about her eye

Question
Hi
 I am 15 and i have a 2 year old dutch rabbit. The thing what is wrong with her is on her right eye it is always runny and has some white stuff in the coner of her eye. I have been told to clean it with warm salted water and i have tryed this but it doesnt work. So now i just clean it will normal water soaked in cotten wool. I do this so it makes her eye more comfortable for her. The thing is her other eye is fine. Its just that one eye.

Can u please tell me why this is happening and if there is anything i can do for her.

Thankyou so much for your help.

           from amie and rabbit(flower)

Answer
Dear Amie,

As strange as this sounds, the problem is very likely related to the state of her molar roots.  These are located directly beneath the eye, and when a bunny develops molar problems, such as spurs or a molar root infection, the first symptom is often runny eyes.  This is because inflammation from the molar root can actually cause the tear duct to swell shut, and bacteria from the infection can enter the tear duct and clog it, causing tears and pus to drip out the wrong way.

A good rabbit vet can examine your bunny's mouth for signs of molar spurs, and file them smooth, as necessary.  If there are no obvious outward signs of molar problems, then head radiographs might be necessary to determine what's blocking the duct.  It could be as simple as bacterial overgrowth, in which case the vet might recommend a tear duct flush and subsequent treatment with antibiotic ophthalmic drops.  The best way to effectively treat an infection like this is to ask the vet to take a sample of eye discharge for culture and sensitivity testing:

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

which will not only identify the bacteria, but tell the vet which rabbit-safe antibiotics would be most effective against this particular infection.  You can read more about dental problems in rabbits here:

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

and find a good *rabbit* vet (truly essential in this case!) here:

www.rabbit.org/vets

I hope this helps.  Please write back if you have any other questions.

Dana