Ear Infections

[huski]

We've battled with ear infections with Daisy for some time now.

She is perfectly healthy in EVERY other way, and ever our holistic vet who we take the dogs to for check ups every six months said that usually he sees ear infections in beagles etc because their ears are constructed poorly to allow for air flow, but that's not the case with Daisy apparently her ears are a good shape.

I've taken her to our local vet to get her ears flushed out and cleaned because it had gotten so bad, this was on Wednesday when she also had to have a burst cyst removed from her leg.

Today the under side of her ears were stained with the black stuff that has been coming out of her ears, so I cleaned them out. It seems like they are full of gunk AGAIN - it's been less than a week since they were flushed out!

Has anyone else had this problem? I am at a loss as to what to do next. Our holistic vet tested the infection and it is a yeast infection.

[cavNrott]

We've battled with ear infections with Daisy for some time now.

Has anyone else had this problem? I am at a loss as to what to do next. Our holistic vet tested the infection and it is a yeast infection.

My Cavs get yeasty ears occasionally and the only product I've found that works as well or even better than Surolan from the vet is Zymox. I have it sent from USA. If I smell the slightest hint of yeast in their ears I pop a couple of drops in. It keeps the yeast at bay for quite some time before another application is needed.

[Cheyd]

My bosses have a standard poodle with the same problem, they just took him to Murdoch for testing

He has high level reactions to about 3 things, Murdoch want him on an elimination diet but I dont think my bosses will do it

I will mention Zymox to them, thanks for the tip CavNrott

[ophnbark]

On the very odd occaison that we've had this problem I have used a mix of half cider vinegar and half water, a couple of drops three times a day and it's been fixed in no time. Actually worked better on our problem dog than Surolan.

[cavNrott]

I wouldn't be game to put water mixed with anything in the Cavs ears because if any water at all gets in their ears they have another yeast flare up. Yeast thrives in warm, damp, humid conditions.

[Sunnyflower]

Oscar too gets ear infections - He has one at the moment and is having Surolan put in his ear twice daily.

I have researched and putting a TSP of Apple Cider Vinegar in their dinner can help with keeping it at bay. Go to the health food shop though and get the real stuff, not the super market stuff.

That stuff is magic for a lot of things.

Edited November 7, 2010 by Sunnyflower

[Sunnyflower]

I wouldn't be game to put water mixed with anything in the Cavs ears because if any water at all gets in their ears they have another yeast flare up. Yeast thrives in warm, damp, humid conditions.

This is how Oscar gets his ear infections from baths. He now goes to the groomers when he needs a good head/ear scrub.

[Mason_Gibbs]

I use ear wash 2x a week in my boys ears, he gets them due to allergies but it seems to help - Malasetic Ear Solution, basically boric acid and acetic acid.

[spottychick]

Be careful with putting anything liquid in dogs ears that might be infected - I certainly wouldn't put ACV in there (with my dogs the ACV caused an extreme reaction)

I use a powder sometimes for mild yeasty/mite stuff. It's called Thornit and I get it from the UK. It has boric acid in it I think and a couple of other things. You don't put it IN the ear but around the top of the canal. Seems to work pretty well as long as there's no chronic condition.

[Rappie]

What are you currently using to treat the infection? (ear cleaners, meds etc)

Has she got any other signs of allergic skin disease?

[huski]

Thanks so much everyone for all your suggestions! Glad I am not the only one with frustrating ear infection issues!!

What are you currently using to treat the infection? (ear cleaners, meds etc)

Has she got any other signs of allergic skin disease?

Hey Rappie, we are using Surolan and sometimes cleaning them out with epi-otic (so we put the epi-otic on some wipes and clean them out then put the surolan in). She has absolutely no other signs of allergic skin probs, or any other health problems.

Edited November 7, 2010 by huski

[shells]

Have you treated for ear mites? Were you given more antibiotic or drops after the flush? Last year this happend to my dogs and after the sedation and flush they were both on Surolan for 10 days just to make sure we cleared it up. I found after all the treatments my female had earmites - I am wondering if the weeks of drops and cleaning of ears made it a great environment for the mites.

[Rappie]

If the ears are getting mucky quickly and not responding well to the Surolan then I try to re-evaluate the "microclimate" of the ear. If there is a lot of gunk in there, the topical meds wont work as well, they are best applied to a clean ear.

I generally try to get ears cleaned initially once a day while we try to get the infection under control, then once the amount of gunk is reducing (usually after 4-5 days) then drop it down to 2-3 times a week, then weekly etc. It is possible to over clean the ears but it's also important to clean all the muck out before putting meds in. With general ear cleaners like Bayer Clean Ear and Epi-otic it's important to allow at least 30 minutes before putting the meds in. I do sometimes find that these two cleaners keep the ears quite wet, especially with floppy eared dogs - these can be the dogs that do need drying ear cleaners.

With persistent yeast infections I have had more luck using Malacetic ear wash. In those dogs that seem to just be sensitive to yeast (red, itchy ears or ones that seem inflamed even with no discharge) we can add some steroid injection to the bottle of ear cleaner. This one is used only once a week or so.

Some dogs need treatment with oral antifungals too, or a different ear med. In most cases unless there are complicating factors, if we can reduce the discharge, there should be a high enough concentration of the active ingredients in topical medications to treat the infection.

Are you filling the ear canal with ear cleaner and giving it a really good "squelch" for 30-60 seconds? Then wipe out the excess and let them have a good shake.

Edited November 7, 2010 by Rappie

[Guest Ams]

Flushing will sometimes make it worse. If Surolan is not working maybe ask the vet for some Optimax. It is stronger. You need to make sure you give it twice a day for ten days straight (regardless of whether or not the ears look better). I have a shar pei bitch who gets her ears cleaned with epi otic, has surolan for the usual flare ups but about twice a year needs the optimax to get things back under control.

It is VERY frustrating.

[Erny]

I have had success with "Ear Clear" - recommended and supplied by my dog's Naturopath. I tended to find that my boy did not have any luck with antibiotic treatment and other drops were too stringent for him, causing him to react to them.

If you want to know what's in the "Ear Clear" let me know. I still have a bottle of it. But I found it not only soothing, but effective.

ETA: "Ear Clear" treats ear mites as well as yeast infections and fungal infections wax.

Edited to cross through "fungal infections". It may well do that as Yeast Infection is fungal, but now I look, the bottle doesn't actually say it, so thought I should relate correctly.

Edited November 7, 2010 by Erny

[Erny]

Had a PM from someone else, so figured I might as well put up the info on "Ear Clear" in case others are also interested.

"Ear Clear - Ear solution to rid the ear of wax, yeast infections and ear mites". (Made by Natural Animal Solutions - Australian Made and Owned)

Use recommended dosage twice daily for two weeks. Stop treatment for one week. Then resume treatment again for one week. Apply Ear Clear to cotton wool and clean ear wax exiting at the base of the ear daily.

Dosage :

• Cats : 3 drops twice daily
  
• Small Dogs : 1/2 a dropper twice daily
  
• Medium-Large Dogs : Full dropper twice daily. (I found I went through two or three bottles over the total treatment period, but I was fairly generous with what I used on the cotton wool for the daily cleaning regime.)
  

Ingredients :

Aloe, Witch Hazel, Aluminium Acetate 2%.Boric Acid. Lavender Essential Oil.

ETA: The Ear Clear has a good shelf life too.

Edited November 7, 2010 by Erny

[OSoSwift]

Once the infection is under control maybe a couple of drops of Collodial Silver a couple of times a week??? I have seen dogs that have issues be maintained quite well on that, however the ear must be healthy and make sure there are no ruptured ear drums etc before starting it.

[cavNrott]

Shells: Huski said her dog has been diagnosed with yeast so no point in treating for ear mites.

When the vet took a swab and identifed it as yeast I put Surolan drops in twice a day for 10 days. They worked well but the yeast returned a couple weeks later.

My Cavs don't have any discharge or mucky ears. The ears look clean and I smell them every couple of days. The slightest smell of yeast is unmistakeable. If I smell yeast they get Zymox drops.

If I'm taking the dogs to the groomers I bath and dry them before I leave home so they don't need to be bathed by the groomer. That way I'm sure they won't get any water in their ears. I'm not certain the groomer would be as fussy about making sure no water gets in as I am.

I've have Malacetic here and have used it a couple of times. I'm not sure which smells worse, the Malacetic or the yeast so I'm not really keen on Malacetic, it has a really stong unpleasant smell.

The Zymox I have sent from USA comes in two varieties. One contains Hydrocortisone and the other one is Hydrocortisone free. I keep both varieties and mainly use the H/cort free. If I smell yeast again within a couple of weeks I use the one with Hydrocortisone. I also have Zymox ear wash but the dogs have no gunky discharge so I haven't needed to use it.

The good thing with Zymox is that it I don't need to use it every day for 10 days. I can use it for 2 days and then the dogs are free of yeasty ears for a few weeks. It seems to be the only thing that keeps yeast at bay for any length of time.

One dog gets yeasty ears regularly, the other one hardly ever gets it. We tried an elimination diet but didn't come up with anything. Neither of the dogs have had any skin issues.

Customs usually open the Zymox parcel and hold it for a few days until they decide it's not a banned import then send it on to me with a note saying it contains no banned ingredients. I've learned to order it while I still have an unopened bottle here to allow time for it to arrive in Aus and make allowance for Customs to fiddle around and delay delivery.

We've been battling yeasty ears for 2 years and I think I've tried everything on the market. It would be great if Zymox was available here but unfortunately it's not. I hope in time it will be.

[Rileys mum]

I think I may have a few issues with ears. My guy has had infections which cleared up with treatment several months ago. Tonight I've noticed him itching excessively in one ear and it smells a bit yeasty. Not an infected smell just a ' something ain't right' smell lol. I have him booked in for tomoro to check it out but I think I may be one who takes shares in ear product companies too. Damn those cute floppy oversized GSP ears of his

[Mason_Gibbs]

Shells: Huski said her dog has been diagnosed with yeast so no point in treating for ear mites.

When the vet took a swab and identifed it as yeast I put Surolan drops in twice a day for 10 days. They worked well but the yeast returned a couple weeks later.

My Cavs don't have any discharge or mucky ears. The ears look clean and I smell them every couple of days. The slightest smell of yeast is unmistakeable. If I smell yeast they get Zymox drops.

If I'm taking the dogs to the groomers I bath and dry them before I leave home so they don't need to be bathed by the groomer. That way I'm sure they won't get any water in their ears. I'm not certain the groomer would be as fussy about making sure no water gets in as I am.

I've have Malacetic here and have used it a couple of times. I'm not sure which smells worse, the Malacetic or the yeast so I'm not really keen on Malacetic, it has a really stong unpleasant smell.

The Zymox I have sent from USA comes in two varieties. One contains Hydrocortisone and the other one is Hydrocortisone free. I keep both varieties and mainly use the H/cort free. If I smell yeast again within a couple of weeks I use the one with Hydrocortisone. I also have Zymox ear wash but the dogs have no gunky discharge so I haven't needed to use it.

The good thing with Zymox is that it I don't need to use it every day for 10 days. I can use it for 2 days and then the dogs are free of yeasty ears for a few weeks. It seems to be the only thing that keeps yeast at bay for any length of time.

One dog gets yeasty ears regularly, the other one hardly ever gets it. We tried an elimination diet but didn't come up with anything. Neither of the dogs have had any skin issues.

Customs usually open the Zymox parcel and hold it for a few days until they decide it's not a banned import then send it on to me with a note saying it contains no banned ingredients. I've learned to order it while I still have an unopened bottle here to allow time for it to arrive in Aus and make allowance for Customs to fiddle around and delay delivery.

We've been battling yeasty ears for 2 years and I think I've tried everything on the market. It would be great if Zymox was available here but unfortunately it's not. I hope in time it will be.

I have had 2 diff versions of the Malacetic, the one has a peach smell and the one I get from my derm only smells like vinegar.