Urgent question possible med reaction

Question
I have a 1 1/2 yr old mini rex house rabbit. He was diagnosis with snuffles at 4-5 months old. He has been on antibiotic therapy most of his life. He has been treated with Marbofloxin, Baytril and SMZ. Around December he developed pneumonia that wouldn't resolve with treatment of Baytril and SMZ. My vet agreed to treat him with Chloramphenicol. After 3 days there was a great improvement. He was off antibiotic from Jan 2011 thru April 2011. The pneumonia reoccured the end of April, so we treated him with another round of Chloramphenicol which worked well again. During the last treatment I noticed him itching alot by the end of the treatment. He started feeling bad again three days ago. I started the same med again but by the second dose, he was itching again and chewing on any cloth available. He won't quit itching. I think he is having a reaction to the Chloramphenicol. I have stopped the med. Is there any thing that can be given to relieve the itching. I sure my vet will order any med I might need. Is there another med currently used to treat snuffles other than the meds I have used? I feel as though I am running out of options!

Answer
Dear Kimberly,

If he is still itching, ask the vet about a dose of pediatric Benadryl, which will help with inflammation.  Don't ignore the possibility of mites; the antibiotics *could* be a Red Herring.

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/furloss.html

A compromised rabbit is much more likely to develop a case of mites or even be attacked by fleas than is a healthy rabbit.

For an alternative antibiotic, ask the vet about dual-acting BP Penicillin, which is injected every 48 hours.  It can be very effective if the bunny's infection is being caused by bacteria susceptible to penicillins, which is often the case.

I hope this helps.

Dana