Rabbit has painful ear infection

[Ronbrgundy]

Lop eared bunny. Has been scratching his ears for a while now. Went to the vet. She pulled a long piece of wax with a white part at the end (infection?) out.

Oral antibiotic - Baytril he has been taking.

We were told to put Zymox directly in both ears once a day.
We were told to put this cleaner fluid in his ears once a day (we try to space it out from the Zymox). I think its called sweet pea not sure I'm not there right now.

QUESTIONS:

He's in pain and reacts strongly whenever we put the drops in his ears. We have been doing it 5 days. Still has strong reaction. I know it hurts as I have had Swimmers Ear before (a fungal infection caused by not wiping the moisture out of the ear after bathing or swimming)

- What can we do to make it hurt less
- How to get him to cooperate more so we aren't forcing it every time
- Ok to put the sweat pea drops directly in the ear? Have heard this is ok and have also heard should put on a gauze and rub in the ear.
- How long until he won't be in pain anymore

Thank you so much

 

[JBun]

You should give your vet a call and mention that the ear drops are causing your bun a significant amount of pain, and ask if you should continue giving them. Also ask your question about applying the drops. It would also be a good idea for your rabbit to be getting something for pain relief and inflammation. Typically metacam is usually prescribed. You can get this from your vet.

You may also need to try a different antibiotic if you aren't seeing improvement on the baytril. That is often the first antibiotic a vet will prescribe, as it's considered the safest with rabbits, but it's not always very effective for this type of infection.
http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Neurology/Otit/otitis.htm