Sudden wet eye

[EmilytheStrange]

Everything else seems to check out...good appetite, other eye is fine, nose is fine, paws are dry. Just all of a sudden I picked him up tonight and there was a trail of wet matted fur from the inner corner of his eye down to his nose. It seemed to be clear discharge. I'd noticed him grooming earlier but didn't think he was overdoing it or anything. Could he have just poked himself or gotten something in there? I don't think it's still watering, I should go dry his face off.
What do you guys think?

 

[Maureen Las]

it could be a blocked tear duct but it's also very possible that heirritated it with a piece of hay or something.

I had a holland lop with recurring runny eye which was from a blocked tear duct. His duct was flushed regularly and he was placed on antibiotics and eye drops.

could be that but probably isn't

see how it is in the morning

 

[missyscove]

It could very well be he just got something in it.

I'd wait and see how it looks in the morning myself.

Maybe flush it out with some water or saline solution (think contact solution) if you have some and he'll let you.

 

[seniorcats]

missyscove wrote:

It could very well be he just got something in it.

I'd wait and see how it looks in the morning myself.

Maybe flush it out with some water or saline solution (think contact solution) if you have some and he'll let you.

That sounds good to me. It could be a poke or some dust from his hay.

 

[EmilytheStrange]

Bennett seems to be doing good this morning. His eye doesn't look like it's watered any more. Hopefully it's just that he did poke himself. I will be keeping a close eye on it, I have wondered about the clogged tear duct thing. If I notice discharge again of any kind, I'm certainly calling the vet. Thanks guys!

 

[EmilytheStrange]

Well, it's wet and matted again, looks like the one time it teared and then stopped again. We're going to see the vet at 3 today. I hate having to take them out there in this heat but I'll crank up the AC. Just hope this isn't a big deal eye thing :?

 

[slavetoabunny]

Aww.....hugs for little Bennie. I hope his eye is OK.

 

[JadeIcing]

Aww I will be wishing for the best.

 

[Maureen Las]

If it is a clogged duct it was not a big thing. My bun did not need sedation to have it flushed. although some do.
he also could have an irritated eye from having hay or something poke into it.

 

[EmilytheStrange]

Would a clogged duct water that much though? I mean doesn't a clogged duct mean not watering?

UPDATE - The vet was going to start seeing pets again at 3pm, after his surgery morning. But it was sooo hot here, about 103, I hated the idea of putting him through that in the car, AC or not. I called and left a message for the vet to call back between surgeries. His nurse called me and said "So long as it's clear fluid and not white/milky, don't worry about it". So I didn't take him in.
I did call back this afternoon to speak to the vet directly but never heard back. Hopefully tomorrow. Bennett's eye's only done that the 2 times, wet and matted; the 2nd time wasn't as bad as the first. It's leaked a little bit since but nothing sustainable. I still want to speak to the doc (since I am just paranoid and a worrywart) but he seems to be cleared up for now. <<knock on wood>>

 

[Maureen Las]

It doesn't seem logical that a blocked tear duct would create runny eye but it does...diverting normal lubricating fluid of theeye to run out and down his face.
it isn't an "on and off thing ", however, and in my rabbit's case it was a mild infection.

I don't really know what is going on with your bun..maybe he scratched it...that will cause excessive lubrication of the eye.

 

[seniorcats]

Maybe you could contact Angie.Didn'tone of her bunnieshave a blocked tear duct that needed flushing?

 

[ra7751]

Umm....I think a vet visit should be in order....and maybea little word directlywith the vet concerning what you were told. In the doctor's defense, he/she might never have been asked but your answer was from staff. I would prefer to speak to the doctor.

I have been doing rabbits for decades and have never seen a confirmed blocked tear duct. And if it were blocked, I think it would be a dry eye since the tear ducts keep the globe moisturized. In most cases, if the discharge is clear..it is tears most likely caused by some type of irritation....and as has been mentioned in this thread, hay is always a prime suspect. Due to the position of a rabbit's eyes, they are prone to corneal abrasions...basically a scratched cornea. This is easily found by "staining" the eye. A dye drop is placed in the eye and then rinsed out...the stain will adhere to any imperfections and can be easily seen by UV light. Abrasions should be treated with the proper antibiotic drops and pain meds if necessary. Some untreated abrasions can develop into ulcers which are very painful and difficult to treat. Until you can be seen by a vet, the best home treatment is to keep the eye lubricated and see if you can spot anything in the eye that could be irritating. You can use basic saline solution to flush the eye. To keep them moist...basic tear drops you can buy at any pharmacy. I tend to prefer the lubricating gels as they will stay in the eye easier than drops. Just a warning.....do not use antibiotic drops in the eyes except under the advice and instruction of a vet. Drops that contain steroids can lead to serious and unrepairabledamage to the cornea.

Randy

 

[EmilytheStrange]

BIG UPDATE

Bennett's eye watered again late this morning. It's not that I've let the problem go on with a "we'll see what happens" frame of mind; his eye makes a big tear once, and then I get him cleaned up and he seems fine for nearly the rest of the day. So it's taken longer to tell if there is still a problem. When it became 1pm, the problem came back and I still hadn't heard from the vet, we braved the heat and went on in. (AC on high, lightweight blanket on top of the carrier for sunshade.) Apparently my vet didn't get my last night's phone message until this morning. Not his fault, the fault of his staff; he knows me and would have made haste to return my call if he'd had it.
Well while we were waiting to be seen, I just checked up under the eyelid myself and saw that it was all pink and there were 2 little white spots in the corner of the lid. So I figured, phone call or not, I'm definitely here for a reason. Dr. Blaes is always awesome and diagnosed topical conjunctivitis, related to pasturella (a very mild case). He was very informative and reassuring, said if it was IN the tissue, he'd worry but this is just external. We got 20 days worth of baytril. Bennett's had 2 upper respiratory cases (also very mild) in the last year and a half. If it's all connected then hopefully the longer treatment will knock it out for good where the 10 day treatments did not. The vet wants him back for a recheck at the end of the month.
Benito did really good at the vet and another (new!) bunny doc came in to meet him and admire him. He was putty in everyone's hands:dude: Dr. Blaes also helped me probe Ben's belly to locate the stomache and I finally found it! I was so excited! He showed me once before but I never found it after that, until now. The newest vet is great, I'm so happy there's 3 vets there I can trust, more chances for help for my babies when they need it.

 

[ra7751]

That's good news. Just a couple of thoughts that you might consider discussing with your doctors. It seems you might have a chronic case of pasteurella here or the pasteurella is secondary to another undetected issue. That brings several thing to mind. But pasteurella is quickly becoming resistant to Baytril. I work with numerous vets associated with a major vet school and none of them use Baytril in rabbits now. I haven't used Baytril in our rescue rabbits in many years....and I don't even use it in cottontails. Not saying that your doctors are wrong or that Baytril won't work this time....but there will come a time when it won't. The drugs of choice against pasteurella now are Zithromax or Convenia. Few vets are familiar with the use of Zithromax in rabbits. It's very effective but must be administered at a much higher dose than most vets are accustomed to seeing. And Convenia has just been approved in the US for use in dogs and cats. It is a semi-synthetic Cephalosporin and is chemically similar to penicillin so it is safe only as an injectable. The advantage of this drug is that it requires only one injection for a full run of treatment. That will open an entirely new avenue of treatment for serious infection in which people can't or won't do injections.....a one time shot at the clinic is all it takes. I personally haven't used it in domestics yet but it works with cottontails and they are much more sensitive to meds than domestics. Again, not attempting to contradict your doctors.....just some information for you to discuss with them should Baytril not resolve this issue or future issues with pasteurella.

Randy

 

[Maureen Las]

My rabbit, Jacques (RIP) was the one diagnosed with a blocked tear duct.

Since I am only passing on what I was told by the vet (MidWest Exotics in Chicagoland area) I will describe what happened and what I was told.
Jacques was a rescue from Catnap in La Grange Park Ill. when I still lived in that area. When I adopted him he had a runny eye with a tract in his fur from his inner eye like you might see in a cocker spaniel dog. It was clear and only one eye. His tear duct was flushed at Midwest Exotics and a whitish fluid was flushed out. The vet did not culture it but attributed it to "mild Pasturella". He was given oral baytril, and Neomycin eye drops.it cleared up immediately

the runny eye would reoccur every now and then and I just passed the info from Midwest onto the vets here. in Wi. When they flushed his ducts here they got"little white chunks of debris"

It is possible that his ducts were not blocked but infected?
I just passed on what I was told to me .

I didn't doubt the diagnosis since the treatment helped.

 

[Haley]

Glad to hear your boy is ok! Basil had a runny eye a few weeks back and the vet prescribed baytril and it cleared right up. I hope yours does as well. If not, ask about a tooth check and possible xray to be sure he doesnt have any elongated molars causing these sorts of problems.