Louis needs a tear duct flush

[Sayuri]

I took Louis back to the vets this evening and he still has an upper respitory infection - we like to call it snuffle-itus - Erica said he had had a long enough course of antibiotics so she put some drops in his eyes and looked at them with a black light to see if they were coming down his nose, which it did on one side but not the other. She also noticed that he had scratches on both eyes, which she thinks is from him being to enthusiastic about eating his hay and apparently guinnie pigs have the same problem quite often.

She has given him eye drops and he has to go on Friday for a tear duct flush - it will cost £60 ($120) if he doesnt need to be sedated and more if he does and I REALLY dont know where I am going to find the money - he has racked up bills of nearly £100 ($200) lately and I am so broke its not true

 

[ra7751]

Hi,

If the tear duct is restricted...it needs to be flushed to prevent other issues. We have never had a bun sedated to perform this...but if your bun is a skittish...it might be a good idea. Since you mentioned "snuffles"...and that is a term I have a problem with....has a culture been performed to see exactly what bacteria is involved? In my experience, "snuffles" is an inaccurate term and comes from a time that very little was known about rabbit illnesses. Most of the time, a URI is caused by a bacteria called Pasteurella Multocida...but there are different strains and there are also other bacteria that can cause a URI. While a culture is not cheap (at least not in the US), it will provide valuable information about what exactly is going on and exactly how to treat it. Your bun gets the proper treatment and you save money since you are not guessing with drugs...which in itself can cause problems. I continue to see bacteria resistant to commonly used drugs...sulfanomides (Bactrim, Septra, Sulfatrim, etc.) and enrofloxacins like baytril and ever ciprofloxacins. Those drugs just don't work as well as they once did. I have had tremendous success in treating URIs with zithromax. I doubt your vet will find it in any of the manuals as very few know of this drug's use in rabbits. It has worked wonders around here. But the bottom line, in my opinion, is get the tear ducts flushed and culture that infection to pinpoint what is causing the problem and treat it accordingly. As I mentioned not only will it be the proper way to treat you rabbit...you will likely save money in the long run.

Randy

 

[naturestee]

Huh, that's awfully expensive even if he doesn't need to be sedated.:huh

Then again, the more I learn, the more I realize that my vet is crazy cheap. I think Loki's tear duct flush was around $30? Just the cost of supplies and the office visit. Loki did not need to be sedated, although the vet said that his ducts were so bad that he didn't feel like he got them fully flushed, but he didn't want to do much more with Loki wide awake. Thankfully it did the trick (the ducts were clogged from allergies/dust, not from infection) so he did not have to be brought back and sedated.

I agree with Randy- the antibiotics aren't working, it's best to get a culture done so the vet knows what she is dealing with and can choose a better antibiotic. Unfortunately the UK has more strict laws on veterinary drugs and I don't think they're allowed to use meds unless they're listed as being useable. Still, ask about the Zithromax. It's worth a shot.