E. cuniculi, uveitis and echinacea

[Lauren]

Hello at all.

I have a rabbit, she has E. cuniculi-associated lens-induced uveitis. The treatment is Panacur (4 weeks) and some anti-bacterial.

I read that echinacea is a herb that balances the inmune system of the rabbits. But…. It is appropriate in this case??. Some authors have interpreted as an autoinmune reaction and E. cuniculi merely an “incidental” cause. And I have read that echinacea is contraindicated in auto-inmune deseases…….

[vanessa]

I have never used echinacea in rabbits. While the theory of assisting the animals immune system would work prior to contracting E.C., and possibly have recovery easier, it wont’ kill the parasite. Panacur would still be needed. I’m no vet- and I do believe in a wholistic approach. I would do the panacur, then a blood test to check for blood count (panacur could affect blood count), and possibly use the echinacea. But I haven’t researched it myself.

[Mimsy]

I don’t know how echinacea would work, or with panacur in particular. There have been a few studies that seem to indicate that echninacea works well, especially in when used with traditional antibiotics. It seems to make them work better than they do alone. Panacur is a parasitical medication right? So I’m not so sure about how it works with that. It seems to have properties that fight fungus’s as well, such as yeast.

I believe the concern with autoimmune disorders would be because it seems to increase a persons effectiveness at fighting off an infection. If you had an autoimmune disorder, your body is actually fighting itself, so the last thing you want to do is give it extra ammunition, if that makes sense.

If you live somewhere you can have a garden, Echinacea is a super easy to grow perennial that is very pretty. The leaves and flowers are safe to eat, well the root is too, but you would kill the plant harvesting it.

[Cassie119300]

I used echinacea with my bunny Milo on and off before he had passed on.  He was dealing with ear infection, e cuniculi, and Pasteurella when he passed, he was on Metacam, fenbendazole ( he had been on and off fenbendazole a few times) baytril, doxycycline, and metoclopramide to stimulate his gut as well as a ointment for his down eye during the e cuniculi. Milo had severe symptoms (head tilt that stayed to the right side (which was the ear infection, down eye side) and his face stayed on top of his right paw.  He was able to move his back feet only slightly to scooch forward but even that towards the end, had stopped and he could no longer lift his head/body. I gave him echinacea both before and during his illness, it appeared to help bolster him during weeks 2-3 of the e cuniculi but unfortunately he took a downward turn about a week  or two later ( he had also lost a lot of weight and was still dehydrated despite being hand fed and hand syringed water around the clock). I think he may have had kidney involvement as well as the bad ear infection and the e. Cuniculi and Pasteurella which flared up pretty bad (but got better with the combination of antibiotics and echinacea.  I think they were all too advanced on top of the e cuniculi and it was too much for his body to recover from. Unfortunately he never received the right kind of antibiotics for the organism responsible for his ear infection a year prior as the vet had refused to listen  (until i pressed even more) to get him an ear culture. It was too late by the time i received the results which was the organism pseudomonas arguenosia and there was only two antibiotics that would have helped which he had never been on. Really was a shame, however I’m quite positive had his immune system not been so stressed by also the ear infection/Pasteurella he for sure would have made it, it’s hard to know. I think once it gets a hold of the kidney’s or nervous system quite b adly, they cannot recover. Everything he was receiving fluid wise he was peeing right out like his body was not absorbing it effectively. I would say for sure Echinacea did helped, but who knows. I read that ivermectin apparently can help to arrest the parasite before it reaches the kidneys/brain if done early on. I wish I had known then.

[Bam]

@Cassie119300

This thread is very old, and it’s likely that you won’t get a response. Contrary to many other forums, we ask our members to not revive old threads. Your sharing your experience with Milo’s ear infection, ec and pasteurella and your use of echinacea is however very valuable, and people searching for info on similar topics will appreciate it.

I’m locking this thread now, but please keep engaging in more active topics – or start your own threads on topics you are interested in 🙂

 

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