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Clogged tear duct

22 9:48:02

Question
Taffy, our six-year-old Jersey Wooly, may have a clogged tear duct in her left eye. There is a gooey, sticky, slightly yellowish substance that consistently dries into her fur below the eye, and the eye itself just looks unnaturally teary. I was going to just take her straight to the vet, but then I read that the "solution" is to "ream out" and unclog the tear duct. Not only does that sound painful, but then I read that it is only a temporary fix, and must be repeated periodically. I don't want them to make her suffer, especially if it's not even a permanent fix. She doesn't appear to be in any kind of discomfort from it (or from anything else). Please, what would you do if this were your rabbit? Thank you.

Answer
Dear Jeanne,

No one should "ream out" the tear duct.  It is a delicate structure lined with mucous membranes, and one cannot simply treat it like plumbing.  What you might have read about would be a tear duct flush, which involves the vet threading a very small catheter (after topically anesthetizing the area) into the top portion of the duct and then flushing with saline to unplug the obstructions.

Yes, the fix might be temporary.  But a lot depends on the cause of the runny eyes.  You can read an overview here:

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

I hope it will help you understand the complexity of the condition, and perhaps give you ideas to ask the vet.

Hope this helps.

Dana