Watery eyes

[Sunnybunny24]

Hi bunny friends! My Holland lop has been having eye issues for quite some time. I brought her to the vet and she filed her teeth, did a tear duct flush, and sent her home with some eye drops. The vet also did skull x-rays which were all normal. I used the eye drops as directed, however, her eye is still super watery! The drainage from her eyes is always clear. She has been acting totally normal, eating, sleeping, pooping, and playing like her usual self. I have been doing my best to wipe it down and try to keep it dry but it just won’t quit. She also has a bunny friend that she lives with who doesn’t have any eye issues so whatever it is isn’t contagious. Any suggestions on how to help her eye stop watering?

I posted pictures of her eyes for reference. The right eye always seems to be worse. I appreciate any help and insight!

 

[John Wick]

Is the vet who took and assessed the x-rays a rabbit-experienced, exotic vet (as opposed to a dog/cat vet who accepted your rabbit as a client)?

Some rabbits can have chronic runny eyes: Chronic Runny Eyes In Rabbits | House Rabbit Society

Being a short-faced breed, it may be a congenital condition for your rabbit, but obviously it'd be good to assess if it is treatable in anyway, rather than defaulting to that, which is why I ask about the rabbit expertise of your vet.

 

[Sunnybunny24]

Is the vet who took and assessed the x-rays a rabbit-experienced, exotic vet (as opposed to a dog/cat vet who accepted your rabbit as a client)?

Some rabbits can have chronic runny eyes: Chronic Runny Eyes In Rabbits | House Rabbit Society

Being a short-faced breed, it may be a congenital condition for your rabbit, but obviously it'd be good to assess if it is treatable in anyway, rather than defaulting to that, which is why I ask about the rabbit expertise of your vet.

Yes, the vet I take my bunnies to is an exotic vet that has a lot of experience with rabbits. She did mention it could be congenital. I am wondering if there is anything that can be done if it is congenital. I do not want her skin underneath to become irritated.

 

[JBun]

If the drops didn't help at all, there are no signs of inflammation around the eye, the vet ruled out a corneal ulcer and glaucoma, and checked for the eyelid and lashes rubbing the eye and causing the tearing, then one possibility left could be allergies. You could ask your vet about trying a trial of benedryl(diphenhydramine oral solution) to see if that helps. And I would stick with the benedryl brand cherry flavored only. Everything else that I looked at had artificial sweeteners(always double check ingredients).

https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Common_drug_dosages_for_rabbits
Otherwise if it's not allergies, I think you're looking at some sort of genetic tearing issue like John Wick mentioned, and there's no way to clear that up. You could ask your vet about trying a prescription of meloxicam oral suspension. It's an anti inflammatory(NSAID) safe to use with rabbits, and could help if there's any inflammation contributing to the problem. Sometimes the bondmate will help with keeping the area below the eye groomed. And if it gets to the point of fur loss and bare skin, protecting the skin with a rabbit safe moisturizer like petroleum jelly, coconut oil, etc can help keep the skin moisturized, provided it doesn't cause her bunny friend to overly groom the area.

Medirabbit: differential diagnosis for runny eyes