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HELP Sick bunny with pussy eyes!

B

Baileybunny

New Kit
Hi all,
My Bailey is Not well. It started with a tiny bit of whitish goo in the corner of his eye which I wiped out with some warm salty water. The next morning his eye was closed with puss. I took him straight to the vet [im in Australia] and she wasn’t sure if it was myxomatosis or something else. She gave him some antibiotic and painkiller injections and some tricern eye cream, in case it’s an infection and I was told to wait and see for the next 3 days to see if it progresses into myxomatosis.
Today the puss is about the same and I keep cleaning it with warm salty water to it doesn’t completely cover his eye. The inner of his eye is very swollen and red and the whole eye area looking from above is swollen. I’ve also noticed he’s sneezing on and off through the day
Anyone experienced this before?
 
Ok, all I can do is to give my opinion based on what your describing - it’s not a diagnosis. Other RU friends with much greater experience and knowledge I’m sure will add.
My bridge bun Henry presented with some similar symptoms to what you are describing.
Henry suffered from a deformed eye tear duct which would get blocked.
Tear ducts (and tracts) act as a natural flush for bugs in the eye. Tear fluid naturally runs over the eye and drains down the tear duct through the nose.
In Henry’s case, this couldn’t happen so bugs built up in the warm moist tear duct creating an infection.
This initially showed as white goopy bits as you describe. The main part of the infection was in the tear duct and was expressed out with warm sterile water and cotton wool gently pressed under the outside of the base of the eyelid.
The vet easily treated this with a simple course of antibiotic injections once a day, same time for 3-4 days.
Henry’s eye cleared up that quickly. So that is one possibility. Surprised the vet didn’t look for this.
Tear ducts can also be flushed easily by a trained vet. It’s a simple procedure usually without anaesthetic.
The other possibility is dental? It may be caused by teeth roots so you may suggest possible X-ray to determine the exact lay out of your rabbits teeth.
I hope these bits of info are helpful but I’m sure there will be plenty of more great advice from others later for you.
Soothing nose rubs for bailey and loads of vibes. I hope you can get a diagnosis and treatment soon.
Craig x
 
Baileybunny said:
Hi all,
My Bailey is Not well. It started with a tiny bit of whitish goo in the corner of his eye which I wiped out with some warm salty water. The next morning his eye was closed with puss. I took him straight to the vet [im in Australia] and she wasn’t sure if it was myxomatosis or something else. She gave him some antibiotic and painkiller injections and some tricern eye cream, in case it’s an infection and I was told to wait and see for the next 3 days to see if it progresses into myxomatosis.
Today the puss is about the same and I keep cleaning it with warm salty water to it doesn’t completely cover his eye. The inner of his eye is very swollen and red and the whole eye area looking from above is swollen. I’ve also noticed he’s sneezing on and off through the day
Anyone experienced this before?
Click to expand...

Craig 1965 said:
Ok, all I can do is to give my opinion based on what your describing - it’s not a diagnosis. Other RU friends with much greater experience and knowledge I’m sure will add.
My bridge bun Henry presented with some similar symptoms to what you are describing.
Henry suffered from a deformed eye tear duct which would get blocked.
Tear ducts (and tracts) act as a natural flush for bugs in the eye. Tear fluid naturally runs over the eye and drains down the tear duct through the nose.
In Henry’s case, this couldn’t happen so bugs built up in the warm moist tear duct creating an infection.
This initially showed as white goopy bits as you describe. The main part of the infection was in the tear duct and was expressed out with warm sterile water and cotton wool gently pressed under the outside of the base of the eyelid.
The vet easily treated this with a simple course of antibiotic injections once a day, same time for 3-4 days.
Henry’s eye cleared up that quickly. So that is one possibility. Surprised the vet didn’t look for this.
Tear ducts can also be flushed easily by a trained vet. It’s a simple procedure usually without anaesthetic.
The other possibility is dental? It may be caused by teeth roots so you may suggest possible X-ray to determine the exact lay out of your rabbits teeth.
I hope these bits of info are helpful but I’m sure there will be plenty of more great advice from others later for you.
Soothing nose rubs for bailey and loads of vibes. I hope you can get a diagnosis and treatment soon.
Craig x
Click to expand...


Craig has already given you good advice. Have you checked for any other signs that could indicate myxomatosis - swollen genitals for example ? Did the Vet take your Rabbit's temperature ? From your description it does not sound like myxomatosis but a bacterial acute infection. Did the Vet check for any corneal abrasions ? If your Rabbit sustained a scratch to his eye this can cause a nasty infection/ulceration of the cornea.

Hopefully the eye will start to show signs of improvement over the next 48 hours. Was the antibiotic injection a long acting one or were you given some oral antibiotics to continue daily ? It is essential to have a full course of antibiotics, so if the injection given was not one that covers for 3 days (when another one would be needed) then you should have been given a supply of the antibiotic in oral form to continue for at least 7 days, maybe longer.

There is some additional information on these links :

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Eye_diseases/Differential/Runny_eyes.htm

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Eye_diseases/Clinical/Eye_diseases.htm

http://wildpro.twycrosszoo.org/S/00...iquesRabbit/nasolacrimal_duct_cannulation.htm

http://wildpro.twycrosszoo.org/S/00dis/viral/Myxomatosis.htm

I hope that your Bunny will make a rapid recovery, in the meantime it's important to make sure he keeps eating and drinking and that his poo output remains normal. When a Rabbit is poorly their gut motility can slow down and this risks them developing secondary gut stasis.
 
Update on Bailey!
To answer some questions, yes the vet checked his ears and genitals for swelling and they were okay so far. Took his temp and he had a slight fever. I was also given some antibiotics the next day to continue with- as she was waiting to see if the next eye went as well, she was thinking it would be myxomatosis. But the other eye is fine so I now have antibiotics to continue with as well as some eye drops and cream as well as Metacam twice daily. We dosed him up with all his new meds last night and
Good news I woke up this morning and his eye is still a Little swollen but NO puss and he is eating his breakfast and had a run around the room. I’m feeling pretty positive now that it’s not myxomatosis!!! Yay..
I’m hoping it’s all cleared up very soon as he really badly needs neutering as he chases my little dog everyday trying to hump her.
 
Thank you for the update on bailey. It sounds positive and the fact he is eating is also good.
I would possibly be tempted to gently bathe baileys eye just to maintain a cleanse sweep on it and monitor closely.
Antibiotics can work quickly and effectively if administered early - you seem to have acted swiftly so this is also positive.
I would be tempted to have a return visit to the vet before the end of the week if possible just to double check progress.
Sending continued vibes for bailey.
Craig x
 
Last edited:
Baileybunny said:
Update on Bailey!
To answer some questions, yes the vet checked his ears and genitals for swelling and they were okay so far. Took his temp and he had a slight fever. I was also given some antibiotics the next day to continue with- as she was waiting to see if the next eye went as well, she was thinking it would be myxomatosis. But the other eye is fine so I now have antibiotics to continue with as well as some eye drops and cream as well as Metacam twice daily. We dosed him up with all his new meds last night and
Good news I woke up this morning and his eye is still a Little swollen but NO puss and he is eating his breakfast and had a run around the room. I’m feeling pretty positive now that it’s not myxomatosis!!! Yay..
I’m hoping it’s all cleared up very soon as he really badly needs neutering as he chases my little dog everyday trying to hump her.
Click to expand...

It sounds as though Myxo is far less likely now, I really hope so. I also hope that Bailey continues to respond well to his treatment. The Vet sounds to be quite Rabbit Savvy, which I guess may be a rare thing over in Oz x
 
Another update. Well puss is back. Still on antibiotics. tricern eye cream and Metacam and due to see vet on Tuesday again.
 
Sorry to read that the puss is back.
I would try if you can, to get Bailey to the vet sooner than Tuesday and ask to have tear ducts checked. Also ask the vet to check Bailey's teeth and as a possibility, maybe a dental x-ray to see if there is any teeth roots infringing on the nasal canal.
Topping up the vibes for Bailey. xx
 
Baileybunny said:
Another update. Well puss is back. Still on antibiotics. tricern eye cream and Metacam and due to see vet on Tuesday again.
Click to expand...

I think it would be a good idea to try to get the Vet to take another look at him before Tuesday if at all possible. I am hoping that he has not developed any other symptoms and that he is eating and pooing OK ?
 
He is eating fine and pooing. No other symptoms just the pussy eye. Unfortunately where I live the rabbit vet only comes up on Tuesday. It’s Sunday night here in Australia and I’m seeing the vet morning 930am Tuesday. So hopefully that will be okay. Fingers crossed. In mean time I’m keeping up the salt water cleaning and meds
 
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