congestion in bunny

Question
QUESTION: My  bunny has been to the vet.  They tried antibiotic injections and Children's Benadryl  ( I gave her that with their okay ).  NOthing helped.
I read there are bunny nose drops, etc.  to relieve her congestion.   What can I do or buy for her?

ANSWER: Dear Pamela

I have never used any type of antihistamine nose drops for bunnies, so unfortunately I can't help you there.  There are no products on the market formulated specifically for rabbits, so I would use anything over the counter for humans with extreme caution and *never* without the advice of your vet.

One thing you can do to help relieve her congestion is to gently suction out the snot with a pediatric ear syringe like the one pictured here:

http://www.amazon.com/hcl820-Ear-Syringe-Pediatric/dp/B000VI8D64

You can buy these at any good drug store, and just getting out the snot can really help.

If your bunny is so congested that she's breathing through her mouth, then this is a very serious condition that might warrant antibiotic ophthalmic drops administered directly into her nose to kll bacterial topically.  Mouth breathing can also indicate severe breathing trouble due to pneumonia, and this, too, requires aggressive treatment, such as nebulization.

You have not really described your rabbit's symptoms here--just what you have tried.  If you can be more specific about what you are seeing, I can be of more help.

Dana

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: My rabbit sneezes all the time.  She is VERY congested.  She sometimes tries to clear her nose, She makes snorting sounds.  I feel very bad for her.
   I just read somewhere that bunnies can ONLY breath thru their noses.  You wrote that she might be breathing thru her mouth.

Answer
Dear Pamela,

Rabbits are technically "obligate nasal breathers", which means that a healthy rabbit will breathe only through the nose.  However, if the nose is completely blocked, or if the rabbit is having difficulty breathing because of lung congestion, then the bunny may breathe with open mouth, gasping for air.  This is a sign of an extreme emergency, as the rabbit would be close to death. That's why I mentioned it, so you would be aware of it--just in case.

If antibiotics have already been tried, please read this:

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

to learn how the vet may do a simple test to determine if the antibiotics now being used are not effective against the particular infection your bunny has.

Please also read this:

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

which covers some of the most common causes of nasal congestion and chronic URI (upper respiratory infection) in rabbits.  I hope it will help.

Dana