Living with snuffles for three years thanks to your cocktail

Question
Hi! My three year old doe has had snuffles since she was a baby, none of the vet's advise worked until I tried a cocktail you recommended to someone else in one of your answers. It was amikasin, amoxicillin and acetilsisteine in a nebulizer twice a day for a month. I did it religiously and she was good for two years. Now she has it again, this time she has the mucus I the nose, little sneezing but what worries me the most is her teary eye. I guess the mucus is blocking her eye ducts. I have started nebulizing cocktail again for 5 days now. Some days she has appeared to be better, others still very wet around the eye. I know it has only been 5 days but I worry: do you think appropriate to give her oral baytil in addition to the cocktail to help put out this outbreak? Thank you so much!

Answer
Dear Malini,

I would *never* have recommended amoxicillin, even in a nebulizer.  That drug can be deadly to rabbits, and you should not use it on your rabbit.  Ever.

The "cocktail" I have described consisted of sterile saline, amikacin (antibiotic), acetylcysteine (to loosen mucus), and aminophylline (to open airways).  

Chronic nasal congestion is often not due only to bacterial infection.  There is usually a physical problem--such as a narrowing of the sinuses due to dental intrusion--that predisposes a bunny to bacterial growth in the sinuses. Please see:

http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/sneezing.html

and

http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/weepy.pdf

The combination of runny nose and eyes is a very strong hint that her problems are dental in origin.  Probably not curable, but controllable with supportive care and appropriate antibiotics as prescribed by your veterinarian.

Dana