Hello again,
Rugby Fever is upon us and I hope everyone will make the effort to enjoy the World Cup whether you be a rugby supporter or not.I attended the Soccer World Cup in South Africa last year and it was a great success, mainly due to the support the locals gave it.Back to matters veterinary - please keep tabs on our specials page every month as we are offering specials to try and relieve some of the financial burdens of owning a pet.Remember you do need to print off the voucher to get your discount.We have been busy over winter and we now have Simeon Pollock helping out 3 days a week.
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Remember Samantha’s one-on-one dog training – phone 021 264 6446
Cheers
Kit, and the team.
Disease Profile
Ear Problems
Ears are one of the most problematic parts of the pets anatomy and as such we see a lot of patients due to otitis externa at this clinic. Ear problems have many causes
- Allergies often cause inflammation of the inner ear canal and this makes the animal susceptible to secondary infections by bacteria and yeast.
- Often ear mites may be responsible especially in young animals. Foreign bodies such as grass seeds and twigs are a possibility.
- The anatomy of each ear canal plays a role with dogs such as Shar Pei s having very narrow ear canals while spaniels and poodles often have hair growing in the canal with floppy ears which can also worsen ear problems.
When you present your pet for examination the vet will firstly examine the ear canal with a scope to look for foreign bodies, see if the eardrum is intact and get a general idea of the severity of the problem.
The ear will then usually be cleaned either at time of consult or under sedation and a smear will be made of the exudate. By examining this we can determine if yeast or bacteria are involved and get an idea if they are cocci or rods - (rods often mean an infection with pseudomonas or proteus bacteria which are much harder to treat than the usual staphylococci.)
A suitable treatment is then decided upon; usually an ear ointment with antibiotics, anti yeast and anti-inflammatories. They can be combined with or without oral antibiotics and anti-inflamatories. With stubborn cases ear swabs are taken for culture and anti biograms (determining which antibiotics are best for each infection).
Ear surgery opening up closed canals is also a possibility in severe cases. We also often have to do surgery to treat aural hematoma’s (blood blisters of the pinnae caused by excessive head shaking)
