Bunny ear infections

Question
Sorry, Last question for now.. Will the otic drop help even with an inner ear infection?  Does the medication get past the tympanic membrane?
Thank you so much for your help!!
Deb
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Followup To

Question -
Hi Dana,

I have written you before about my rabbits ear infection. He was on the chloramphenicol for 6 weeks and seemed to get better.  He has been off the antibiotics for over 6 weeks and he has been scratching at his ears... so I took him to the vet and his tympanic membranes are red again... So the doc started him on Baytril for 14 days...  Being that this is his second infection in 3 1/2 months, do you think I should see if he should stay on this one for longer...  I don't want him to get sick again and not be able to treat him due to being antibiotic resistant.... Thank you
Deb

Answer -
Dear Debbie,

Any time one uses an antibiotic for any length of time, there is a risk that some members of the bacterial population will be genetically resistant to the action of the antibiotic.  If those individuals are there, there's not much you can do but treat for as long as possible to get rid of as many sensitive individuals as possible, and then switch to another antibiotic.

This is one reason that many vets use a two-pronged approach to infections.  Using two different antibiotics simultaneously (for example, Baytril used alongside an aminoglycoside otic drop, such as tobramycin, gentocin, or amikacin works *very* well) increases the chances that if a particular strain of bacteria is resistant to one antibiotic, then there's a different one that might kill them.

Of course, if you have a strain resistant to *both*, then you're in a bad spot.  But that's why the scientific community is constantly trying to come up with new, different antibiotics as bacteria evolve resistance to the ones we already have.

Please ask the vet about using an otic drop of a different antibiotic class (the fluoroquinolones and aminoglycosides apparently work synergistically, so this is a particularly good combination) at the same time.  And perhaps for a course of three weeks, since this infection already has returned once.

There's no guarantee it won't come back, or that a different strain will be the culprit.  But it's the nature of the beast. We do the best we can.

Hope this helps!

Dana


Answer
Dear Debbie,

It might help, but it will not hurt to try.  Some of the aminoglycosides will not cross a mucous membrane.  If the vet thinks it better, amikacin injections could be used.  But this antibiotic is potentially rough on the kidneys, so it's very important that the bunny be well hydrated when this drug is used.  Some vets go so far as to include subQ fluids along with amikacin, as a precaution.

Please ask your vet.

Dana