# Need Help Fast! - Severe Eye Infection



## MeAndB44 (Feb 15, 2010)

My rabbit, Beatrice, came to me under really odd circumstances. I caught her, not intending on keeping her, but to make sure that she lived to be an adult before we let her go back at the barn where all of the other rabbits live. ((Really, REALLY, odd story. I'll explain later I promise.)) Anyway, we usually keep the rabbits in a hutch at the barn until they can be let go but I wound up taking Beatrice home because her eye was really messed up.

I originally thought something had impaled her eye because there was a... Bubble of sorts on it and it was really super infected. *It was swollen, red around her sclera and eyelids, and her iris/pupil was cloudy and white. There was a lot of white discharge at first.* I took her to the vet's office that my friend works for and a vet saw her for free. (Though this vet wasn't used to rabbits.) *The vet knew it was an infection and gave her antibiotics for her eye.*

The *antibiotics worked magnificently and she healed very nicely*. Her eye looked *almost completely normal but it was still cloudy with a small white spot in the center*. I *figured it was probably just damaged and stopped giving her the antibiotics *since there was no more discharge. She was doing really good for over a week and then yesterday I noticed something....

She seems to be *holding that eye slightly shut all the time* and it *looks generally irritated*. There's also *small amounts of white puss showing up* again.

I'm not sure what is going on exactly, but I still have the antibiotics and I can give them to her again if I need to. Suggestions would be great, I'm really concerned about my baby.


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## aurora369 (Feb 15, 2010)

Infections can be nasty with rabbits, and difficult to get rid of. Sometimes rabbits need to be on antibiotics for a very long time, and in some rare cases, for life.

What antibiotic was she receiving? How long did you give it to her for?

You want to make sure antibiotics are given in full "courses". Don't stop when you see the symptoms stop, go for at least two weeks or about a week after the symptoms are gone.

Chances are that if the puss is returning, then she will need to go back on the antibiotic.

-Dawn


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## MeAndB44 (Feb 15, 2010)

Thanks for the quick reply.

So, do you think it is Pasteurellosis? I still think that her eyes was impaled by something and that caused the infection, but there's always a possibility that I'm wrong. What else could it be?

She was on the antibiotic for a week and had been completely fine for over a week after that. She was getting it three times a day.

The antibiotic is Neomycin and Polymyxin B Sulfates and Bacitracin Zinc.


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## aurora369 (Feb 15, 2010)

A week is really not long enough. I would do a minimum of two weeks. If not treated long enough, the infection will come back shortly after the antibiotics are finished.

I am not familiar with the ones you have been using, however one of the infirmary mods probably is. So I cannot comment on how appropriate it is for this situation.

It is very possible it is pasturella, as that is a very common bacteria for rabbits to have. Many rabbits carry pasturella in their system, but it stays in check through their immune system. However, you will not really know for sure which bacteria is causing the infection with out have a culture taken to be tested. I would recommend getting one done to know exactly what you are fighting and what antibiotics would be best to effectively treat it.

Pasturella is not a death sentence, it is very treatable. Injectable penicillin (injections only, oral is deadly) is something you can look into. Or oral zithromax or injectable convenia, which are more on the cutting edge of treatment for rabbits with infections.

-Dawn

PS: I edited your title to be a bit more descriptive.


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## tonyshuman (Feb 15, 2010)

Yes, a minimum of two weeks is needed for antibiotics to do any good. It may be good to try that same antibiotic again for a longer course, or switch. Dawn listed a lot of good antibiotic choices. Many vets, especially non-rabbit vets, are cautious to prescribe strong antibiotics to rabbits because they know that some antibiotics can be fatal if given orally to rabbits--basically anything that ends with -cillin. That's why penicillin must be injected if used. Therefore, most vets under-treat infections in rabbits.

I would get her back in and get some antibiotics. We had a bunny come in to the shelter whose eye had ruptured due to a small scratch that got infected and was never treated. After the eye ruptured, it had to be removed at the emergency vet. The owner couldn't afford that, so she surrended the bun to the Humane Society. It was a very sad situation for everyone involved. It only took a couple of months to go from a scratch on the eye to a ruptured eye.

The antibiotic they gave you is the same thing that is found in polysporin/neosporin. It's good for minor eye issues, but I wouldn't trust it for an infection that has gotten past the surface of the eye itself.


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## MeAndB44 (Feb 15, 2010)

Her eye cleared up perfectly before, and it's only mildly infected now. The infection is much, much less severe than before and I've already restarted her on the antibiotics she was on.

I'm going to see if these clear it up, give it to her for two weeks minimum, and see what happens. If her eye doesn't clear up or if it clears up and comes back again I'm going to get her to my exotics vet. (Or if another symptom occurs.)


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## aurora369 (Feb 16, 2010)

Sounds like a plan. Hopefully it clears up with a longer course of antibiotics.

-Dawn


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## MeAndB44 (Feb 16, 2010)

I'm still so worried. x.x I don't want to wake up and find my baby dead or something.


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## tonyshuman (Feb 16, 2010)

That probably won't happen. I only told you that horror story about the shelter bunny because it made a big impression on me, and showed how some people just don't know how serious a little scratch can be when it's on the eye. The owner in that situation didn't know about rabbits' special medical needs and she did the very best she could for her pet with that limited information. Clearly, you know that bunnies need to go to the vet and that an eye infection is a medical issue. That story is more demonstrative of what happens when bad pet stores sell sick rabbits to people without giving them info on how to take care of rabbits.

Has it started to look any better? If it doesn't start to look better within 5 days of starting the antibiotic back up, I'd go back to the vet. One of the problems with stopping antibiotics earlier than you should is bacterial resistance. Bacteria are sensitive to antibiotics on a certain concentration curve. Some can tolerate a little bit, some can tolerate none, and some can tolerate a lot. This depends on the genes they have for antibiotic resistance. If you stop the antibiotic while there are still some bacteria around that can tolerate a lot of the antibiotic being present, those bacteria can spread on their strong resistance genes to any future bacteria that show up. I hope that makes sense.

This antibiotic is applied to the eye, right? It's not given orally?


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## MeAndB44 (Feb 19, 2010)

I know about antibiotic resistance and many other medical issues, but not rabbit medical issues specifically.

Her eye looks completely better, there's still minute white discharge though. I'm giving her the antibiotic through the end of next week.


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## tonyshuman (Feb 19, 2010)

I would give it for at least 14 days in a row before stopping. If there's still some discharge there, a different antibiotic may also be needed to finish the job.


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