need help giving nose drops

[Laura]

Hi,

Poor Gerald is still sick.  He was on liquid medicine for a few weeks.  His symptoms (1 runny eye and sneezy/runny nose) went away for a few days.  Now that we are done with the medication, he is sneezing again.  So the vet gave me some nose drops.  Is he kidding me?!

Keep in mind these buns are outside.  They are in a huge rabbitat that I go into.  Gerald is the most scared and timid of all my buns.  I can’t kneel down to his level because I will be kneeling in pee/poop (ok, unless I bring a towel). I can put him on his chair (if I can catch him) and force his head up and put the drops in.  Either way I have to force his head upward to get the drops in.

Good lord their noses are so small!  The dropper isn’t that small!  Twice a day?!  That will stress him out!

Dang.  I suppose there is no clever way to do this.  Is there???

Laura

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[bunnytowne]

awe I never heard of that and gee yes their noses are real small poor Gerald

[Scarlet_Rose]

Hi Laura, oh lordy. What is in the nose drops? Is it simply saline? I am wondering if rather than a dropper a squirt bottle woudl work better but no rabbit that I know of will stand for it. Can you just dampen a cloth to wipe his nose off from crusties?

[KatnipCrzy]

I am wondering what is in the nose drops- the only thing that I can think of would be some type of decongestant type drops that will help by physically getting  in the nasal passages and dialating them.  But if he is already “snuffy” I can see where added liquid would not be appreciated in his mind.  And I know when I use nasal spray I can taste it in the back of my throat.  If he takes bribes with juice you can try offering him some after applying the drops if you think it will not upset him more.

 

[Laura]

I noticed tonight that his nose was wet, no crusties. His chest fur looked a bit wet too. He is really sneezing.

I don’t think the medication is just sailine because the vet was thinking it could be a sinus infection.

I put him on the chair tonight (where he usually sits) and bent down to his level. But I couldn’t hold him still with one hand and give the drops with the other (he was biting). So I picked him up, sat in the chair, put him belly up and did it that way. I gave him some raisins afterward, he seemed okay with that.

[Laura]

Here is the bottle.  But it’s not very helpful, the bottle label says eyedrops. Label on the box says: Gentocin Durafilm/DMSO Nose Drops.

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[Kokaneeandkahlua]

This might be a crazy idea…Hopefully other people on here can let us know what they think of it…

I’d get a small spritzer bottle and put the drops into that….Then put the bunny in front of a fan (all my bunnies like sitting in front of fans)…Then I’d spritz into the wind from the fan…he’d have to inhale it and they are obligate nose breathers so he’d inhale through his nose…

Just a crazy suggestion…

[Sarita]

I would see if you can ask the vet for a different type of medication other than nose drops. Is there a way you can nebulize him perhaps? Make a nebulizer box and attach the nebulizer and nebulize the medication (not this one obviously) but one that is suitable for nebulizing. I would ask the vet about this.

[Scarlet_Rose]

Excellent suggestion Sarita. The medication you’ve described is for external bacterial infections and is usually used in the eyes and also contains a steroid. http://www.vet.ku.ac.th/library-homepage/article/drugs/eye/oph_medications.htm  I do not know the reasoning behind it behind it being prescribed for the nose when it actually is for made for the eyes.

[Hedi]

What about using an eye dropper to get the drops in the nose?

Giving nose drops have got to be rough! It was hard enough doing eye drops in Pookie who never sat still….

[MooBunnay]

I know that it can be a bit stressful – but if you feel that getting the drops in his nose is really essential, I think that bunnies are good at understanding that even if they are being harassed, that you are trying to help them. You might even end up bonding with Gerald even more when you are handling him to medicate him. If you go into his cage, and get him backed up into a corner, consider taking the towel and putting it over him, and then getting him wrapped up in it in order to pick him up. Once you have him nice and wrapped up you might be able to flip him and hold him like a baby which would get his nose in an easier position for his drops – but I’d be careful to make sure that he can still breathe when you are giving them to him. Good luck!

[Laura]

MooBunnay that is what I have been doing and he is doing very well! When we are done he is looking for his raisins! I don’t think he is mad or stressed at all. He is such a trooper, I had no idea. When we are done he doesn’t kick when he hops away so I think we are okay.

Thanks to everyone for the great info!

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