conjunctivitus / coughing / sneezing

Question
Hi, my syrian hamster recently got taken to the vet and was told he has
conjunctivitus, so we got given some cream to put inhis eye for 7 days, weve
done that now and hes making this coughing/sneezing weezing noise, the vet heard
it 7 days ealier and said its to do with excess fluid as his eye has been
infected and closed up, its been 9 days now and hes coughing/sneezing which
makes his whole body twitch, i want to know if this is a normal side effect/
symptom of conjunctivitus or if its something more serious as i dont want to
lose him. thank you for your time

Answer
hi christopher,
poor little fellow!
yes this is quite normal behaviour for a hamster with conjunctivitus. the eyes, nose and throat are all connected by internal tubes, so excess fluid in the eyes will no doubt affect the nose and throat too making your little hammy cough and sneeze (his symptoms are probably similar to you getting a cold and coughing and sneezing because there is excess fluid in your eyes, nose and throat).
i would imagine if you've given him the proper treatment from the vet, he will pick up soon so don't worry too much about him.
it is important however to make sure he is drinking plenty of water while he is ill, as loss of fluids can cause dehydration. if he isn't taking water from his bottle, you could try dribbling water into his mouth every day while you hold him. the easiest way to do this is with a pipette (you can get these quite cheaply from most chemists).
hope this helps and hope your furry friend is feeling better soon.
thanks for your question, jewel