idk7 wrote:
She did do x-rays and all she said about the x-rays was that his back teeth will need to be filed again and she said
the overgrown teeth maybe causing the abcess, but I don't believe that because he had his teeth done before and the abcess of the eye was still there.
Now that he has been on these meds his eyes has not been tearing at all. But that is all she said about the x-rays. Nothing about his brain or anything to what you said.
But I am happy to report also, since 2 weeks ago as far as I know he hasn't had any seizures(knock on wood).
Thanks for the web links. I will look at them
This makes sense to me. The roots of a bunny's teeth continually grow, and when the top parts don't meet correctly and wear on each other, the top parts grow those sharp points that have to be filed down. The even more important thing here, is that not only do the top parts grow out of control of the teeth aren't wearing each other down enough, the roots also grow out of control. This can cause them to penetrate into other tissues in the area, usually the jaw bone, nasal cavities, eye sockets, etc. Bacteria travel down the tooth to where the root is, and because the roots can cause open sores where they end, the bacteria get into those sores and infect them. The infected tooth roots become pockets of infection, called abscesses. These can swell up really big and put pressure on all the structures around there. This is why a runny nose or runny eye can be a symptom of tooth problems--the pressure on the back of the eye or inside of the nose causes irritation, which leads to runniness being produced.
The fact that the Baytril seems to be helping is encouraging, but it is pretty unlikely that it will do the job all on its own. He needs to be on it for at least 14 days. If he still has symptoms after 14 days, I would continue with the Baytril, but add another antibiotic on top of that, like Bicillin. Some of the bacteria in the abscess may be susceptible to Baytril, and some may not--they could be resistant to Baytril and need a different antibiotic to be killed. A culture and sensitivity test would tell you which antibiotics the bacteria are susceptible to, but due to the location of the abscess, getting a sample isn't the easiest. I think it's ok that the vet hasn't done that test yet.
There are a lot of reasons for seizures. Pressure on the brain, infection of the brain, brain damage, lack of nutrients in the brain, poisoning, and genetic conditions. I would guess that the seizures were caused by the abscess, although since they're gone, and the abscess seems to be shrinking based on what you said, it doesn't really matter what caused them unless they come back. It's hard to see some of the structures of the skull in the area of the teeth/eyes/brain, so it's not surprising that the vet didn't mention it. She probably didn't have a clear enough picture to see whether the abscess was putting pressure on the brain or not.
It is true that it takes a long time for the meds to work. I'm glad you got a second opinion.
I'll post some other good info on abscesses and treatment:
http://www-unix.oit.umass.edu/~jwmoore/bicillin/bicillin.htm
Library Article on Abscesses
Library Article on Teeth (Especially look at the videos from Fast Up On Rabbit Care--they're great)
Library Article on Eye Problems
Library Article on Seizures
Nice picture of rabbit tooth roots and where they're located in the skull in relation to other structures:
