Can someone please explain something to me

[Fluffykins]

Apologies for starting a new post but I didn’t want this question to get missed in my other thread about the lumps I found on fluffykins.

So quick recap, vet sent off cultures to the lab and sent me home with baytril – an antibiotic. He told me worst case scenario the tiny lesions are myxo (or nodula myxo) but he doesn’t think so.

The part that doesn’t make sense to me is if it *might* be myxo – a virus, why have I been given antibiotics (which do not work on viral infections). Does he think this is a viral or bacterial infection???

[Wick & Fable]

Baytril is a broad spectrum antibiotic, so it effectively combats a wide number of bacterial infection.

You will not know the actual cause of the illness until the culture reveals what’s there. Until then, your vet probably did not want to do nothing and let the condition get worse. Baytril is relatively harmless if given when it’s not treating anything, but with what it treats, it’s a good buffer as you wait for the results. You may even see improvement while on Baytril if it combats what your rabbit has!

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[LittlePuffyTail]

Completely agree with Wick. My vet often will prescribe Baytril while waiting for lab results.

[Fluffykins]

Ah ok makes sense thank you.

[Bam]

Yes. The medical term is empirical treatment. In emergencies you can’t afford waiting for test results, so you try to figure out the drug most likely to have effect against what you suspect, and then you start the patient on that drug immediately.

Baytril doesn’t have an effect against viral infections, but it does prevent complications like secondary bacterial infections in the sores Fluffikins has developed. So even if it is a virus that has caused the sores, the Baytril will help the immune defense during the healing process.

((((Fluffykins)))))

[Fluffykins]

I just worry about the overuse or unneeded use of antibiotics. Might he develop immunity to baytril if it’s always used as a preventative measure like this?

[Bam]

In a case like Fluffykin’s, your vet has deemed treatment warranted. Vets just as human doctors have antibiotic treatment protocols they follow. But any use of antibiotics contribute to bacteria becoming resistant to those antibiotics. That’s simply because bacteria evolve so very very quickly and can pass on resistance genes both by dividing and by sharing segments of DNA.

I can very well understand that you are worried though. It’s very scary to have a poorly bun and the illness being mysterious doesn’t make things feel better.

[Fluffykins]

I feel like I’m driving myself crazy..

I keep thinking of the couple times he sneezed in the past week. When he scratched his ear. This bald bit on his side (which I *know* is from moulting and I can *see* some new fur growing – but what if, what *if* this bald patch is related to whatever infection he has???)

Or the one time his nose was a bit wet for a minute. Why didn’t I realise back then he might be Ill?!!

[Author]

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