Tear duct flushing – experiences?

[Lindsay]

 So looks like the eye drops aren’t working for Monty as he’s still got a weepy eye a week after it started up. When our vet gave us the drops he said to give them twice a day for a week and if it didn’t clear up by the end of that, we should bring him back and they’d try flushing his tear duct. So since he’s had eye drops for six days and is still weepy, looks like that’s what we’re going to have to do.

 

He suggested Monty would probably have to be sedated for it, which means I’d have to leave him there a few hours for the procedure which I HATE doing  I was a nervous wreck when I left him there for his neuter surgery (although he came out of it fine obviously). Our vet is great and has never done anything but brilliant work on Monty but I’m still nervous about it.

Anyone have any experiences of tear duct flushing to share?

[amber*s&bbabies]

ha, never heard of it to be honest.. :S But my bunny boy has had a runny eye for quite some time now. actually ever since I got him. My vet gave me drops and medications too and it didnt work. I know theyre vets and all, but I honestly feel like they dont actually know much about rabbits so they give them stuff that should help but never does lol. Keep us updated on how the flushing went. Id like to know if it works and will look into it if it does.

[BinkyBunny]

Due to scar tissue that could block the right tear duct, Rucy had to get her tear duct  flushed every so often. I honestly can’t remember them sedating her and I thought they did it rather quickly in the back…gosh….I wish I could remember. I’ll have to ask my vet!    I’m sure that I would have had to do it more often, but Jack made sure her eyes were nice and clean.  (He was my warm washcloth replacement) 

[Lindsay]

Yeah, I’ve read that single bunnies get more eye problems than ones who live with other buns because of all the social grooming that paired-up buns do. Although I do generally take care to check Monty’s eyes are looking good, and he loves for me to wipe the sleepy gunk out of the corners…

As for the flushing, if it goes ahead I’ll keep everyone updated on what happens. I did suspect from quite early on that it might be dust or a bit of debris in the tear duct, since he does love to dig and kick up his hay. So hopefully this will sort it out, I can’t stand seeing my bun weeping 🙁

[Sarita]

Did the vet check her teeth? Sometimes this causes problems with the eyes watering as well.

[Lindsay]

I thought of that. No, the vet didn’t check his teeth on the first appointment, he just looked the eye over and checked for a scratch (using UV dye). I thought I might ask them to have a look at his teeth while he’s sedated for the flushing, although I guess he might need an x-ray to see the back teeth? Not sure I can afford that at the moment, but obviously would have to if the flushing doesn’t work. The emergency vet had a look at his teeth back when he had the abscess and said they were looking great, and he doesn’t have any other symptoms associated with tooth problems (drooling, problems chewing, etc)

[Sarita]

No, they don’t need an x-ray but if he is sedated, have them look at the teeth then. There may be no obvious signs really of teeth problems but a teary eye can be a sign of dental problems (and not necessarily molar spurs) so if you have him sedated have them do a thorough mouth check. Lops have lots of dental problems.

[jerseygirl]

Ditto^. Since you’llbe paying for sedation for the flush, def have them look at his molars then!

[Lindsay]

Just thought I’d update you all… Monty was admitted for the tear duct flush today. I dropped him off this morning and my boyfriend picked him up after work. In the end they actually had to fully anaesthetise him rather than just sedate, but the procedure went well , and the nurses said he was up and about pretty quick after the anaesthetic and ate all the food I left for them to give him.
I asked them to have a look at his teeth, and they reported nothing unusual. It could of course be possible it’s a problem with the tooth root which wouldn’t necessarily show up externally, but we’ll see how he goes and if the problem continues we’ll consider an x-ray to check it out.

The duct had a lot of gunk/buildup in it. It’s not fully clear what caused the problem as it could be many things – dust/debris in his eye, something in the home, could be a genetic condition, a lot of things really. But the main thing is, the eye looks much better. They said it will continue to water for a few days as is normal after a flush, but it’s already weeping less than it was before. He’s not looking swollen at all (I thought it would be, so that was a nice surprise), and Monty got over the anaesthetic well and is hopping around, eating and pooping normally and much perkier than he’s been for the last week or so.

He’s on Baytril twice a day for the next week, they also recommended a probiotic but we already put probiotic in his water anyway so that was one less additional cost!

[Andi]

Glad things went so well, hopefully this was the fix and you don’t have to deal with it again.

I have a Degu with a blocked tear duct as well, we tried all the meds and drops nothing worked. Problem is we can’t flush the eye b/c he is just to small of an animal. I’ve had to just keep him and his houseing extra clean so not to irritate the eye further. We’ve been dealing with this a couple years now, and though it’s weepy we’ve had no infections anymore

[Julie H]

Lindsay – I realize you posted this a looong time ago, but my dwarf rabbit’s experiencing the same weepy eye problem that yours did.  She had her tear ducts flushed yesterday (which she did not need sedated for) and they unclogged lots of mucus from her nasal cavity.  I now have eye drops that I’m giving her for the next 7 days (as a precaution).  Did your bunny’s weepy eye problem cease after the flushing, or did he have dental problems?

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