Help! Need Advice. Tear Duct Infection/Dacrocystitis

[nicorabbit]

Hi,

I'm a newly registered user. I'm coming to this forum with a plea for advice.

I have a 4 year old lopear rabbit who has discharge coming from the tearduct in his one eye. It always a discharge from one eye while the other eye is fine. It's usually his left eye but it once switched to his right eye but then switched back again. It is a white ***** discharge. If I don't flush his eye with saline and massage the duct frequently, the pus becomes thicker and accumulates in the sac in the corner of his eye. I can squeeze about half a teaspoon of the stuff if I go a couple days without performing the sale/massage.

He's been to 3 vets since the beginning of the year for this issue. All have prescribed with him a 2 week course of systemic antibiotics and topical eyedrops. The most recent had him on baytril and tobramycin. The antibiotics eliminate the discharge but only for the course of the treatment. He's been off the ABx for 3 days and the puss has already returned.

The vet wants to put him on another 2 week course of baytril and tobramycin and then perform a tearduct flush if the discharge doesn't go away after that course. I'm skeptical of this approach. First of all, from what I've researched, tear duct flushes often do not help and frequently make the problem worse. Secondly, I believe if the ABx were the solution to this issue, they would have worked by now.

My own theory is that the problem is due to some dental issue. I've read that such issues are common in lops and dwarf rabbits. The most recent vet checked his teeth and said he has normal wear on all his teeth. I discussed the possibility of an overgrown tooth root and she was dismissive. However, I still believe this is probably the issue. I just called her office and spoke to her on the phone directly. I discussed the possibility of taking X-rays and she said that while she could do them, they would not reveal any blockages of the tearduct and that I would need to go to a specialist over an hour away who can take CAT scans and use a dye for imaging to get anything conclusive. This contradicts the veterinary journal articles that I've read that state dental issue and overgrown tooth roots can be detected using contrast radiography.

I would be incredibly grateful if someone had any type of advice on what I should do. I'm starting to run out of money and can't afford to keep taking him to different vets and paying for expensive ABx.

Has anybody else dealt with this issue before?
Do you recommend getting the X-rays done?
If the origin of the problem can't be solved, is there some sort of maintenance therapy for this condition that doesn't involve baytril (it costs me a $100 for a 2 week course)?
I've noticed that OTC non-steroidal triple antibiotic ointment clears up the discharge however I'm concerned that if he is on it a prolonged amount of time, he will ingest it while cleaning his face and it will cause GI stasis. Is there such a thing as triple antibiotic drops for rabbits?

Thank you in advance

 

[JBun]

There is a reason there is continued discharge in the eye. I agree that it is very possibly a dental issue and that a radiograph of your rabbits head, be done. If this vet is dismissive of your ideas, I would suggest going to another vet that is more experienced with rabbits. If the specialist that is an hour away, is very experienced with rabbits, then that might be a good idea to go there. You may want to start off with radiographs first though, as it will be cheaper than a CAT scan, and it may show the vet what the problem is. Here is some info on rabbit dental problems, as well as other listings for rabbit vets.

http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/dental.html
http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Dental_diseases/Dental_diseases_main.htm
http://www.rabbitsonline.net/f28/finding-vet-13366/
http://www.rabbit.org/vets/vets.html

 

[nicorabbit]

Thank you for your reply.

I will read the links you posted soon. I'm already familiar with a few of them when I was researching.

I'm hesitant to switch vets yet again. The first vet I went to was absolutely clueless and didn't even do a cursory check my rabbit's teeth. This most recent vet is a recommended vet from the house rabbit society's rabbit.org. She is the only vet on their list in my area.

I really don't know what to do. I don't really even know if this specialist is that reputable and I'm scared I will be charged obscene amounts of money and still make no progress in my rabbit's health. However, I did call earlier and asked them how much it would cost to get dacrocystorhinography done and they said they'd call me back later.

 

[jamesedwardwaller]

Hi,

I'm a newly registered user. I'm coming to this forum with a plea for advice.

I have a 4 year old lopear rabbit who has discharge coming from the tearduct in his one eye. It always a discharge from one eye while the other eye is fine. It's usually his left eye but it once switched to his right eye but then switched back again. It is a white ***** discharge. If I don't flush his eye with saline and massage the duct frequently, the pus becomes thicker and accumulates in the sac in the corner of his eye. I can squeeze about half a teaspoon of the stuff if I go a couple days without performing the sale/massage.

He's been to 3 vets since the beginning of the year for this issue. All have prescribed with him a 2 week course of systemic antibiotics and topical eyedrops. The most recent had him on baytril and tobramycin. The antibiotics eliminate the discharge but only for the course of the treatment. He's been off the ABx for 3 days and the puss has already returned.

The vet wants to put him on another 2 week course of baytril and tobramycin and then perform a tearduct flush if the discharge doesn't go away after that course. I'm skeptical of this approach. First of all, from what I've researched, tear duct flushes often do not help and frequently make the problem worse. Secondly, I believe if the ABx were the solution to this issue, they would have worked by now.

My own theory is that the problem is due to some dental issue. I've read that such issues are common in lops and dwarf rabbits. The most recent vet checked his teeth and said he has normal wear on all his teeth. I discussed the possibility of an overgrown tooth root and she was dismissive. However, I still believe this is probably the issue. I just called her office and spoke to her on the phone directly. I discussed the possibility of taking X-rays and she said that while she could do them, they would not reveal any blockages of the tearduct and that I would need to go to a specialist over an hour away who can take CAT scans and use a dye for imaging to get anything conclusive. This contradicts the veterinary journal articles that I've read that state dental issue and overgrown tooth roots can be detected using contrast radiography.

I would be incredibly grateful if someone had any type of advice on what I should do. I'm starting to run out of money and can't afford to keep taking him to different vets and paying for expensive ABx.

Has anybody else dealt with this issue before?
Do you recommend getting the X-rays done?
If the origin of the problem can't be solved, is there some sort of maintenance therapy for this condition that doesn't involve baytril (it costs me a $100 for a 2 week course)?
I've noticed that OTC non-steroidal triple antibiotic ointment clears up the discharge however I'm concerned that if he is on it a prolonged amount of time, he will ingest it while cleaning his face and it will cause GI stasis. Is there such a thing as triple antibiotic drops for rabbits?

Thank you in advance

--many things to consider here,-I take it that the facial fur is wet and matted.??-rabbit tear ducts are internal,therefore the wet fur infront of the eyes and or bald spot,--a simple radiogragh-alias facial xray would give excellent insight to any dental problem,--if any antibiotic is administered a probotic purchased form a local farm animal supply store must be given,--if it is a dietary issue then one must offer maximum grasses ie.timothy,orchard,--forced feeding might be required using syringe-(rabbit critical care/with probotics),--be aware that repeated tear duct cleaning leads to scar tissue and permanent blockage ,--I trust the source of the problem will be addressed soas to move forward-not treating the symtoms which is what a regular dog/cat dvm generally do--(dvm exotic specialist is required and they are few and far between,)--please keep us inform as time permits,-here is a link to a medical website http://www.medirabbit.com sincerely james waller :grouphug:happybunny:ink iris:

 

[Maureen Las]

I had a Holland lop with severe dental issues which were completely overlooked by several vets in my community. Sometimes when a vet doesn't know something they will be dismissive . I think that this is terrible but I have seen it happen. I totally agree that it is most likely a dental issue. My Holland lop ended up with a animal dentist ( trained in exotics but he did not need to do a CAT scan but simply an xray and he was not dismissive. Dental care is expensive so that is something to consider. I would consult with an animal dentist as to how to proceed ...
Baytril is overused and many bacteria are resistant to it...you need something stronger. I have been in your situation and believe me I know how hard this can be for both you and the bun.

 

[tonyshuman]

X-rays are usually enough. They can also use a contrast agent in an x-ray to visualize the tear duct

There is a lot of good information available on rabbit dentistry, but sometimes it requires an expert to be done, as Angieluv had to have done with her Holland.
http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Dental_diseases/Dental_diseases_main.htm

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Dental_diseases/Odont/Ondont_fr.htm
http://www.medirabbit.com/Radiography/Dental/Dani/Dani_molars.htm

http://www.medirabbit.com/Radiography/Radioscan_main.htm

WARNING Graphic: http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Dental_diseases/Treatment/Facial/abs_dental.htm

I have been trying to find this pic of an x-ray I saw where they stained the rabbit's tear duct with a radio-opaque substance before the x-ray to make sure that it was not obstructed. I cannot find it. Maybe it's buried in one of the links I already posted.

There is a triple antibiotic made for veterinary opthalmic use. Unless you're putting on a ton and a half, they won't get GI problems. I would suggest a more aggressive antibiotic, like zithromax or chloramphenicol, if the x-rays don't find a tooth root abscess, which is likely the problem. I have had bunnies with conjuntivitis before and nobody has had the same volume of pus discharge, or pus discharge that you can get from squeezing. I have seen worse cases of cunjunctivitis, but they almost always respond to penicillin or baytril. Is the dosing correct for the antibiotics? It sounds like your vet is pretty up-to-date on rabbit care, but maybe a bit too reliant on some of the newer technologies. Obviously a CT scan would be better, since they can get a 3-dimensional picture of the potential abscess, but it's not necessary.

 

[Dimitri]

Hi so I'm having a sorta similar issue my 8 month old bunny has been having excessive watery eyes. His normal eating and potty habits are normal he seems overal fine but his eyes are so watery and it appears to be clear but it's crusting around his eye on the fur, what could be causing this? I don't know of a good rabbit vet to take him to.

 

[JBun]

Watering eyes could be a conjunctivitis, or it could be a dental issue. Both require the attention of a vet or it could get much worse. You need to go to a vet experienced with rabbits. Here are some rabbit vet lists. Find your location on them and click on the link to see the list of vets.

http://www.rabbitsonline.net/f28/finding-vet-13366/
http://www.rabbit.org/vets/vets.html

If you have further questions it would be best to start your own thread regarding this. Go to the infirmary section. At the top of the list of all the threads in it, there is a blue button that says *new thread*. Click on that to start your own thread.