Teeth/eye problems (RESOLVED)

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thumperflower

thumperflower

Member
Joined
Feb 15, 2009
Messages
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Location
Paignton, Devon , United Kingdom

Hello every one my name is Thumper. I am a 3.5 year old male dwarf lop in tan and white. When my owner fist got me 3 years ago I had a few abcesses on my nose, back and under my front leg.This was soon sorted after a trip to the vets (vets4pets).I had all the abcesses removed and was neutered at the same time.

A year later I started having a few problems with my left eye. The vets said that the fluid that protected my eye was leaking into my eyeball, causing irratation. My owner had to decide weather to have my eye removed now or further down the line. I went straight in to have the surgery, when the eye was removed the vet found that it was worse than he first thought (better out than in).My wound healed and I got used to only having one eye and only bumped into things several times.

Two weeks ago I had to have my front teeth removed due to an infection in the bone at the base of the teeth. I have gone back to the vets today to have the sockets flush as all the infection from the bones is now coming out of the sockets and my nose. I have Baytril 0.5ml twice daily and Metacam 0.3ml daily.

I have been back to the vets Monday and Wednesday for checkups.I have to go back intomorrow (Thursday)to have the sockets flush and scraped to try to get rid of the infection. I was also given an injection to fight the infection.Todays treatment went well, another checkup Monday 22.02.09. Today is Monday and the vets flushed the sockets again and gave me another injection , he wants to see me again on Thursday..........yet more flushing.

To be continued...........




 
uuuggggghhhhh poor baby!!! Thumper sure has been through the ringer. {{{{{HUGS}}}}}
 
Hi Thumper,

Sorry to hear you are not feeling well. But I have to agree with Kathy...but I will be a bit more blunt and to the point.....Baytril has never been and never will be up to the task of properly treating a true abscess. The core of an abscess contains both faculative and obligate anaerobic bacteria. Ain't no way Baytril is up to that. I have treated many abscesses here successfully and without costly and painful surgery. I have had perfect success by using a specific version of Pen G and Zithromax at the same time.....both are wonder drugs for rabbits (for the time being anyway). Unfortuately, many vets are not fully aware of this protocol. I have been using these drugs for years....probably one of the first to use these drugs together. Even my vet was surprised by the effectiveness of these drugs..and she is one of the most highly trained vets in the country. I had to do some convincing to get Zithromax since it requires a RX. One little note.....Pen G is not available in the UK. The penicillin treatment has to be modified to use Procaine and it should be dosed according to it's effective time in the body.

Some of the members may remember JoJo. He is a rescue that came to use courtesy of member slavetoabunny. Had a nasty dental abscess. My first word about him was a concern that he would not survive at all. He has been here quite some time...and today he is a happy and healthy young man. In fact, he will be attending a presentation I am making to a group of Animal Science, Zoology and WAAZM students at a major vet school. And his case will be highlighted as a successful drug treatment of a huge abscess without surgery.

I would suggest having a discussion with your vet regarding ramping up the treatment from all points. Abscesses are very painful. Metacam is an excellent anti-inflammatory but abscesses should call for a narcotic, or narcotic-like, aspect to go along with the Metacam. Buprenex is an excellent choice...Tramadol is an excellent alternative.
 
Some good comments already posted. It is often best for the abscess to not be messed with much (not drained, flushed, scraped etc) because that irritates already fragile skin and it is better for the abscess to heal from the inside out. I think you need fewer flushings and scrapings and instead a stronger antibiotic. You've had a lot to deal with, and I hope you can get a stronger antibiotic and kick these abscesses once and for all!
 
Just to make a clarification....the articles mentioned by Kathy are fantastic articles.....but not applicable in the UK. Pen G is not available in the UK. I have already been thru that one several times. Unless something has changed very recently,Procaine isavailable but Benzathineis not. The active parts of Pen G are Procaine and Benzathine. The Procaine is a fast acting drug that attacks almost immediately...but as quickly as it goes to work, it is purged from the body. The Benzathine takes longer to reach working levels but it also stays on the job much longer. At the very beginning of the use of injectable Penicillins, they were given only once a week but that has proved insufficient. The most common protocol now is every other day. I have dosed it every day...but most often I have dosed for three days and then every other day. With Procaine only, the most effective dosing is every day. I have also found that Penicillin is much more effective when given with a more targeted drug....and as I mentioned in my previous post, Zithromax has proven very worthy. And the more highly skilled vets know that Zithromax is also highly effective against Pasteurella....just a little side note on that drug.


 
Today 25.02.09 Thumper is feeling much better and eating alot more thanthan he hasin a couple of days. The infection is getting better. The injections he's having is alsoa stronger antibiotic....Amoxycare La lni 0.25ml.

His nose is completely clear of mucus now. The vet said that the injections will help to fight the infection which is in the jaw bone, this type of infection takes longer to cure as bone has poor blood flow. Thumper has these injections evey two days. When he goes to the vets and has the sockets scraped in encourages new blood flow .............this seems to be doing the trick as I tought I was going to lose Thumper at the weekend, but he now seems alot brighter now (fingers crossed).

Thank you all for your helpful advice :)




 
Now I am wondering if your vet just lucked up...or is one of those that is a bit above the others. This is a prime example of successfully using a drug that has always been considered unsafe. This is nothing but pure Amoxicillin. Goes to show that you can use Amoxicillin if it's used properly. I hope things keep improving.
 
I'm glad Thumper is doing better! He's obviously a fighter, considering what he's been through before and survived. Plus, you're doing a great job looking after him :)

I hope he keeps doing well- and remember I'm only a text away if you need to ramble about bunnies lol! :D
 
My knee-jerk reaction when I saw "amox" this morning was to panic... but when I looked up the specific drug and saw it was an injection I figured, then read the rest of the post and remembered what Randy had said earlier about Pen-G in the UK, I figured it was OK.

Kathy
 
Thumper has been to the vets this morning and he is pleased with his progress. Thumper is now eating well and has been taken off the metacam,he is still having baytril and the antibioticinjections for another week............. to be continued! :)02.03.09
 
I want to make sure that everyone that reads this post fully understands what is going on here. Nearly all publications will warn that Amoxicillin should never be used in a rabbit. But there are times when it's the only antibiotic that is suitable for the infection at hand. Amoxicillin can be used safely and successfully with rabbits. It would never be my first choice but I would use it if I had to. There are a few of the "best of the best" vets that are aware of using Amox in rabbits.

The rule of thumb....PENCILLINS, CEPHALOSPORINS OR ANY DERIVITIVE OF THESE DRUGS SHOULD NEVER BE GIVEN BY ORALLY (BY MOUTH).

To briefly explain what goes on....the bacteria that digests food is mostly "gram positive". These drugs are very effective at eliminating gram positivie bacteria so the end result of giving these drugs orally are a severely upset GI and dehydration.

I think the Baytril is "overkill" basically because Amoxicillin if broader spectrum than Baytril.....and the fact that Baytril really isn't all that effective any longer. Baytril usually suppresses the appetite a bit as well. I would like to see some pain meds still in there. In this case, I would think Tramadolwould be appropriate if it's available in the UK. I suspect his liver needs a break from the NSAIDs.

Randy
 
23/03/09 Thumper has finally been signed off by the vet........no more injections or antibiotics ,YIPEE! :biggrin2:

Thumper and Flower have been spending some time together in the garden for the last week. When I took Thumper to the vet I also took Flower in the same carrier. They got very well together, I guess the journey may have cemented their bond. They are now living together in Thumpers two storey hutch and seem to be very happy! :)
 
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