Runny eye – allergies?

[Heather]

I have been reading these forums for years for advice, but I think this is the first time
I’ve posted… My 7 year old Dutch has had a watery left eye for a few months. It is clear and not goopy, and her eye isn’t red or puffy at all. I took her to our old vet first, and was given Terramycin ointment for 7 days. I completed the treatment but it didn’t clear up. I had another of my bunnies in a few weeks later, and mentioned that Tronic’s eye had not cleared up. The vet told me I had to flush her eye with saline before the ointment (would have been nice if I was told that originally!), so I got another tube and tried again, this time flushing her eye each time, but no change.

I ended up switching to a new vet recently and took her in to get her opinion on the issue. This vet looked at the discharge under a microscope and found allergy related cells (I can’t remember what they were called) and just said to see if we can isolate the allergen and otherwise just keep her face clean. The thing is, I haven’t changed anything in her environment, and it’s only one eye. Wouldn’t an allergy affect both eyes? Has anyone else had this issue, or have any advice? Thanks in advance!

[LBJ10]

Hmm. Did the vet consider the possibility of a tooth root issue?

[Heather]

I forgot to add – both vets told me her teeth looked great, and aside from the watery eye, she is in great shape overall.

[LBJ10]

Did they do x-rays? Apparently, bunnies can have “perfect” teeth and still have some messed up roots. Wooly has that problem.

[Heather]

No x-rays. The first vet said if the Terramycin didn’t change it she would just have a runny eye, and the second vet decided no further investigation was needed when she found the allergy cells. If her roots were messed up, would that develop when she’s 7? Is there treatment for that, so I should push for an X-ray?

[LBJ10]

Problems can develop at any age, really. Wooly will be 6 this year. There is surgery to correct it, but most vets won’t mess with it. My vet said I’d have to go to a vet school to have it done. We just decided to treat his symptoms. He will always have a stuffy nose and a weepy eye. We give him antibiotics when stuff builds up and bacteria grows. Most recently, it has migrated to his ear (it’s all connected in there) and we have been treating him on and off for that.

You can push for an x-ray if you want a definitive answer. It might put your mind at ease and rule out other causes. But there may not be much you can do about it, so if you’re comfortable with not being 100% sure, then you wouldn’t necessarily need to push for it.

[Heather]

Thanks. I guess for now I’ll just watch her and make sure no new symptoms come up. I definitely wouldn’t want to put her through a surgery at her age unless it was absolutely necessary.

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