ear mites or abscess?

Question
Hello, I believe My rabbit has ear mites and abscess. But I'm not sure if  they are both the same thing? Well he has it for awhile now, I took him to the vet and the doc said its nothing serious unless it gets bigger. recently the black-whiteish scab thing is growing alittle and under the scab thing his skin looks like its bleeding because its red. I'm not sure if he has ear mites or abscess? What should I do to help him stop scratching and heal the scab blister thing on his ear? As well as the new bump growing on his other ear? Please help!  
Thank you.

Answer
Dear Celina,

Ear mites are small parasites that burrow into the skin of the bunny and cause tremendous irritation accompanied by crusting and--sometimes--infection.   An abscess is an infection caused by bacteria.  So they are not the same thing, though they sometimes can occur together.  Each has a separate treatment.

If the vet you saw is not experienced with rabbits, then it might be necessary for you to take him to a more experienced rabbit vet, whom you can find here:

www.rabbit.org/vets

I hope you will find useful information about mites here:

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

and about infections here:

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

Good luck,

Dana