Rebecca's eye again!

Advertise with us
Love your rabbit
shop deals on amazon
Shop deals on ebay
Rabbits Online Forum

Help Support Rabbits Online Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
MiniLopHop

MiniLopHop

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 23, 2010
Messages
4,421
Reaction score
50
Location
Paoli, Pennsylvania, USA
Becky's eye is getting red and running again. This has been an ongoing issue since I got her a year ago in December. She has had the tear duct flushed, teeth checked even when she was under for her spay, so many eye drops, ear drops, oral antibiotics. The culture says it is just a common skin bacteria that is sensitive to everything.

The next steps discussed with the doctor is another duct flush and x-rays of her head. I just want to make sure she is not in pain. I'm going to wait until the end of this month to schedule though because she lost a lot of weight on the oral antibiotics. I don't want to stress her again until she's bounced back a bit better. Her poor little ribs and spine are so sharp right now. She's getting extra oats on her breakfast (unlimited pellets) and treats. She tends to be thin and not a great eater (very enthusiastic, but just doesn't eat much) to start with so loosing weight hit her hard.

If the x-rays don't show tooth issues I'm really wondering if it is just constant irritation from her floppy ear rubbing against her eye? I have seen it happen so many times as she is playing because her head tilts just a bit from brain damage suffered before I got her. I'm also wondering if they damaged structures in her face/nose/cheek area when she was hit.

Anyone have any other ideas how to help her?

384.jpg

 
Hi Brandy.

It sounds like you've covered just about everything in search of a reason for her runny eye.

The skin bacteria may be more of a result than a cause of the runny eye.

It sounds quite similar to what I've gone through with my Benji.....except for the duct flushing. My vet didn't think it was blocked ducts and advised me that flushing can sometimes result in scar tissue that actually could make it worse.

In the end we came to the conclusion that Benji most likely has allergies.....probably to dust....and very sensitive eyes. The condition comes and goes.

I keep his eyes as clean as possible with flushes of sterile saline solution.
He gets regular warm compresses of chamomile tea (which he LOVES). There's good antibacterial properties in the tea.
I keep his nails trimmed so he doesn't scratch his eyes when grooming.
I also sift his pellets so there's no "fines in them, and I've search out a hay supplier that provides hay that's virtually dust-free. Sometimes, if the hay is a bit dry or dusty, I'llLIGHTLY mist it down with chamomile tea (making sure I remove any haybefore it has a chance to mold).
I also run a HEPA filter in the bunny room 24/7.
And he still gets runny eyes.
Benji is almost 8 tears old and this has been going on for most of his life.

 
Thanks Jim! Do both of his eyes run? That is what has me stumped because it's only one eye. Do you think keeping the fur under her eye shaved would help so when I wipe her face off it's easier to keep it clean?

I have been doing the flushes (reminds me, gotta stop at the pharmacy tonight because I ran out yesterday) and using unscented baby wipes to clean the fur under the eye. I will try the warm compresses.

I get a 50 pound bag of pellets so all the fines settle to the bottom. When we start getting low I shake the bag to get them to settle lower. I just save the dust in a baggie to use like critical care. We have a great hay supplier that I get bales from that are not dusty. We use the horse bedding pellets in the litter box because the paper ones were too dusty.

I have dust/dust mite allergies and she is in my bedroom so everything I have done for me would be for her too (HEPA filter, dusting regularly with damp cloth, vacuuming, covered mattress, washing bedding etc.)

I don't care if her face looks funny as long as she feels good and is not in pain. I'm hoping the x-rays will rule out any potential source of pain.
 
I have a lop who just has one runny eye. Like your lop, she is also thin although she has unlimited pellets and some treats. According to some vets, lops are particularly prone to runny eyes becuase of the shape of their skulls and how it affects the eyes and nasal passages.

If the x-rays rule out any tooth problems causing your bunny's runny eye, I think she can probably have a comfortable life just by treating the symptoms. (Tear duct flushing is not always helpful and can be harmful in some cases.) I like the idea of the compresses. And personally I have found some of the eye ointments more helpful than drops or oral antibiotics. My own bunny responded particularly well to Chloricol ointment, and there are other ointments that do not contain any anitbiotics, but help with comfort.
 
With Benji, it's sometime one eye...sometimes both.

I'm not sure about using the baby wipes. I'd be concerned that there might be something in them that might cause even a minor irritation. Check the ingredients label and then google anything that isn't immediately identifiable.

I don't think shaving the fur around the eye is necessary, as long as you're keeping itas clean and dry as possible.

I buy 25lb bag of pellets and most of the fines settle to the bottom, but I still sift them.

I also gave him a wide shallow food dish so he doesn't have to stick his whole face in to get the pellets. He's a Havana and his face is kinda short/round/smooshy.:biggrin:
 
Thanks! I think I'm going to stop using the baby wipes and just wipe her face with the tea when I do the compress. When I stop for the saline drops I will look for the gel too, I have used it in the past for excessive dry eye.

You can see the pellet dish in the picture. I use a couple small ones around the room for the pair rather than one big one. That is her husbunny in the picture eating. He's not exactly large so I didn't want anything too deep but he eats lots since he's still growing.

I will talk with the vet to see if she has to do the flush or if x-rays would be enough. My previous vet flushed her ducts before and said they were very clogged. Interestingly the first vet only used a local anesthetic. My current vet is going to use light gas for a general anesthetic because she feels it is too painful and dangerous to have the rabbit struggle. The x-rays will be taken before she comes out of it as well so the films show as much as possible. I just find it curious how different doctors do the same procedure in two ways.

I love the smooshy faces, but I can see where it can lead to issues. I have a little nose and had to have a deviated septum corrected. Interestingly I had severe dry eyes before but now it's normal. I wonder if she just has a structural issue that makes the one eye run.
 
I meant to mention that it's important to use lint free material to clean her eyes and use for compresses.
No cotton balls, tissues, paper towels, etc.
I use sterile gauze pads.

I buy the larger bottles of sterile saline wound wash. It's cheaper than the smaller bottles of drops.
I think I pay about $7 for an 8oz bottle at CVS.

Benji's dish is a ceramic one that about 5" across and about 1 1/2" deep.
Perfect for a smooshy face :biggrin:.
(Benji is the bun in my signature pic below :love:)
 
Oh I like the sterile gauze idea. I was thinking wash cloth, but this will be better.

I have been using little individual use drops (just natural tears) because they don't have preservatives in them. My eyes itch sometimes if I use the big bottles so I'm working on the better safe than sorry idea.

Benji is so cute :)
 
I love you guys! :thankyou:

I did her first chamomile warm compress with saline drops. She didn't fight at all and all the redness is gone! :party0002::pinkelepht::yahoo::clapping::pinkbouce::weee:

After I put her back down (I work on her face with her on the bed and me on my knees) she just calmly cleaned her face. :bunnynurse:

Gary even groomed her, I think he likes the taste too. :kiss::hugsquish:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top