Running/watery eye?

[bunnnnnnie!]

Zeus’s eye has been running lately.  It’s actually not unusual for him; but it normally happens when I get a batch of extra dusty hay, when the pollen count is really high outside, or when I open the windows for the first time in Spring.  None of this has been a factor though and it’s been running for awhile now.

I’ve got a vet appointment on 3/6, and in the meantime I’m wiping his face twice a day and putting a little neosporin on his cheek where his skin has become slightly irritated.  The irritated spot is pinkish (not red or raw) and about the size of a pencil eraser, smaller than a pea.  His eye itself is clear, his tears are mostly clear (maybe a tiny bit milky), and he’s acting normal and except for right after I wipe his eye, his eye is always fully open.

The corner of his eye, where I assume his tear duct is, there’s a tiny bump here under the skin/fur.  He loves when I rub that spot, so I’m wondering if his tear duct is blocked or something.

 

Will he be okay to wait until March 6th?  I’ve read that it’s a common problem in bunnies and especially lops.  If his eye was cloudy, swollen, partially closed, painful, etc, I’d be bringing him into the vet ASAP.  But really all it’s doing is running a lot, with the little lump near where his duct is.  The lump is also tiny – the size of maybe half of a pea at most.  You can’t see it at all, you can only feel it.

[Sarita]

I think you’ll be okay to wait as long as you can keep his poor eye area comfortable.

I suspect that if it’s a blocked tear duct it very well could be due to the an overgrown molar or maybe scar tissue…you may want to consider a head radiograph.

[bunnnnnnie!]

Yeah I’m going to ask about his teeth when I bring him in. He’s eating really well and tearing things up and throwing his toys around like normal though, wouldn’t a tooth problem also present other symptoms? I don’t know.

[Sarita]

Not necessarily – sometimes it doesn’t seem to present any problems…remember though, this might be dental but not necessarily molar spurs…dental problems could be a wide range of things.

[bunnnnnnie!]

Posted By Sarita on 2/26/2015 3:39 PM

Not necessarily – sometimes it doesn’t seem to present any problems…remember though, this might be dental but not necessarily molar spurs…dental problems could be a wide range of things.

Oh okay, gotcha.  Not to jinx myself, but I have not yet had to deal with any tooth problems in my bunnies so this would be new territory to me.

[LittlePuffyTail]

I agree with Sarita. It’s probably okay to wait unless it gets worse.

[bunnnnnnie!]

Zeus ended up getting worse so I brought him to the vet this morning. His tear duct was blocked and beginning to get infected. They flushed his tear duct but said they weren’t sure they flushed it completely, but didn’t want to do it any more and risk ruptures. So they also flushed some antibiotics through his duct and sent him home with antibiotic eye drops.

They did offer to do a head x-ray to see his teeth – but then they realized their x-ray machine was not working right. They did get one picture but couldn’t develop it. They’re going to call me later today once the machine that develops it is fixed and let me know what they could see, or if they need to take more x-rays.

In either case, they did say he should be improved within a few days and totally better within a week. Now… any tips on doing the eye drops???

[bunnnnnnie!]

Vet called – it is NOT his teeth, yay!

She said his molars look good with no glaring issues. She said there’s a tiny, tiny spot on one of his top incisors that she isn’t sure if it’s infection or not. She’s sending the x-rays to some specialists to get a second opinion on it. She’ll call me early next week and let me know what she finds out, and if it ends up being infection she wants to put him on oral antibiotics on top of the eye drops.

I’m so relieved no major teeth problems!

[LittlePuffyTail]

Glad to hear it’s not his molars.

My buns have always been good with eye drops. I just sit them on a towel on the table. Lift bunny’s head so the eye is facing up. Pull the eyelid back a little and put the drop in. Followed with a yummy treat.

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