Gunky eyes

Ever since I got Felix, one of his eyes has watered. I have cleaned it and the tear duct has been flushed, plus I have given him eye drops for 10 days but although it has cleared a little, it still waters.

The fur around his eye is all crusty. I have tried to wash around it and soften the fur, but it dries all crusty again. I don't want to introduce anything back into his eye if it is getting a little better.

I noticed that Charlotte put vaseline around Chance's eye. Would this help to soften all the hardened fur and stop it getting hard again or is it too late to do it now.

I just use the vaseline in order to protect his skin, then the gunk just runs off. You might find, as with Chance, that Felix has scarred tear ducts, in which cas ehtye will always be like it xxx

I will try putting vaseline on. I would love to get rid of the clumps of matted fur around his eye because it looks awful and must be irritating for him.

Do you know if when the tearduct was flushed they encountered any resistance or did it clear quite easily? Also did he then have drops & oral abx for a few days, even perhaps some Metacam?

The reason I ask is often flushing can actually cause more damage if it is forced, as the trauma of the procedure can cause the ducts to become inflammed and additional scar tissue to develop which in turn narrows the duct further and makes future impaction more likely. It's also known for some vets to have been so forceful the ducts have ruptured but thankfully this is a rareity.

The use of Metacam or a similar anti-inflammatory post procedure can help minimise the long-term damage but unfortunately it is not often prescribed for what is considered a reatively painless procedure.

In some rabbits, and I suspect Felix may fall into this category as does Chance and my Fiver, the watering ducts is a lifelong problem which just has to be managed. The absolute best rememdy without doubt is an attentive grooming buddy....when Fiver is with Marley you honestly would never know he has a blocked duct....but if he is alone the eye is awful within 24 hours. To keep his eye from getting too sore I bathe it, trim down the fur with blunt ended scissors and then apply a smear of vaseline around the eye to stop the tears from setting into the fur where the salt content burns the skin and rots the fur itself.

Hehad it looked at at the same time as he was neutered. I did wonder if he might have a problem with his teeth, but his back teeth were fine. He had a couple of bits rasped off, but generally it wasn't thought that the eye problem was as a result of his teeth.

The vet said that it was an eye infection so I am not sure how forceful he was, but suspect he didn't do very much more than have a good look and squeeze out some of the infection. He prescribed Maxitrol drops for his eye which I put in three times a day for about 10 days. He had pain relief because of the castration and has been absolutely fine ever since.

His eye does seem to be a lot better and there isn't the white stuff in the corner but because his fur is so matted around his eye, it is hard to know if the infection is coming back or not. I wondered if an ABX would help to finally kill it off, but realise that some buns just have eyes that water.

Yeah in Sooz's advice, I trim Chance's fur round his eyes and also pop the vaseline on to stop the skin from getting sore. Poor old buns ey.

Sorry to hear about Felix, Nickie.

I haven't posted for ages but have been having problems with Rosie over the last couple of months, mainly eye problems. I'm having to bathe the fur round her eyes twice a day - thankfully she lets me do it. I need some input too though, and will toddle off and compose a post myself.

Really hope you're able to manage Felix's eye problem. Trimming the fur and using Vaseline is a good idea methinks.

Vibes for Felix's eye Nickie, I hope you find a solution.