Aa
Aa
A
A
A
Close
209987 tn?1451935465

yeast in ears

Our newly acquired "Hero" is going through yet another round of yeast infection in her ears.
Before my dad passed away, I remember him saying something about how Sheba was constantly going through this.
He had tried many things over the years...took her to the vet who would rinse her ears and then apply some sort of cream inside them. Dad said that he would dish out about $80 or more each visit, and the relief for her would not last long. He used vagisil and other such products with minimal results.
The last time this happened the poor girl went crazy.

She hasn't been eating for a few days now ( I figured it was mostly due to the depression of being away from her farm), but this morning I woke up to that old familiar stench. She is now starting to shake her head from side to side, so that confirms my suspicion.
I've found a few homeopathic solutions on various sites...rinse with vinegar/water, pour olive oil in the affected ear, pour peroxide/water in ear, etc.
My brother says that the only relief that dad ever found for her was to hold about 6 q-tips in his hand and let Sheba move her head towards them , letting her position them inside her ear, and she would move her head from side to side. This sounds a little dangerous to me...and does not cure the problem.
The last time she was here ( last Christmas after dad passed ) I had taken her in because of this...they said it was mites. They never even did a swab!
I've had many cats in the past and they ALWAYS did a swab to check for mites.
They put the mite drops in her ears and told me to continue doing this for X number of days. It did nothing but make her more irritable, and the shaking was so violent that I thought she would snap her neck.  I remember not getting much sleep because of the constant flapping sound of her ears, and worrying about her suffering.
Does anyone know of anything that may help?
I really don't want to pay a fortune just to have them give her mite drops again that won't work...but I don't want her to suffer either.
I also tried using some cleaning kit from a pet store. You would wipe the ears with these special cloths ( full of witch hazel, I believe...like tucks) then you would use the one liquid, wait a bit, and then use the second bottle of liquid. This didn't seem to help much,but it did get rid of the smell...partially anyway.
Is there a way to keep plain yoghurt in a dog's ears? I know that's a good cure for yeast infections in humans.
Any and all suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
4 Responses
Sort by: Helpful Oldest Newest
462827 tn?1333168952
Yeast Infections of the ears are almost always related to FOOD.....You must clear the initial infection up, then get ALL GRAINS out of anything you feed......A good probiotic (Human form or Dog form ) will also help....Good luck, Karla
Helpful - 0
441382 tn?1452810569
Yeast in the ears is extremely difficult to get rid of with home remedies and not all that easy to get rid of with prescription meds because the ear canal is a dark, moist place and ideal to promote the growth of yeast.  Please don't bother messing around with vinegar and other home remedies.  Take her to the vet where he can prescribe Otomax.  Otomax is a medication used to get rid of otitis externa and it has been proven to kill malassezia pachydermatis which is the yeast organism that grows in the ear canals of dogs.  A course of treatment with Otomax should rid her of the yeast infection.  One word of caution though, regarding the use of Otomax, it is extremely common for dogs to lose their hearing temporarily when using this medication.  This is absolutely NOT a cause for alarm and the hearing returns within about 30 days after stopping the medication.  The only thing you have to be careful of is that if she does temporarily lose her hearing, make sure she doesn't get out of the house or yard by herself since if she wanders near the road, she won't hear cars coming which would be very dangerous.  As long as you are careful and keep an eye on her, however, it is worth waiting for the hearing to return in order to kill the yeast.

Ghilly
Helpful - 0
209987 tn?1451935465
Hi, and thanks for the info.

We have her on Authority now...she had been eating whatever it is that farm dogs eat...rabbits, rabbit poop, mice, bones, eggs...you get the picture.
As I recall my dad used to buy her the cheapest no name stuff you can find as a special treat...and then when he passed away my brother just fed her scraps and let her fend for herself again.

She's also started chewing on her feet. Not sure how long she's really been doing this for...I just caught her doing it, but the kids said they've seen her doing it in the past.
Not sure what it's all about, as none of the other dogs I've ever had seem to have the kinds of problems she has...and none of them ever chewed on their feet.
Is that the equivalent to a child sucking it's thumb?

She's been refusing to eat the past few days, so I blew it and bought some first choice for her...that fake hamburger stuff. I'm wondering if her teeth are hurting or something.
Poor old girl. She's such a lovely thing...all this moving back and forth, losing those that she loves and depends on.
I know EXACTLY how she feels...we lost the same dad...but she lost her home too.
Could all of this be from depression? Just now thought of that.
I know how humans get weird symptoms...what about dogs?

So home remedies aren't the way to go?
Someone suggested using oregano oil mixed with water for her ears.
Helpful - 0
1916673 tn?1420233270
Oh, there are so many things I need to say here. First, do not put peroxide or vinegar or anything else in your dog's ears, as treatments for humans do not necessarily work on dogs - and peroxide is very very dangerous, even in mild forms.

Second, do not use the method of holding q-tips and letting your dog move towards them - this is so dangerous, as the ear is a very delicate organ and you can cause irrepairable damage to the middle ear, resulting in your dog losing its hearing and/or its balance.

The most likely cause is certainly mites and I would suggest your vet deals with this by trying different remedies. If your vet seems baffled, then ask for a second opinion from a different vet - or a canine ear specialist. Yeast infections are difficult to control and it may take several different types of treatment before your vet finds the one that works.

Two of the main problems associated with the treatment of yeast infections is a poor diet (poor quality processed/tinned dog food) and an overuse of antibiotics (resulting in them becoming ineffective, particularly if used without a probiotic - note, not yogurt, but a properly controlled medicinal probiotic).

Controlling ear mites is very difficult and truthfully you can ever hope to reduce the number of them so they don't bother your dog as much. However, it is pointless treating just your dog in isolation (if you have other dogs or cats) - you must treat all of your pets at the same time, as the main cause of ear mites is transferance from one animal to another.

Good luck in getting this under control. Please let us know how you get on. Tony
Helpful - 0
Have an Answer?

You are reading content posted in the Dogs Community

Top Dogs Answerers
675347 tn?1365460645
United Kingdom
974371 tn?1424653129
Central Valley, CA
Learn About Top Answerers
Didn't find the answer you were looking for?
Ask a question
Popular Resources
Members of our Pet Communities share their Halloween pet photos.
Like to travel but hate to leave your pooch at home? Dr. Carol Osborne talks tips on how (and where!) to take a trip with your pampered pet
Ooh and aah your way through these too-cute photos of MedHelp members' best friends
A list of national and international resources and hotlines to help connect you to needed health and medical services.
Herpes sores blister, then burst, scab and heal.
Herpes spreads by oral, vaginal and anal sex.