Eye Infection Info

[bunnymama]

Hi –

My Baby (rabbit #1 of 2) has always been prone to an eye infection.  Usually in just one eye. She has been to the vet for this several times in the past 2 1/2 years that I’ve had her. It starts with the skin surrounding the entire eye getting pink, then red, then drainage that you can’t see but the fur all on that side of her face becomes wet and matted down.  The infected eye is sensitive to light and she can’t keep it open, I assume because it hurts her when open.

Well I’m pretty sure I have this figured out for sure.  The vet had told me before it could becaused by hay. To try a different bag or brand of hay.  But I used to keep her hay in an enclosed box where she would sleep. After time certain bags of hay would cause the eye infection.  Last week it came back again and I thought “what the heck”.  I realized I had her bowl of hay very close to her “Binky Bunny Cast;e” which she loves and sleeps in all the time. So I went back to the eye drops the dr had given me to have on hand, I moved the hay away for her castle and within 2 days she is back to normal. I am 99% confident the hay is causing the eye infections.

As an fyi the vet has prescribed an eye drop called Neo-Poly-Dex which contains a steriod and he confirmed she had no scratches on her eye before giving it to me.  This week my vet was on vacation and his office would only give me Neo-Poly-Bac (no steroid) since I was not bringing her in for them to check her eye. They said the Neo-Poly-Bac could damage the eye if it was scratched. I have not tried the Neo-Poly-Bac yet. but will post when I do have to try it the next time it comes back. Hopefully no next time. Just wanted to share.  Bunny Mama

[Scarlet_Rose]

Has the vet flushed the tear ducts?  Also have you tried massaging in and around the eye, like after you administer the eye drops?  I have found that this really helps my Daffodil out who has chronic runny eyes from allergies.  I had the Neo-Poly-Dex before and had my vet dye Daffodil’s eye to make sure there were no scratches.  Did your vet check the eye to check for scratches?  I would opt for a warm washcloth/compress to help soften the blockage, wait a bit, massage the area and flush with saline.  This problem really does not sound related to a scratch at all and in all likelihood is something more.

Here is some info on rabbit eye health:

http://www.rabbitnetwork.org/articles/eyes.shtml

Here is some info on “pink eye” a.k.a. conjunctivitis and more info from Dana Krempels:

http://en.allexperts.com/q/Rabbits-703/Treating-eye-infections-home.htm

 

[MooBunnay]

Thank you both for all the information – it is very helpful! One of my bunnies quite often gets these large fur clumps in her eye somehow, so I think it will be helpful for me to know what I can do to try to wash out her eye.

[Scarlet_Rose]

You’re welcome! The warm compress and often just flushing with saline will really help alleviate it and of course a good grooming a little more often around the face. If you have the warm washcloth handy, use it to run it around the face in the direction the fur is laying to pick up any loose hairs without getting them flicked into the eye too.

[bunnymama]

This time I didn’t take Baby to the vet for this eye infection since it is exactly what she has had at least 5 times before. Same symptoms so I used the rx drops. The vet does flush her tear ducts each time I take her tho…..
When I opened the rx box this morning since I was out of the drops, the new rx is an oniment – no way I’ll be able to get that into her eye, I called the vet and have to call back again tomorrow to see if I can get the drops containing the steroid (Neo-Poly-Dex). She is much better tho…

[bunnymama]

I have to say that I am 99% convinced that Baby seems to be allergic to hay. Whenever her hay is too close to where see sit – she seems to have this issue.  If anyone else comes up against this – the drops work fast and good but check where the hay is in relation to where the rabbit sits, lays or is housed. Thanks!

[Scarlet_Rose]

It sounds like what your bun has is allergies and not infections. You might want to try switching hays or brands to see if the reaction is better. I also have a smaller air purifier right next to my rabbits cage. Daffodil has chronic problems (weeping eyes) from allergies so I vacuum religiously and clean their cage often to keep the allergens to a minimum. My vet doesn’t want to does her with allergy medicine because it could actually be harmful to her so I try to control things in her surrounding environment.

[BinkyBunny]

Some hays are dustier than others. Second cut Timothy is I think one of the most dusty. What kind of hay does she get currently? If it’s Timothy, you could try Orchard (less dusty) and even mix in Oat (hardly any dust at all, but higher in calories so shouldn’t be given alone)

Also, have your vet check her teeth as reoccuring teeth problems can cause watery eyes, and so then of course, nibbling on hay can make her eyes water. 

[bunnymama]

I am giving both buns Oxbow Timothy and Kaytee Timothy from separate bags that I switch from one day to the next. I just ordered some orchard grass that I planned to mix in but I’ll keep the Oat grass as an add in in mind. Thanks!

[Deleted User]

i once had a guinea pig with hay allergy in her eyes. A vet at the time gave me steroid-containing drops which weren’t meant for continuous use. I was like ten years old then, and didn’t know much about veterinary issues; but I did figure out that my guinea pig only suffered from this bad eye during the winter when she got hay in place of fresh grass. I did not try switching hay types because my vet never suggested it and I just didn’t know better; I suppose it would have fixed the problem.

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