My bunny Jill has an issue around her eye. Please help!!!

[melody444]

I have a bunny named Jill (Her picture is attached). Jill has gone to the vet since September 2018. She has had two rounds of antibiotics which did not cure the issue. She is on her third which now includes penicillin, and anti inflammatory, eye drop, and probiotic. Her skin around her eye has actually gotten worse and the issue is now around her whole eye. A bacterial swab was done and the bacteria died on the way to get tested so they believe it is pseudomonas. There is no actual issue with her eyeball. It is fine. The issue is the skin AROUND her eye. They checked her out and nothing is wrong with her besides this skin issue. Please help. Thanks

 

[JBun]

That looks so painful, poor girl.

With something like that I would suspect the possibility of rabbit syphilis. Though it might not be since I can't see any crusting in the photo. If it is rabbit syphilis though, then the penicillin injections should clear it up. You can take a look at this link on rabbit syphilis to see if it looks like what your bun has.
http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Skin_diseases/Bacterial/Syphilis.htm
http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Skin_diseases/Bacterial/Syph_gen.html

 

[melody444]

Thanks you so very much. We asked the vet about syphilis. She said she doesn’t believe she has this because their are no issues anywhere else on her body. Thier is abousoluty no crusting but the thier is a white discharge that comes from inside her eye but we clean it. If it is that the penicillin should clear it up which is good news. The vet is talking about doing head xrays next and I’m scared bc they mentioned surgery but she is old so I don’t think she will survive. She is a rescue bunny and she is around 8-9 years old. I feel so bad for her because I know it must hurt very badly. Thank you for your advice and links. They are very helpful.

 

[Popsicles]

With anything involving the tear duct in rabbits, my number one suspicion is always teeth. The roots of the upper molars can press on the tear duct when overgrown, causing deep infections and blockage. If this is a factor in your rabbit, the head X-rays would be a really good idea.

 

[JBun]

Ok, doesn't sound like syphilis then. White discharge does mean there is a bacterial infection. I agree with Popsicles, it's likely to be dental related. It's possible the penicillin could clear the infection up, but if there is an infected tooth the infection may not clear up without it's removal. It's a hard call when dealing with an older bun. With surgery being a risk for a bun of that age, it's something to take into account when deciding if it's the best thing to do.

If you think she is having some pain from this and especially if it's affecting her eating at all, I would ask your vet about pain relief if your bun isn't already on any. For mild to moderate pain, the NSAID meloxicam/metacam is commonly prescribed to rabbits.

If you decide surgery is too risky and not the best route to take, this link has info about non surgical treatment of head abscesses in rabbits using pen g injections.
http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/jawabscess.html

 

[melody444]

Thank you very much. I appreciate your help.

 

[melody444]

Thank you guys!! The links are very helpful. I am hoping the penicillin works as well. The different way to treat it helps as well because I don’t wan to do surgery and now I can ask the vet about that option.

 

[melody444]

Also she is on pain medicine as well. Sorry I did not mention that.

 

[melody444]

She is also eating great!! We are watching that as well.