animal care |

animal care : "Because there are many potential causes of ear problems, we cannot just say it’s a bacterial infection, dispense antibiotics, and it will go away. Often more work is needed. Your veterinarian can use an otoscope to look down into the ear canal and determine the amount of inflammation present, if the tympanic membrane (ear drum) is involved, and if there are any foreign bodies, tumors or other potential causes of the problem. Swabs of the ear can be taken, smeared on a microscope slide, stained and examined for bacteria, yeast and mites. A thorough history and physical exam may help determine if this could be a hormonal, allergic or hereditary problem. If these are suspected, further diagnostic testing would be needed. If a bacterial infection does not respond to the first antibiotic therapy, a culture and sensitivity may need to be performed to select a different antibiotic.
Treatment
The treatment is going to depend on what caused the ear problem and what secondary conditions are there as a result. Antibiotics are used for bacterial infections and antifungals for yeast infections. Glucocorticoids such as dexamethasone are often included in these preparations to reduce the amount of inflammation in the ear. Ear problems caused by a systemic disease such as a hormone abnormality or allergy must include a therapy that treats the whole dog, such as hormonal replacement or allergy testing and hyposensitization (immunotherapy)."