Posted: Fri Oct 12, 2007 9:01 am Post subject: Recurring ear infection
Anyone else out there got a problem with mucky ears? Indie has had what seems like the same infection coming back for over a year now. The last vets prescribed cannaural, which doesn't seem to clear it up. We took her to our new vets who want to see her back in next week for mild sedation and a proper ear examination/swab, but my problem is they also prescribed her with rimadyl, which after speaking to the breeder (thank God she's a font of knowledge) I am definitely not continuing with. Not sure why they prescribed her this but surely there are less risky alternatives?
Anyway, has anyone else suffered with yeast type infections, this is what they think initially Indie has, I suppose the inspection & swab will confirm this.
Posted: Fri Oct 12, 2007 10:28 am Post subject: ear infections
hi tia has been on the rymidal for 8 months with no problem she ios now of this thanks to her hip op.i think tia has an ear infection to never had one but i have noticed her ear getting very mucky i have cleaned it my self to see if it comes back i will tell the vet on monday when we go to have her stables out. she hasnt had this before is this a sighn of one than.she is still on antibios from her op so i though if it was this would clear it.is this right or does she need more antibio do you think thanks love kelly xx
Would definitely ask the vet re ear infection, if its a fungal type infection (such as yeast) it may not clear up with just cleaning, like Indie's (we clean her ears every week at the mo as she's going for hydrotherapy). But thanks for the info re Rimadyl, I was initially having kittens when I saw some of the info on it, but am calming down after seeing some positive posts. I think I still want to speak to the vet about why they've prescribed that for her particularly, although it is only a very short course.
Right, have spoken to the vet tonight who said in the 15 years they have been prescribing Rimadyl to dogs, they have only had two dogs have adverse reactions - didn't think at the time to ask what those adverse reactions were. There is such a lot of conflicting information about this drug I am really turning in circles trying to find facts, but, having looked on the pfizer website (as pointed out to me by my friend and mentor), one of the listed side effects, although rare, is death. Has anyone got any more info re how useful/less this drug is and possibly why it would be used in the case of an ear infection? Any info would be most gratefully received.
Honey has had several courses of Rimadyl in her lifetime and TBH she's always been ok, if she had to have it now I would get her blood tested for liver and kidney problems as she is ten now and Non steroidal anti inflammatories can make these problems much worse. In a young healthy dog I wouldn't be so concerned. Your vet will have prescribed Rimadyl because ear infections are painful and the drug will help with this. In almost ten years of working in a busy veterinary practice I have seen very few cases of dogs suffering from side effects of Rimadyl, only one I can think of was fatal, and that was more that the drug made a pre existing condition worse in a very elderly dog than the drug itself. All other problems I can think of were as a result of overdose as the tablets are designed to be tasty, even these overdoses weren't fatal, although it is possible that they could have been without prompt treatment.
Sorry to waffle but I think it's a shame that often dogs are left to suffer in pain because the owner researches on the internet, reads the bad press, then just doesn't give the medication. Many many drugs have side effects, and a short course of Rimadyl or Metacam is most likely to be safe and beneficial.
HTH
XXX
____________
Georgia XX
"If tears could build a stairway, and memories a lane.
I would walk right up to heaven,and bring you back again"
Blimey, just read that back and it sounds a bit grumpy, sorry it wasn't meant to be!
I hope Indie's ears are better soon. Out of interest what do you feed him? Honey used to get ear infections all the time, to the extent that surgery was mentioned Since I changed her to a natural diet she hasn't had one (touch wood!) and that was about two years ago!
Good luck XX
____________
Georgia XX
"If tears could build a stairway, and memories a lane.
I would walk right up to heaven,and bring you back again"
Hi, Indie is on the barf diet. To cut a very long story very short, the last vet we had (who we were unhappy with for several reasons and more keep popping up) used to just prescribe a cannaural remedy - and, as I said in one of the posts above, I don't think the initial infection has ever cleared up. I'm really happy that the new vet want to give Indie a mild sedation (she can be a bit giddy!) have a good look inside her ear and do ear swabs, at least they seem to be trying to find out the exact cause, but am unhappy they didn't advise us of the controversy surrounding Rimadyl (nor did they give us the information sheet they should have done or ask if we had cats!) - I prefer to be fully informed so I can make a good judgement, rather than be mollycoddled, if you see what I mean. I'm frantically searching through various websites as we speak (good job I'm a touch typist!), and it appears that other drugs have their side effects too - Indie is a very healthy two year old girl, she did have to have her knee joint rebuilt earlier this year (another long story!) but is now doing very well. It is so frustrating to have so much conflicting 'evidence' around!
Completely agree with you on the point that vets rarely tell you about possible side effects, I think it should be mandatory to hand out an info leaflet with side effects clearly explained on it, I can't understand why they don't?!
Another thing that might possibly be of use to you is a that a good ear cleaner is 'Vet Solutions ear cleansing solution', this contains aloe vera and is very gentle, I found in the past that some ear cleaners were far too harsh and actually made the problem worse Does Indie go swimming alot? That was another thing I found made Honey Bear's ears flare up.
XX
____________
Georgia XX
"If tears could build a stairway, and memories a lane.
I would walk right up to heaven,and bring you back again"
She's still doing hydrotherapy, we clean her ears every week at the moment, something I don't like doing, I'd prefer her to be like her little sis and have lovely naturally clean ears.
Have posted again (you might have noticed the capital letters swear title type thing) just to try and drum up a bit more info. Thanks so much for your responses, they are very gratefully received. Hopefully I'll get enough info from all sides, there are so many pros & cons I just want to get some good viewpoints from all sides.
He has most flare ups after swimming or when he gets a soaking of any sort. I now clean and dry them everytime I know he'll get wet (not always predictable), he's not too bad now.
As for the Rymadil, he was on this for around 8 weeks (not for his ears) and had no side effects at all. He did get very bouncy & giddy ( I could have done with some myself).
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Since I changed her to a natural diet she hasn't had one (touch wood!) and that was about two years ago!
Does Indie go swimming alot? That was another thing I found made Honey Bear's ears flare up.
