Dog Ear Infections
Canker is a catchall word for many problems of the ear. The rapidity of onset of some car problems is spectacular, with a normal car canal progressing in twelve hours to become a brightly inflamed area and an ear full of tacky, often foul-smelling pus. When this happens, the dog holds its head with the infected ear down and shakes gingerly scratching bringing forth a yelp of pain.
Perhaps more often the onset is insidious and progresses over a week or two before the dog is obviously in trouble. If you suspect a problem, don’t be above smelling the ear and if you find a foul odor you may be sure some bacteria will soon cause a more serious problem if not treated.
There are many over-the-counter preparations for ear canker, none of which are very effective, and most of which may delay a trip to the veterinarian. If you want to try a home remedy purchase propylene glycol from a pharmacist. (Propylene glycol appears to be oily but is water soluble; it is not to be confused with ethylene glycol, which is antifreeze for car radiators and poisonous when ingested.) In most states, you can purchase antibiotic capsules without a prescription from any pet shop that sells aquarium supplies. Five capsules of 250 mg tetracycline in each ounce of propylene glycol will cure a large percentage of ear canker cases, but if you do not see a good improvement in twenty-four hours make haste to your veterinarian.
All too often ear mites, when properly applied, mineral oil will destroy them. However, if the bacterial infection is a particularly difficult infection to destroy, as is the case with one called pseudomonas, the mineral oil will enable the infection to flourish instead of curing it.
If you permit an ear infection to remain untreated there is a danger of the erosion of the tympanic membrane or eardrum. This opens the way for the infection to enter the middle ear with its delicate and vulnerable tissues and presents a challenging problem for a veterinarian to correct.
One of the ways of diagnosing ear canker to provide the correct and best treatment consists of removing some of the causative infective agents on a sterile swab and performing a bacterial culture and sensitivity of it. There are times when all efforts to treat an ear infection are unsuccessful and the veterinarian properly will suggest surgery to open the canal to expose it to air and to facilitate the application of medication to the infected area.
Tumors of the ears are relatively common and may become the focal point of infection. They should be removed.
Ear Mites. Ear mites are small insects that live in the external ear canal. A few of these insects cause great distress in dogs, unlike in cats where hundreds of mites cause little apparent discomfort. If your dog suddenly begins to shake its head and scratch violently and there is no moisture and debris in the ear, you should suspect ear mites. After many days of discomfort, a mahogany-colored crumbly wax develops. When placed on a black surface, this may be observed to have minute light-colored objects moving on and around it. A magnifying glass makes the diagnosis easier.
How does a dog contract ear mites? Since our feline friends are predisposed to ear mites and since many cats live with little attention from people, they appear to be the principal reservoir of infection. An infected cat wanders through shrubbery around a house and shakes its head, shedding a few insects on the leaves of the shrubs. Your dog, interested in the cat scent, gives the area an olfactory going-over and while poking its head through the shrubbery picks up a pregnant female mite.
Dogs commonly have ear mites in one ear only and why this is so is a curiosity of nature. In studies done on bats, ear mites are common but are never in both ears. When mites are removed from an infected ear and placed in the unaffected ear, they leave that ear and travel back to the infected one. Interestingly, when an unaffected bat has misplaced in both ears, the mites thrive in one car, and those placed in the other leave. The idea of selective tissue immunity may be recognized as important as curiosities of nature are solved through continued research.
Hematoma. An injury to a blood vessel in the ear flap may cause a blood clot, or hematoma, to form. The ear appears to be slowly inflating over many days until the ear resembles a small football. In any event, one has a choice of surgery to correct it or leave the swelling alone. If not corrected the swelling recedes, leaving scar tissue contractions and a car resembling a potato chip in configuration. Surgery is preferable.
A laceration on an ear tip is more of an inconvenience than an emergency. Dogs will shake their heads, causing blood to be forced out of minor vessels at the site. The tip of the ear may strike the top of the head and under the neck, leaving bloody areas there. If the laceration is small, sit with the dog and hold cotton with pressure against the area until the bleeding stops. This may require an hour or more. The vessels will eventually retract if the cut is not too deep. Remove the dog collar (s) since continued shaking of the tags and buckle will reopen the lacerations. If you cannot control the bleeding in a reasonable time, call your veterinarian.
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