Chronic sneezing fit / choking?

Hi all, I need some advice on Joey. He's had a pasturella type virus for over a year now and it's kept under control by nebulising him daily (like Sparky),
which generally seems to work ok. This past week he's been sneezing more and sounding like a duck quacking(!) and snorting, so we took him to the vets last week and she gave him a week long ourse of antibiotics (marbocil).

Tonight he's been having really bad sneezing fits and he looks similiar to a cat bringing a fur ball up if that makes sense? It's awful watching him have these fits as I feel helpless :(I'm worried he's choking or something. Is it that something has aggrievated him as his nose is sensitive anyway at the moment, choking or something has got stuck?

Any help would be appreciated. x

Bless his heart!  Your too!  Sending vibes for Joey!  i'm sorry I don't have any advice.  If Joey were hoomin I would, but for bunn I do not.  I'm sure Sparky's Humom andMaysie will!

gentl wrote:Bless his heart!  Your too!  Sending vibes for Joey!  i'm sorry I don't have any advice.  If Joey were hoomin I would, but for bunn I do not.  I'm sure Sparky's Humom andMaysie will!

I sent her a pm earlier on

How is he this morning Fran?

I hope Joey is better this morning

Oh, Joey - what a worry 

Lots of questions I am afraid, to see if anything we might have tried could help.

What meds do you nebulise? How often and for how long? Do you generally see an improvement after nebulising?

Did the vet listen to his chest? Has his chest generally been clear, i.e. does the infection seem to stay in his nose?

Is any mucus coming out of his nose? Is it thin, clear and runny or thick and yellow?

How long ago was he last on abx, which one and for how long?

What has the temperature / humidity been like in your area?

How does he seem otherwise - eating, pooping and weeing fine, being active or is he pretty miserable?


A couple of things I would suggest straight away - get his chest checked, if the infection is in his lungs he might need more aggressive abx. See if the vet would be happy to put him on Metacam to reduce any inflammation in his nasal passages (and it might help him feel better, I'm sure you know how miserable sinus infections can make you feel). If it's just thick mucus at the moment and he's not on Bisolvon I would get him on it straight away - the secretions need to be thinned so he can discharge them. It sounds like he's not able to clear them at the moment.


Loads and loads of vibes for this special little guy - get well, Micro Joe 

When we use to nebulise Hope as she had a serious respiratory problem we use to use Ventolin Evohaler and just spray it into the nebulising unit when we would nebulise her.

How is he doing hunni ?

oh gosh
sending vibes to joey and love and hugs to you and joey

Thanks for the vibes / concern for the little one guys   

Ok, so an update: The fitting died down although I still heard a couple bouts at around 2am. This morning he's had breakfast as normal and we've had about 12 'normal' sneezes and one fit. Spoke to the vet this morning and she thinks it last night may have due to a candle that I had on that was giving off a lot of smoke, and with him being sensitive at the moment set him off badly. Does this sound feasible?

And a reply to Sparky's questions:



What meds do you nebulise? How often and for how long? Do you generally see an improvement after nebulising?

We use F10 and saline. He’s nebulised for 30 mins every day. He can often be heard sneezing while he’s in his chamber which I know is normal and he has been generally clear for months. 

Did the vet listen to his chest? Has his chest generally been clear, i.e. does the infection seem to stay in his nose?
 
Yes the vet checked last Friday and she said it was ok, as it is the other times she has checked.

Is any mucus coming out of his nose? Is it thin, clear and runny or thick and yellow?
 
There was the odd bogey a week ago. Last night I was so surprised there wasn’t any thick snotty discharge but it was pretty much clear aside from slight wetness which can be expected considering he had about 7+ fits.

How long ago was he last on abx, which one and for how long?
 
He was on Marbocyl for about 3+ months (after his swab test) until last October. In early summer he had a small course of Zithromax. The vet didn’t want to stick him on Zithro this time as she is aware of the bug becoming resistant if we keep using it. And apparently Marbocyl is better for the strain of bacteria Joey has.

What has the temperature / humidity been like in your area?
 
It was horribly stuffy and humid these past few days, which Maysie has highlighted. But then he's been playing up for over a week now 

How does he seem otherwise - eating, pooping and weeing fine, being active or is he pretty miserable?

He seems ok up to now, going to the toilet ok. Even last night inbetween the fits he was flopping out. I just felt like **** that I couldn’t help him

A couple of things I would suggest straight away - get his chest checked, if the infection is in his lungs he might need more aggressive abx. See if the vet would be happy to put him on Metacam to reduce any inflammation in his nasal passages (and it might help him feel better, I'm sure you know how miserable sinus infections can make you feel). If it's just thick mucus at the moment and he's not on Bisolvon I would get him on it straight away - the secretions need to be thinned so he can discharge them. It sounds like he's not able to clear them at the moment.
 
He’s already on Metacam, has been for a week along with the Marbocyl. It’s not really thick, snotty mucus but it’s more the noise he’s been making. Nasal quacking / blocked sounding / snorting / and occaisional wetness. Do you think the Bisolvon better than the F10 for clearing?

The candle and if it was a stuffy night wouldn't have helped I'm sure.

Glad he is not as bad today.

I think we have used Bisolvon and then we went on to Ventolin inhaler, Hope was really bad with her breathing though and was nebulised nearly every day. Unfortunately she got pneumonia in the end and it killed her else she had been doing really well.

I think you're doing pretty much all you can, and your vet seems to be on the ball. I would definitely give the Bisolvon a go. The F10 does not thin the secretions, it's for getting an anti-bacterial deep into his nasal passages. Bisolvon will actually help thin them and mean he can clear them out of his nose. We put a pinch of Bisolvon in with the F10 solution and nebulise them together. It definitely makes a difference to me - I go into the carrier all hunched and miserable and come out doing bunny 500's 

I have no experience of saline but I think it might tend to dry the nasal passages a bit and that might actually not be helpful at the moment - you need stuff running out nicely instead.

Bearing in mind I've not needed any meds or nebulising at all for months and months now, even when I met Theo and Humum thought I might get a bit stressy. But it was nebulising that made the massive difference, and the things Humum gives me to keep stress levels down (Echinacea in dried form and / or a liquid added to my drinking water).

On the respiratory tract side, pasteurella does not really seem to be causing me any problems at the moment. I really hope you can get the small, gorgeous one to the same stage 

Sending lots of vibes for joey and big hugs for you 

I have no advice but I just wanted to send loads of vibes for Micro Joe, and hugs for you!

How's Micro Joe doing now hun?

Sorry for not updating the thread yesterday, was out for most of yesteday.

The extreme fitting seems to have stopped but he's been sneezing an awful lot these past two days :(Emailed the vet re Bisolvon so we're awaiting to see what the plan is with that.

Thanks for asking about the lad

You're welcome, he is a sweetie and it's a worry when he's having a bad spell.

I hope you can get the Bisolvon and that it helps 

Nose rubs for the small one