If your dog or cat has been spending lots of time shaking his head vigorously and pawing or scratching at his ears, he may be telling you he has ear mites. Officially known as otodectes cynotis, these mites can annoy a dog so much that her head shaking produces a blood clot, or hematoma, in her ear flap.
In addition to driving doggie or kitty to distraction with itching and inflammation, ear mites will leave her ears vulnerable to bacterial or fungal infections. Fortunately, there are effective treatments for all the problems these annoying pests bring.
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Cleaning the Ears
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Several easy-to-apply eardrops are available for treating ear mites. Before you can effectively use them, however, you need to clean your pet's ears
The inflammation ear mites cause increases your pet's ear wax production. When combined with the debris of dead mites and mite droppings, the excessive earwax makes a black substance that can clog the ear, letting bacteria and fungi thrive and keeping medication from reaching the mites or curing the infections.
Buy an ear syringe at your drug store. Fill it with a mixture of warm water and mild dish soap, using only enough soap to color the water faintly. Insert the tip of the syringe into the opening of the ear canal, lightly squeezing its bulb to release the some of the water. Allow the soapy water to bubble out of the ear, carrying the black discharge with it. Repeat the process for each ear until the water bubbling out is clean. Rinse the ears with warm clean water and dry them.
Administering Treatments
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To administer medicated eardrops, insert the bottle's syringe into the ear canal, and give your pet the number of drops prescribed by your vet. Administer ointment by squeezing the prescribed amount into the ear canal and massaging the ear to work it in.
Two kids of eardrops, Milbemite and Acarexx, are approved as ear mite treatments for cats. They each kill ear mite infestations with a single dose. Apply either of them in the amounts your vet prescribes.
Tresaderm drops, safe for both cats and dogs, will not only kill ear mites but also treat bacterial and fungal infections. Apply it to your pet's ears for between 10 days and 2 weeks to eradicate bacteria.
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