Using drying agents in the ears of dogs that swim frequently and preventing water from entering the ear canals during bathing should minimize softening of the ear canal and decrease the frequency of bacterial or fungal infections in moist ear canals.
How do you prevent otitis in dogs?
The simplest answer is that you should clean your dog's ears as often as they need it! For most normal dogs, only occasional ear cleaning is needed. As discussed above, dogs with chronic otitis often need frequent ear cleanings to prevent infection even their ears are doing well.
What can cause otitis externa in dogs?
Primary factors are diseases that have a direct effect on the external ear canal and can cause otitis, including otic parasites such as Otodectes cyanotis, hypersensitivity disease [food allergy, atopic dermatitis, contact hypersensitivity (Figure 1)], endocrine disease such as hypothyroidism, otic neoplasia and ...
How is otitis externa prevented?
Prevention1Keep ears as dry as possible. ... 2Turn your head from side to side after getting out of water. ... 3Don't stick anything into your ear canal. ... 4Don't swim in polluted water.5Do not swallow the water you swim in.6Use a simple, homemade solution to help prevent bacteria from growing inside the ear.
How do you treat otitis externa in dogs?
Most cases of otitis externa with yeast respond well to topical therapy, but systemic antifungals such as ketoconazole (dogs) or terbinafine (dogs and cats) may be helpful. If otitis media is suspected in addition to otitis externa, CT or MRI can be useful to decide whether a myringotomy and middle ear flush is needed.
More useful articles on a similar topic 👇
How do you get otitis externa?How do you get rid of otitis externa in dogs?