Long term medication a good idea?

[bonbons]

Hi all,

My rabbit has been on Baytril daily for 3 months or so, and I was wondering if I should go back to get a fourth bottle. She has what the vet believes to be an abscess behind her eye, so there is always pus around her eye (we have to clean it off every night :/). At this point, I'm not sure how useful the meds are, as the amount of pus seems to fluctuate. She's perfectly fine besides her eye, but the Baytril feelings are making her mouth pretty dirty, haha.

 

[Watermelons]

Whoah Baytril isn't a great antibiotic for abscesses. Those typically need something along the lines like Pen G or "Bicillin", baytril is just well... generic tends not to work for what its prescribed. Has the vet done a culture of the pus? Is the vet rabbit savvy?
Heres a few reads for you
http://www.rabbitsonline.net/showthread.php?t=80900
http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Dental_diseases/Treatment/Facial/abs_dental.htm

 

[missyscove]

Have you seen any improvement on the baytril? I've seen baytril (enrofloxacin) used successfully for abscesses in combination with other antibiotics. In your case if there's been no improvement I would really suggest doing a culture and sensitivity. These generally run about $200-250 but you can easily spend that much on the wrong antibiotic therapy so in my opinion they're worth it. Additionally, it's really hard to get rid of abscesses using antibiotics alone. They typically form walled off pockets of infection and are almost impossible to eliminate without surgery.
If she's not showing any improvement, I'd express your frustration to your vet and ask if there's anything else he/she recommends and if not I'd consider getting a second opinion.

 

[bonbons]

No, the vet has not done a culture. The vet actually wasn't totally sure it is an abscess, but seeing as her actual eyeball is fine, he said that is what I must be. Unfortunately, there are no other rabbit vets in my area... there is an animal eye specialist, but she charges an absurdly high rate for just the appointment, not counting any tests or medications. To my understanding, bicillin is usually injected, right? Would that still be an option when it is behind her eye?

 

[missyscove]

Where are you located?
You don't have to inject antibiotics into the abscess itself, but adding a systemic injectable antibiotic may help. And yes, any form of penicillin has to be injected in rabbits. Oral penicillin isn't safe for them.

Just another note, with any long-term use of antibiotics you need to be sure you're keeping an eye out for any GI symptoms. Antibiotics can kill the good bacteria along with the bad.