Advice on mild ear infections

Note: cases with only - moderate swelling/discharge and not affected by pain

As discussed during our conversation, it looks like your dog has a possible inflammatory condition of the outer ear also known as 'otitis externa'.

This is a very common condition in dogs and the most common symptoms include scratching at the ear(s), head shaking, redness of the outer ear and increased secretion of ear secretions with a varying intensity of odour and colour. Sometime the patients head may be tilted to one side.

Ear infections are most often caused by an overgrowth of the dog's own skin bacteria or yeasts. These are normally found in the ears in smaller quantities, but can increase in number for various reasons if the skin's barrier is weakened.

It can be as a consequence of many things and some common causes include: allergies, excessive hair growth, poor ear ventialtion (drooping earlobes), or water in the ear canal after swimming or bathing. 

Many of these conditions cause a warm and moist environment in the ear canal, which then promotes the growth of excessive amounts of bacteria and yeasts.

As agreed, you can try treatment at home in the following way:

- Clean the ear canal with XX - ear cleaner over the counter (REMEMBER recommend: Known NOT ototoxic ear cleaner - cf. eardrum status not known)

- Fill the entire ear canal with the liquid, close the outer ear and massage under the ear. Leave the product on for at least 5-10 minutes. The dog usually shakes its head, let it do so and then wipe off excess liquid with a cotton ball. Avoid putting a cotton ball in the ear canal.

If your dog does not get better within 1-2 days after cleaning with an over-the-counter preparation, or if additional symptoms occur such as:

- Redness

- Tenderness

- Increased secretions or odour

- Pain

- Head tilt

Then you should stop treatment immediately and contact a veterinarian for a physical examination.

At the clinic, swab samples may be taken from the ear to assess the type of infection the animal has. In this way, the vet can assess and advise the optimal and most effective treatment that should be started.

For animals with recurring ear infections, it is usually necessary to investigate the underlying cause. This is so that chronic structural changes to the tissue nor resistant infections do not develop. Sometimes removal of ear wax or performing an ear canal flush is necessary under general anaesthesia - in order to further clarify that there are no foreign objects in the ear canal.

Some patients need further examinations and multi-modal treatments consisting of ear swabs and medication with different types of ear drops depending on the cause. Anti inflammatory  medication may also be necessary to reduce swelling and pain in severe cases.