Still sneezing after antibiotics

[Pigglebread]

My female went in the vet for odd urine dribbles all over the cage and it cleared up over night though so we think it was just a kidney stone and she's fine now with that, I mentioned her sneezing a lot and it got worse the next day. She did not have matted fur or a bad runny nose, but I found one booger that was clear to a little cloudy on her head, not yellow or green just cloudy.

She sneezes on an off and that's normal but I knew this was more then she normally does, the vet gave me baytril cherry flavor for 10 days and the 10 days are up, she said to call back if it doesn't seem better to extend the dose. The meds seemed to have helped a lot in the amount of sneezing because it cleared up at first but returned to a mild sneeze fit here and there after 4 days into treatment. I notice it more at night and morning...sometimes when eating then sometimes not, it's like shes got congestion but there's no discharge from her nose.

I run a HEPA filter, I vaccum, I keep the room clean, she gets a antihistamine 1/8 from 4mg pill recommenced from the doctor since it's pollen season here. Since the baytril seemed to have improved does it just mean she needs a longer treatment? I just want to get your guys opinion on this..

I thought that if it was snuffles my male she's bonded with would have caught this infection by now, the vet said not to remove him or it could stress her so I didn't. He's been by her side since face to face, sharing water, food, and grooming. Would he have caught it by now or is his immune system just that good? Maybe she has allergies and got a respiratory infection but is back to normal allergy sneezing :\?

small edit - Actually she sneezed a yellow booger out tonight so yea she's sick with something in her respitory system, how long can it take sometimes to clear it up with antibiotics? The vet also mentioned a bit back if nothing worked that we would check her molar roots in an xray.

 

[Blue eyes]

I'm no expert on snuffles, but I have heard that some buns are just much more prone to it than others. It's not unusual, either, for one to get it and not the other. Actually the other would still carry it, he just isn't displaying symptoms.
The other thing I heard was anything other than clear would be a sign of infection... so cloudy (or milky) would be included in 'not clear.'
Sounds like she definitely has an infection and that needs to be treated. When mine had it, she had to take meds for 2 weeks.

 

[Pigglebread]

I'm no expert on snuffles, but I have heard that some buns are just much more prone to it than others. It's not unusual, either, for one to get it and not the other. Actually the other would still carry it, he just isn't displaying symptoms.
The other thing I heard was anything other than clear would be a sign of infection... so cloudy (or milky) would be included in 'not clear.'
Sounds like she definitely has an infection and that needs to be treated. When mine had it, she had to take meds for 2 weeks.

It's odd she has fine periods throughout the day then it seems to be a bit worse at night or evening, maybe I'm just over thinking that part that it's more present at night. I guess I have to call vet then for a longer treatment since it seemed to have helped some but isn't fully clear. I'm so extremely stressed, I just want them to be ok, I haven't even had her for very long

 

[tonyshuman]

Does she sneeze just once, or many times in a row? Any difficulty breathing in other situations, like labored breath after running? When you say on and off, do you mean more than once a day?

 

[Pigglebread]

Does she sneeze just once, or many times in a row? Any difficulty breathing in other situations, like labored breath after running? When you say on and off, do you mean more than once a day?

She used to just sneeze maybe one or twice out of the day and that was it, this seemed normal for her for the 2 months I've had her, it was just the occasional sneezing but she did have watery eyes present back then. She then developed what I call "sneezing fits" almost 2 weeks ago where it would be multiple sniffling and sneezing with a lot of rubbing her face after but no discharge really yet, then when the discharge was present and the sneezing fit continued on for 2 days I knew I had to take her in. I could tell her breathing seemed a little struggling and you could hear her breathe through the snot slightly when she inhaled.

Sorry I didn't get back to this post when I submitted it, since that last yellow discharge sneeze I actually have not seen her produce or sneeze anymore since. She just finished her last dose of antibiotics this morning so I'm hoping that it only took those last bits of medication to kick the bacteria's butt. It seems the antibiotics were or did help but it was just taking awhile to do so, the meds were given twice a day over a course of 14 days, I'm hoping she stays the way she is right now.

So at the current moment she's doing much better and no discharge but I'm continuing to monitor her.

 

[Pigglebread]

She's still doing good I believe, it has gone back to the 1 -2 small sneezes a day but no sneezing fits/episodes or discharge. I'm keeping my HEPA filter on always and my bedroom door open for constant air flow.

edit: I may have spoke to soon, she started sneezing again bad...why is it every time I think she's in the clear this happens

 

[tonyshuman]

Hmm... It is curious. Don't worry about her buddy getting it--he's already been exposed to the pathogen by now and his immune system is probably keeping it in check, if it is a URI. I would try a longer course of antibiotics first, since it seemed to help, maybe 14 days. Most antibiotic treatments in rabbits go for 14 days if possible, it seems. Another option would be to try a different antibiotic. For instance, if she was on baytril, I'd go to the newer version of the drug, convenia. That's because maybe the bacteria were susceptible to the baytril at first but gained antibiotic resistance. Convenia is a newer drug that works in a similar way, so they may not be resistant to it. Another option would be to try a drug from a totally different class, for instance zithromax if you used baytril before, or penicillin, etc. Zithromax itself is a good choice to deal with URIs but can be hard on the GI in some rabbits. By using an antibiotic from a different class, you may be better able to defeat the bug that may have gained resistance. You could also have them do a culture and sensitivity test on the mucus to get a more definitive answer on what antibiotics will be helpful against whatever bacteria are there, but those take several days and can be quite expensive. Ideally, that would be what you'd want to do.

Other potential causes of sneezing/coughing fits, especially without discharge, are mechanical issues in the throat. Our Ben had sneezing/coughing fits that were not improved by anything except meloxicam (a pain med as well as an anti-inflammatory). We later found from other diagnostics that he had a mass near his heart that was putting pressure on the trachea, causing him to cough. Other causes could be tooth problems or ammonia damaging the windpipe (although you probably clean the litterbox often enough that that's not an issue). So, if the antibiotics don't work, or you want to do other diagnostics to rule out other causes, head and neck x-rays would be good. That should cover any tooth problems or masses in the chest cavity.

To rule out allergies (rare in rabbits) you can give children's benadryl. I don't remember how it is dosed, so your vet would have to figure that out for you.

I hope dearly it is just a little URI that a stronger dose or longer course of meds will defeat, but wanted to let you know about other possibilities. Depending on how long you pursue finding out what the problem is, you will probably find an answer, but the types of tests will get more invasive and expensive (x-rays typically require sedation).