Bloody nostril, labored breathing (Actual blood, NOT Poryphrin)

[sujamma]

My rat Miles has been sneezing blood for over a month, and I've had him in and out of the vet for a diagnosis, and on multiple rounds of medication. We did an X-ray and they found no sign of masses, only that his left nostril was inflamed. Tonight, he went into respiratory distress after a bloody sneezing fit, and started gasping from his mouth at the back of his cage. I thought I was going to lose him...

I have a humidifer going now, and gave him 0.5 ml (maybe less, since it spilled off) children's benedryl on a graham cracker as advised by my vet. Do I just keep doing what I'm doing and hope for the best until I can pick up steroids from the vet when they're open? Also, has anyone else had an experience like this, and what happened?

[purple rat]

Sorry Miles isn't feeling well.  I haven't dealt with this specific issue, but whenever there's a problem with inflammation my vet prescribes Meloxicam.  Good luck with your boy

[sujamma]

Thank you. He's perked up today, but a little bit of stress of trying to give him medicine in the sink made his lungs croaky, which scared me a bit. I'm sure it has something to do with myco, but I can't seem to get rid of it if that's the case. He is 2.5 years old, and I know that doesn't help. He greeted me normally when I got home and waited for his graham cracker with medicine, which I am down to one of now, and will decide what to do by morning. If he's still stable, I'll see if it's worth the risk of waiting until the 26th for my vet to reopen.

[purple rat]

How is Miles doing?

[sujamma]

Oh my, sorry it took me so long to see your reply. Miles is still struggling on and off with his bloody nose (he had another incident just a few minutes ago). I tried taking him off bedding completely, but that didn't help, then i tried turning the heat off and keeping a humidifier going, but I can't tell how much that has or hasn't helped. I'm beginning to think it's just the way it works with nasal polyps in humans, where sporadic nosebleeds happen but humidity seems to help calm it down.

His vet seems to think the reason he sometimes goes into respiratory distress is because he might be inhaling some of the blood back into his lungs or it's causing a blockage and he panics, but hard to know. The fit slows down once he has sneezed up some sizable chunks, which look like blood clots but I'm not sure. I take him into the bathroom to sit him in the sink until he's done, and just wipe his nose and pet his head until it's over, which makes it easier to clean up after. I'm always washing blood stains off his things and the floor around his cage, at a loss for what to do anymore but love on him and take care of him during his episodes, because steroids and antibiotics didn't change anything, unfortunately.

[Been to the Mountaintop]

So sorry. My eighteen year old gets nose bleeds, too. And chokes on the postnasal.

With a newborn kitten years ago who had been in the birth canal too long, I super-gently put my mouth over nose and mouth and oh so carefully sucked a little salty liquid out. Then with massage the baby was back. Greatest squeak I ever heard! Adult rats can usually clear choking on their own. You could try helping by mouth or baby bulb but that would probably cause more panic.

Just asking--why meds in the sink instead of cage? We're down to three and they all get a baby jar lid with a bit of baby food meat served to each in the cage and the sick one has meds in hers. Nobody's the wiser.

Even with central heat set to 76 and plastic on windows sometimes it is only 60 in here! They have lots of crinkles to block the igloo door, a couple of hammocks big enough for all of them, a large heating pad on the top (logistically it can't go under), and they are right next to me, my electric blanket and my lamp. They also have a humidifier and an air cleaner and we clean cage more than weekly. When it is colder they hang together in the hammock under the heating pad. When warmer I find them various places.

One possibility (gulp) is a tumor in a sinus. Also, I had a Zymbal's Gland tumor start this way. Hope it's neither. Best wishes!