Canine Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia (AIHA & IMHA) - Ear Cleaning

I have a question about cleaning charlies ears... they are yucky, but not infected, thank God! The vet suggested having them cleaned and the hair plucked out. This sounds so brutal to me and he doesnt like having his ears messed with, i try to keep the surfaces i can see clean. charlie is a labradoodle who is more poodle, so his ears have lots of hair growing in them. what kind of ear wash and drying agent would you recommend, that is OTC... thanks for any help, carol

Carol Vancouver Wa

Hi Carol Ive cut and pasted this from another ear thread - hope it helps! "Patrice - Amazon.com has Zymox on sale - I ordered some ! It's sold through EntirelyPets.com 2 Pack Zymox Ear Cleanser (8 oz) Sale: $10.99 (Reg. Price: $28.73) You Save: $17.74 (62%) In Stock. Ships from and sold by EntirelyPets. Patrice really liked this product, using it on Chance" Silka

Silka Melbourne Australia

I've been on lots of boards and forums and the first thing most will recommend is the "Blue Power Ear Formula." I haven't used this yet but plan to when it's needed. It's an OTC and from what I've been told there's nothing better to use. This is more for yeast problems but I've also been told it will clean the ears superbly. Here's what you will need for supplies... -16 oz. bottle isoprophyl alcohol (the cheap dollor bottle) -4 tablespoons boric acid...(use human boric acid) -17 drops gentian violet (1 or 2%) -medicine dropper (to use to measure the gentian violet) Next add the boric acid and gentian violet to the alcohol...put right in the alcohol bottle...trust me it'll all fit. SHAKE REALLY WELL. You'll want to take some of this mixture and transfer it to a squirt bottle. (something that you can use to place the mixed drops in the ears). The boric acid never dissolves untill it hits the skin so you have to shake it frequently. The boric acid will sooth the ears and the gentian violet is a bacteriacide and antifungal agent that works really great. Gentian violet is the stuff they give human babies when they have an oral yeast infection (thrush) so yeah...totally safe to use. If the ear looks at all inflamed use this stuff twice a day for at least a coulpe weeks and then switch to once daily for another week. Just squirt it in the ear and massage well. This stuff will save people tonnes compared with the store stuff or the vet stuff (OTC stuff) and it's much better. There is one downside to this stuff and I'll place this as a WARNING. THIS BLUE POWER MIXTURE WILL STAIN!!! Most who use this do so outside. That was when the dogs shake their head to get the gooky stuff out you don't have to worry about it staining the floors or tubs or walls...whatever. Plain alcohol works great for cleaning this off floors and hair if you do decide to use it inside. Once the dogs are done shaking their heads pat dry the inside if you'ld like so they don't rub or drip it over things. This mixture is also said to be much safer for your dog than the purple/blue stuff the vets sell! Some might find it hard to find hte ingrediants so it might be best to call around first. On a side note....I have eight cockers (notorious for ear problems) and I usually just keep the insides of the ears shaved. This helps the air to circulate better and keep the ear dry. It's all about keeping the ears dry! A couple of them I shave both sides of the ears togive a little less weight. Might help just to shave the inside of Charlie's ears. OH and I love Charlie for a name....one of my boys name is Charlie! Good luck, Johnny & Tessy

Johnny

Carol, I highly recommend the Zymox that Patrice recommended. One of my dogs (Lhasa Apso) has chronic ear infections. This cleared up his ears the last time without a trip to the vet. I use Zymox Ear Cleanser with Bio-Active Enzymes (blue label) to clean the ears. This "gently cleans dirty ears and inhibits bacterial growth." This was recently on sale for $10.99 for two bottles at Amazon.com. I use Zymox OTIC HC 1.0% Enzymatic Solution (blue label) when the ears seem to be worse. This "aids in the treatment of acute and chronic otitis externa due to bacterial and yeast infections." If you try this, let me know if it worked for you. Sue

Sue PA

The best thing about Zymox Enzyme is that there are no harsh chemicals, it is an enzyme only (although you can get it with cortisone added to relieve itching immediately). It can be used on dirty ears so there is no need to clean them immediately. This just irritates a nasty ear problem more. Once the Zymox begins to work (in about a day), the ear becomes less inflamed and can be easily cleaned. I do not benefit from this mention of this product. But I can tell you it has made my life a lot easier with a dog that has allergies. However, please note, if there is nasty looking brown "stuff" in the ear, this is more likely to be mites and this requires a prescription medicine to kill the mites. It's always best to see a vet when you have a significant ear problem. Treating it incorrectly can contribute to hearing impairment. my best patrice

Patrice NYS

wow thanks for all the info, my vet said that his ears are not infected nor is it mites, they are dirty, and his canals are very hairy, which is the poodle in him. He recommended having the hair in the ear canal plucked out so they dont get so dirty. i will try the otc stuff. can i get it at petco or petsmart instead of ording online? thanks again carol

Carol

Carol, plucking the ears sounds worse than it is. The dogs certainly don't like it though. I have had one poodle that usually got infected ears AFTER they were plucked by a groomer. I guess she was not to worried about cleanliness. Needless to say she did not touch any of my dogs again. Most dogs will shake a lot after plucking. I don't like the procedure, but sometimes there is no way around it. If you have a good groomer, they should be able to do it properly. best wishes, Brigitte

Brigitte BC Canada

Brigett, I was hoping you would chime in on this with your poodle experience. I know you have had a rough week so thank you. I am trying to keep charlies ears clean and the hair really short. Im going to try the zymox product before i go get them plucked, i know he will hate it, cuz he doesnt even want me to touch his ears now. otherwise, his is doing fantastic. He just turned 2 years old. take care carol

Carol

I used to pluck ears in my Giant Schnauzers. All show Giants have this done. But I found over time that in the dog with allergies, this just irritated the ears all the more. Chance likes his ears rubbed inside, but mostly because they itch. Rubbing like this just made them worse. When I stopped fussing with his ears and used the Zymox, the problems stopped. I use a clipper on the backside of the ears and then a quick clip of just the upper inside (protecting the lower ear from cut hair with a cotton ball.) Then I trim the hair that extends from the lower ear with scissors so that it is even with the ear leather, no deeper. This seems to bring enough air into the ear to keep them dry. I have seen some folks with long eared dogs tie them up for periods of time to accomplish the same thing. Another alternative is drying powder, which a lot of show people use to "pluck" with. But this accomplishes drying the ears without any alcohol or rubbing. Some suggestions my best patrice

Patrice NYS

thanks so much patrice, i just dont think i could put charlie through the whole plucking thing! I havent had a chance to get the zymox yet, but i think that is what i will try first. Hopefully it will do the trick.

Carol

I order Hi-vite liquid vitamins for Butters from Entirely Pets through Amazon. Good company and very fast on delivery. Good luck.

Mardi Northern Calif

This thread was discussed between 09/01/2010 and 18/01/2010

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