Wax in my dog's ear

coloradobluesky

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coloradobluesky
Its a lot of black wax, smells normal.I know its not mites becaue I took her to the vet last time and she said we dont get ear mites in colorado. The vet sold me an oil with an antibiotic, which I cant find over the counter (only looked one place) Anyone know if there is an over the counter oil with anti fungal, antibiotic (the oil is just a delivery mechanism). Thnx.
 
Mineral oil, give them a chewy bone, a box of q tips is all you need.
 
We have a breed that we were warned might have a similar problem. He hasn't but sometimes it just "is". Vet gave us a solution that's pretty much just weak saline to wash his ears out with if he has the problem. Wouldn't worry a about using an antibiotic unless he's got wounds along with the wax.
 
Tractor Supply might have something. They have a lot of veterinary drugs. Or you could just take the dog to a vet.

Rich
 
Wax? Warm water.

Use a syringe, for example the $3 kind of bulb syringe used to suck baby snot.

Water temperature, the same as a very warm shower. It will melt ear wax without burning skin.

Works great for my ears.

So if you don't object to human testing of products, before using them on animals, go ahead and try it.
 
I took her to the vet last time and she said we dont get ear mites in colorado.

Don't mistake this for disrespecting a colleague but I am unaware of a Mite Wall, or a sign at the state line "Mites Prohibited" or Mite Police spraying vehicles there etc. Could you have been told "less likely" or actually "no mites"? (The only way anyone will know if an ear has mites requires one to actually look. Under a microscope is the only way.
I asked 2 veterinarians who worked in Colorado and they said there are ear mites in Co.
One commented: "I was an hour NE of Denver and we got ear mites regularly."
Also I note a specialty clinic in Co which talks about them on their website
 
If fungal, maybe Otomax twice a day for a week, flush with Ket day three and six, then Ket once a week? I am not/not a Vet. It worked for my lab.
 
Vetoquinol makes the most gentle, effective ear cleaning solution.
No q-tips. Don't pressurize the canal with applicators or syringe. Passively fill ear canals & massage gently.
(Even done gently there is risk of middle ear penetration & vestibular signs.)
 
Wait...

Isn't "black wax" usually indicative of an ear infection? It always is with my lab. No smell...Just black, soft gunk. It is ALWAYS an ear infection. Usually after he spends a lot of time in our creek or pond.

It's my experience that "black" isn't wax.
 
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Vetoquinol makes the most gentle, effective ear cleaning solution.
No q-tips. Don't pressurize the canal with applicators or syringe. Passively fill ear canals & massage gently.
(Even done gently there is risk of middle ear penetration & vestibular signs.)
How do you get the wax out then? My vet recommended the mineral oil/infant Qtip.


The oil rehydrated and loosens the wax, the fat Qtips reduce over penitration.
 
How do you get the wax out then?
It will be shaken out following several days' instillation & massage.
You may use tissue, and perhaps a qtip***, to remove that which you can see, but once you go into the canal, you aren't removing wax, you are probably packing it.
(***most people are not careful enough; a good guideline if you insist on trying qtips is, to stop if you cannot see where the tip is about to go)
If debris is not shaken out after a few days, or if other signs occur (pain, swelling, odor, etc etc), I suggest further work should be done by a person skilled in that procedure, and a person with an otoscope.

Tim, color is not a reliable diagnostic of what is in the ear. (I have seen 'black' with mites, ticks, pseudomonas, yeast, allergies, hypothyroidism etc)
To know what is in an ear, we do cytology, culture etc.

PS many conditions can cause the ceruminous glands to go nuts, producing an abundance of wax...so if you know you have a lot of wax, consider testing for such things - same in humans....when I was young & had bad allergies, my ears would plug with wax until I treated the allergies.
And a confounding issue is that excess wax from any of these problems can be a wonderful growth medium for yeast, especially.
Yep, swimming is high on the list of contributors of ear problems.
 
I've always used hydrogen peroxide applied with an eyedropper. Work it around with your finger before letting him shake it out. Seems to work well for all my dogs.
 
We used some stuff called Zymox on a poodle with chronic ear nasties. An enzyme based otic. Cleared it up after a couple weeks. Available online.
 
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