Tear duct flush worth it?

[rabbithabit]

I have an 8 year old rabbit. Her tear ducts are completely blocked and her eyes have been weeping. The vet is recommending a tear duct flush and x rays to check her teeth. However I am unconvinced it will be worth the distress to my bunny? She doesn’t seem to be in pain and since she is older I am worried about the general anesthesia. From looking online, tear duct problems tend to become chronic in older rabbits and I am not sure it is worth putting her under if it returns quickly. I also don’t what to ignore the beginning of a larger health problem though. If the problem is her teeth, the only solution would be to pull them and I am very reluctant to do that to her.

Would the duct flush be worth it? Could a blocked tear duct develop into a bigger problem?

[LBJ10]

Weeping eyes can be the result of tooth root problems. Unfortunately, not much can be done for that. It would be a good thing to know (via x-ray), especially if the vet is concerned about a possible abscess. However, if you’re not ready to go that route, you could try treating the symptoms to see if it helps. You could try a warm compress on the eye to see if that helps open it up a bit. An anti-inflammatory medication may also help.

Is she eating normally? Does she have any other symptoms like sinus problems, head tilt, facial paralysis? Usually with tooth root problems, you see more than one symptom because the eyes, sinuses, and ears are all connected. This isn’t the case 100% of the time though, of course.

There are other things that can cause a blocked tear duct. Dwarf breeds, for example, can have congenital defects in this area because everything is “smooshed”. URIs can cause a blocked tear duct as well.

[rabbithabit]

She’s eating normally and seems as active as normal. She doesn’t seem to have any other symptoms which is why I am hesitant to put her through a big procedure. I have been trying anti-inflammatory/antibiotic tears drops for a week and it made no effect.

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