Chronic Runny Eye

[redlemon]

I have a seven year old mini rex, Lenore. Back in the day, when she was around one, my vet diagnosed her with chronic runny eye. Basically, I was told that, unless she had other symptoms like sneezing or runny nose, that there wasn't much I could do.

Shortly after that diagnosis, I got Sirius as a bonding partner. He was a grooming expert and I found that he groomed her eye enough to almost eliminate the problem.

Well, Sirius died recently (of a heart attack) and now I can see the watery eye has come back. Like before, no other symptoms, eating well, pooping, no runny nose, etc. My vet said cleanings can help (we have one scheduled for next week) but I can try and "groom" on my own to keep it under control.

My question is, how would I do that? I know I can ask next week when I go in, but I'm curious if anyone knows how so that I can start helping this week. (Like a fool, I forgot to ask over the phone on how I would do that and my vet is on vacation this week!) I also suspect that Lenore is crying because she lost Sirius. They were together for 6 years and extremely well bonded bunnies. If it is her crying, I would definitely need to groom her on my own, as I suspect a vet cleaning might not do much in that case.

 

[tonyshuman]

I have not heard of a chronic runny eye. Runny eyes are caused by infection, upper respiratory infection, blocked tear ducts, or pressure on the eye. It sounds to me like she has a tear duct issue. Our bunny Frida seems to get this, and Benjamin grooms it off for her. However, her goopy eyes are more like little blobs of fur and mucus on the eye, not just watery liquid coming out.

So, are her runny eyes clear liquid, or colored, or furry blobs on the eye?

I clean off the furry blobs on Frida's eyes by soaking a Qtip in sterile saline for contacts and gently teasing them off.

 

[jamesedwardwaller]

redlemon wrote:

I have a seven year old mini rex, Lenore. Back in the day, when she was around one, my vet diagnosed her with chronic runny eye. Basically, I was told that, unless she had other symptoms like sneezing or runny nose, that there wasn't much I could do.

Shortly after that diagnosis, I got Sirius as a bonding partner. He was a grooming expert and I found that he groomed her eye enough to almost eliminate the problem.

Well, Sirius died recently (of a heart attack) and now I can see the watery eye has come back. Like before, no other symptoms, eating well, pooping, no runny nose, etc. My vet said cleanings can help (we have one scheduled for next week) but I can try and "groom" on my own to keep it under control.

My question is, how would I do that? I know I can ask next week when I go in, but I'm curious if anyone knows how so that I can start helping this week. (Like a fool, I forgot to ask over the phone on how I would do that and my vet is on vacation this week!) I also suspect that Lenore is crying because she lost Sirius. They were together for 6 years and extremely well bonded bunnies. If it is her crying, I would definitely need to groom her on my own, as I suspect a vet cleaning might not do much in that case.

well,... in a nut shell--the exotic specialist needs to do a facial radiogragh,,this will help in proper diagnosis of the problem,,tear ducts are internal on a rabbit and generally the eye teeth cause blockage,,which can lead to a infection,,a nasal culture will further diagnose any bacteria present and proper meds for such.//.now lets look at how to prevent weepy eye syndrome/needless infection,,etc.//-diet,,non digestible fiber makes up 70% of the daily intake..ie.timothy/orchard grasses,..then there are is the digestible fibers,,quality lowfat pellets-(for vitamins and nutrition)-a small amount daily with safe plants.ie.dandylions,clover,grasses--fruit tree branches are great for teeth and gitract,ie-(plum,apple,pear)-check the safe lists on medirabbit.com ...i hope you find this information all useful...sincerely james waller:wave::rose::bunnydance:

 

[ra7751]

I think your vet may have missed this one. If your rabbit has a chronic runny eye...there is a reason for it being chronic. When one rabbit grooms another like that...they usually sense a problem. I call these special rabbits "nurse rabbits". They can often sense a problem long before we see clinical presentations. I would urge you to discuss a proper diagnosis and treatment with your vet.....or possibly a referral to a more rabbit savvy vet.

Randy

 

[redlemon]

By chronic runny eye, my vet meant allergies. I should have clarified that. Dustier brands of timothy hay can make it flair up more, so I generally keep to non-dustier hay. My old vet seemed to think that Lenore also may have had malformed eyelids or some kind of physical obstruction, but we never really followed up on that too much (my old vet, a really great rabbit vet, moved away a few years ago and the new vet doesn't seem to think that it's a malformed eyelid and it's just allergies)

It's a completely clear discharge, not goopy at all. We've run all the tests for infection and she comes up negative every time. We've done the flushing before and it helped, but the problem always seems to come back. The fur around her eye just appears wet, and it becomes noticeable when she's around dusty hay or if the air is really saturated with allergens (right now appears to be prime pollen season, and even I'm miserable from it.)

The q-tip idea sounds like a good way to at least try until I see the vet next week.

As for her diet, she eats oxbow pellets and hay, with an occasional veggie thrown in there.

When one rabbit grooms another like that...they usually sense a problem. I call these special rabbits "nurse rabbits".

Oh, I know what you're talking about, but I didn't mean in that manner. They just regularly groomed each other in a more routine manner and that took care of Lenore's eye.

 

[tonyshuman]

I think the next thing to do would be to have facial x-rays taken to make sure that the tooth roots aren't growing up into the eye cavity and causing this runniness.

 

[redlemon]

I will ask the vet about a facial x-ray, just to be sure.

 

[itoshiixhito]

How is Lenore doing?

 

[redlemon]

She's well, although a much bigger problem came up last week. She had a severe case of GI stasis with no known cause. The vet thought that it could have been stress or maybe she got into something we didn't know about. We spent the day nursing her back to health and, after an extremely scary struggle (I seriously thought she had lost her will to live and was going to die), she pulled through and is back to normal now.

The good news is that we caught the stasis really early and I got a set of x-rays done. There's no blockage of the tear duct, and the weeping is letting up. The vet believes it could be allergies, crying, or probably both. Either way, the vet can't see anything otherwise that would be causing the tearing eye. Plus, the tearing is letting up and getting better on its own.

 

[tonyshuman]

Oh dear! I'm so sorry she went into stasis, but glad you pulled her through ok.

Bunnies don't cry, as far as I know, and I'm concerned about calling it allergies because it's only affecting the one eye, right? If that's the case, some vets will prescribe Benadryl to bunnies, at least something to mention to your vet.

 

[redlemon]

I was under the impression that they produce tears that mimick crying when under stress. I could be wrong about that, but that was my impression.

And no, it isn't just the one eye. The eye I was concerned about was much more pronounced, if that makes sense. (Sorry if I wasn't clear on that either. I'm terrible at expressing myself over the internet!) Both eyes are watery, but one seemed to produce more then the other and therefore looks worse. Still, with no sign of blockage and no signs of respiratory or other infections, outside of allergies or dusty hay, I don't know what else it could be. And, like I said, it's clearing up at the moment and getting better each day.

We did discuss allergy medications, but my vet wanted to see her stasis clear up before we go that road.

 

[tonyshuman]

OH, okey doke. I may have gotten confused, and assumed it was just one eye. I was thinking it was just one, then I looked back and couldn't figure out where that came from, so I posted it as a question. Glad we're clear it's not just one eye.

Think maybe she's allergic to tree pollen? We seem to have a lot of that in the Midwest these days...

 

[redlemon]

I did sort of make it sound like it was just one eye. It's just that one eye looks worse then the other and so I've kinda focused on that, as I certainly don't want an abscess or anything of the sort forming.

I'm thinking it's either pollen or dust. The pollen count up here has been absolutely miserable and I myself am suffering from the effects. We're right up against some protected wetlands too, so I have LOTS of trees and shrubs out back. Dust-wise, since the allergy symptoms always seem to come up in late winter/early spring, I'm wondering if the spring cleaning I do kicks that up. I'm careful to use bunny friendly products and not have Lenore get in contact with chemicals, but with all the vacuuming, dusting, opening of the windows, etc, if that's just kicking up all the house dust and irritating her eyes.

 

[jamesedwardwaller]

i am appaulled that any rational person with credentials to be a dvm--would,,and do go straight ahead with a poor diagnosis,,impacting the life of our pets.//.i encountered this early on before i started my own,rehab for exotics.//.it is advised to always utilize a exotic specialist,,generally they have been trained,studied,experienced,,more than the general-practitioner.//.these people will teach you,help you,,and keep one in the right direction--realizing that time is fragile/short with rabbits-health...sincerely james waller