Dog ear infection: Are ear drops safe or should I just clean the ears?

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. Based on your description, I am unsure as to where the infection is located. If it is in the ears and they are becoming infected, I would recommend having a veterinarian take a look at the ears so that the most appropriate diagnostic and treatment recommendations can be made. If the ears just have a moderate amount of wax in them, you can use an over the counter veterinary product called Zymox otic cleanser. If after using this product for 7 days there is no improvement, I would recommend bringing Pearl to a veterinarian for further treatment. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

I actually recommend bringing Hank to a veterinarian to have them evaluate his ears. The reason for this is some ear infections can be yeast not bacterial or they may have a mixture of both. You also can have a dog that appears to have an ear infection when in fact has ear mites (this is not very common but does happen). I also recommend making sure that the eardrum is intact prior to putting any medication into the ear. Your veterinarian can take a sample from Hank and look at it under the microscope to see what is causing the infection. I also recommend cleaning the ears out when a dog has an ear infection and depending on what is going on with the ear would depend on what ear cleaner I would recommend. If for some reason after treating his ear he still has an infection, your veterinarian can run a culture to see exactly what bacteria is in his ear and what antibiotics are best to treat. We typically do not do this as the first round of diagnostics due to the cost of about $200 give or take some depending on your vet and location. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! The short answer is not necessarily. That is especially true if if Buddy's ear infection is severe and actually not sensitive to the ear cleanser or antibiotics used initially which would be required if they as I recommend that you have Buddy evaluated by your veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. Your veterinarian would be able to check what type of infection is present and treat accordingly. Usually this resolves with topical therapy. Good luck and have a good day!

Gentamycin is a common ingredient in ear medications. There is a small risk of damaging the hearing, especially if the ear drum is not intact. When I diagnose an ear infection in a pet, I recommend a two-part treatment. The first is with a cleaner to remove any debris; I like DECHRA DermaPet Malacetic Otic. This is important as ear medications need to contact the skin of the ear and if there is ear wax or other debris in the way, then the medications can't work. After the ears are dry, you can apply the medication. Ears typically need to be treated twice a day for 7-10 days. Cats can commonly get ear mites that may look like an ear infection. If you have not treated Melcho for ear mites, I recommend doing so now. If the ear infection does not resolve after using an ear cleaner and the Dexoryl within a week, then Melcho should see the vet as he could have a resistant bacteria growing, yeast infection, parasites, or even a polyp causing problems deep in his ear. I cannot find a list of ingredients for the Trixie ear drops, so I cannot tell you if they would be helpful.

Hi, thanks for using PetCoach! Poor Emmie! Unfortunately most ear drops that will do anything are prescription only. The most common reason, especially after grooming and ear hair plucking, for a red itchy ear is an ear infection. Ear infections are caused by an overgrowth of yeast and or bacteria. Emmie needs to see a Vet for an exam and for an ear cytology, this is when the vet looks at the ear discharge under the microscope to see the underlying cause. Ear flush and medicated ear drops are prescribed based on the organism seen under the microscope. If the ear is really painful and red then sometime steroids are prescribed. Below is a non-prescription ear cleaner that is antimicrobial you can try. Flush out the affected ear(s) every other day for 2 weeks. If the ear is not better or worsens she need to see a Vet. Good luck https://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=27361

Hello. Yes, it is most likely that the gentamicin has induced the deafness in your dog. Most times this is reversible, but in some cases the deafness is permanent. I would not use any more gentamycin. Most ear infections are due to underlying allergies, so the first thing to do is have a culture done to see if antibiotics are even warranted ( may have to wait at least several days after stopping medications to obtain the culture ). I would also start a low dose with a decreasing dosage of steroids to decrease inflammation in the ears & start an anti-allergy medication such as Apoquel or Cytopoint to see if the ears can be kept at least more comfortable without the use of topical ear medications. Hopefully, some hearing may return, but it certainly will not as long as the gentamycin is being used. Good luck & thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your question. I would not recommend formulating your own ear cleaner and instead purchase a commercial ear cleaner. I would recommend using Zymox otic cleanser or Epi Otic ear cleanser. Both of these can be found online quite easily. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further. Please take the time to mark this question as helpful or not as it helps us to improve on the quality of our answers to other pet owners. Thank you kindly!