for the poor bunnies.

Hi,

Pain wise she is on pain relief, was on twice daily but for the last 2 days, she's only had 0.9 once a day and has been absolutely fine, still eating & we even had a binky earlier.

I honestly just don't know what to do?! Thanks so much about parsnip bun, yeah I'll drop her a PM.

Sorry for another question, but if it was a middle ear infection.. Would she still be able to jump okay and have good balance as this is her currently;

Dear Ruthy,

Most, if not all, of us have faced the issues with budgets. For some reason, pet insurance is not even available for bunnies in my area, something I wish would change.

From your earlier post it seems like some progress has been made with the Baytril and the abx drops she is taking-even though it is not curing her issue. If it is not progressing and she is OK within herself, you may want to just give it another week or two as your vet suggested and then perhaps try a different abx instead of Baytril.

Sending you and Honey some good vibes.

Ruthyjones89 said:

Jane, no she hasn't had her ears flushed yet.. I really don't know what to do as the vet today said yes they can flush her ears but as they don't know the extent of how bad it is, then they don't want to run the risk of pushing the pus down further & making her infection even worse! hence having a CT first! But I just can't afford it.. What would you do?

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I honestly cant say what I would do in Honey's case as it is really only you who is able to make that decision. I would only agree to surgical intervention as a last resort. The operation is a major one and there is no guarantee of a successful outcome. I hope a few people will come on to this thread with reports of longterm successful surgical intervention, but thus far my observations and understanding has been that surgery may be needed more than once and the infection is never totally 'cured'. Costs really can spiral and for most of us that would be a huge issue if the Rabbit was not insured.

It has to be the case that there are successes and it's probably that on here only those with a problem relating to ear surgery post.We need to 'hear' the good news stories too !!

There would be no point in having the CT scan unless you already decide to proceed with surgery should the scan reveal infection in the middle ear. As I mentioned in my previous post, otitis externa does not always lead to otitis media/interna, but of course there are no guarantees.

These links may be informative to take a look at :

http://www.vettimes.co.uk/article/diagnosis-of-otitis-externa-media-and-interna-in-rabbits/

WARNING- THIS LINK CONTAINS GRAPHIC IMAGES OF SURGERY

http://www.ivis.org/proceedings/navc/2006/SAE/617.pdf?LA=1

bunny momma said:

Dear Ruthy,

Most, if not all, of us have faced the issues with budgets. For some reason, pet insurance is not even available for bunnies in my area, something I wish would change.

From your earlier post it seems like some progress has been made with the Baytril and the abx drops she is taking-even though it is not curing her issue. If it is not progressing and she is OK within herself, you may want to just give it another week or two as your vet suggested and then perhaps try a different abx instead of Baytril.

Sending you and Honey some good vibes.

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I think this is good advice :thumb:

Honey seems able to balance well, and if the finances are drained there is no possibility of either a CT scan or surgery.

I quite understand this, and have been there many times. Vets fees are very high when they mount up and you've had so very many to pay. Not many of us can afford to continue treatment if bunnies are not insured.

Hi both, thanks so much!

Right, well me and Martin have discussed this and we do have £500 for a CT scan, now my question is.. Is this still worth doing if I am not wanting honey to have an operation? And instead see if we can try and treat with anti-biotics?

Surely even with the CT scan this will at least tell us if it is a inner or outer infection which has got to be useful to know? So we can flush her ears or not?! Or is it pointless in doing it if we are not operating. Having seen what they do, after Harvey there is just no way I can put her through the operation!

Really appreciate your advice xx

Ruthyjones89 said:

Hi both, thanks so much!

Right, well me and Martin have discussed this and we do have £500 for a CT scan, now my question is.. Is this still worth doing if I am not wanting honey to have an operation? And instead see if we can try and treat with anti-biotics?

Surely even with the CT scan this will at least tell us if it is a inner or outer infection which has got to be useful to know? So we can flush her ears or not?! Or is it pointless in doing it if we are not operating. Having seen what they do, after Harvey there is just no way I can put her through the operation!

Really appreciate your advice xx

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IMO if you are 100% certain that you do not want Honey to have surgery then I feel the money would be better spent in paying for the ongoing treatment Honey may need to try to keep the infection under control rather than on a CT scan

A skull Xray would give some information regarding whether there is any infection in the middle/inner ear. A positive contrast could be used in the ear which would show if the tympanic membrane is intact. If it is then the Vet should be OK about flushing Honey's ears. Xrays may not be as detailed as a CT scan, but it something that could be done under the same GA prior to the Vet flushing Honey's ears.

Ruthyjones89 said:

Hi both, thanks so much!

Right, well me and Martin have discussed this and we do have £500 for a CT scan, now my question is.. Is this still worth doing if I am not wanting honey to have an operation? And instead see if we can try and treat with anti-biotics?

Surely even with the CT scan this will at least tell us if it is a inner or outer infection which has got to be useful to know? So we can flush her ears or not?! Or is it pointless in doing it if we are not operating. Having seen what they do, after Harvey there is just no way I can put her through the operation!

Really appreciate your advice xx

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I am still of the opinion that you have some way to go before you've exhausted the possibilities of antibiotics. Chloramphenicol and penicillin antibiotics pass the blood-brain barrier and have successfully treated middle or inner ear infection in rabbits. Aggressive and long treatment of at least 6 weeks is required.

There's some good reading about it here: http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Neurology/Otit/otitis.htm

It's important to remember that an X Ray may not show up anything at all, and will mean a GA for no good purpose. See this useful article here:

http://www.rabbit.org/health/tilt.html

The most accurate way to diagnose otitis interna is via a CT scan or MRI. External ear exam, X-rays and blood tests are frequently negative for any significant findings. Remember that a negative finding on an x-ray does NOT rule out otitis interna. If the middle ear is also affected it may be possible to obtain a bacterial culture via a surgical procedure, which is helpful in determining the treatment to be used.

I really feel for you Ruth. You've been through so much, you and Honey don't deserve this!

Sending a million vibes and ((( hugs ))) to you both xx

Hi both,

Right again spoke with another vet today and by the looks of it this one does have more experience with ear infection so there is hope for us yet!

Honey is booked in for next Wednesday, here she will have a check and see if there is any possible improvement. Luckily the previous vet did take pictures so at least we do have something to go with. If there is no visible improvement then we are going ahead with a CT scan. This at least will allow us to see what is happening and to whether it will be okay to flush her ears. She will go in at 10.30 for her check up and if she has her CT they do have a specialist on site who will give be able to give us the detail we need whether we can flush her ears and then will be sent to another off site specialist to also get their view, so we will have 2 people looking at it, which I feel a little better about.

After speaking with him today, obviously it can still be a middle ear infection and really bad, however from what I have showed him of videos of her still whizzing round, jumping & binkying, he is really hoping it is an infection we can get on top of without surgery. She's currently on baytril and chorophenical but again we can also try the stronger anti-biotics after next Wednesday too.,

So not really much of an update but at least we have a plan.. So I'll continue her meds and ear drops in the meantime and hope and pray it's helping her xx

My little sweetheart xx

Those latest pictures of Honey are adorable. I have no experience of ear infections in rabbits and so I'm afraid cannot offer any further advice. However reading through your latest update I think I would be happy with the planned way forward if it were one of my rabbits. Hopefully there will be some improvement seen on Wednesday, but if not at least with the results of a CT scan you will know what you are dealing with. This always helps me cope with situations in which I have no previous experience. Also you now have the benefit of knowing that the latest vet is suitably experienced. At the end of the day you can only take account of all the circumstances and do what you think is best and in my opinion you are certainly doing that!

Sending Honey loads of vibes for Wednesday.

I'm late to this thread as I've not been around much and I am so sorry to see that Honey is having problems. I've nothing useful to add by way of advice, but send lots of vibes for your special girl. I hope you can get on top of the infection.

The photos of Honey snoozing are adorable

Dear Ruthie,

Having options is good. Perhaps she will even see enough improvement with the abx before her next appointment that you may not even need to invest in any more tests at this time.
What matters most is how Honey feels and from what I understand, any pain is controlled and she is otherwise doing well.
When our bunnies are such sweethearts it is so hard to see them with any issue. I am sure this feeling is magnified since Honey's symptoms began at the sme time you lost Harvey.

Sending you more positive vibes.