Ear Mite Remedies Questions
| CAT WITH EAR ISSUES |
| QUESTION ABOUT H202 AND CASTOR OIL FOR EAR MITES IN CATS |
| EXTREME CASE |
| HYDROGEN PEROXIDE FOR EAR MITES |
| IS BOREX SAFE FOR CATS |
| PREGNANT DOG |
CAT WITH EAR ISSUES
11/17/2008: Suzie writes: "My 8 month old cat has small dark brown patches of gunk in her ears. I clean them out and it comes back again. I have not seen her scratching her ears or shaking her head. Any ideas as to what it may be? "
11/18/2008: Deirdre from Atlanta, GA replies: "We rescued an abandoned dog last year who also had dark brown patches of "gunk" in his ears. 2 months later it turned into a serious ear infection (lots of scratching and shaking of the head) and I rushed him to the vet. When the goo was put under a microscope at the vet, turns out there were 3 different bacterial strains that had to be treated with custom-prepared, multi-type antibiotic liquid! It went away after 10 days of treatment and he hasn't had a recurrence."
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QUESTION ABOUT H202 AND CASTOR OIL FOR EAR MITES IN CATS
07/19/2008: Jilene writes: "I have 2 outdoor cats that adopted us, one of them has a severe case of ear mites (oozing from his ear). I'm currently trying hydrogen peroxide to clean his ears (with a Q-tip) and castor oil (just a little on the end of a Q-tip) to apply and remove mite debris. Has anyone else used this type of remedy and is it safe to continue or should I be using an alternate method?"
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EXTREME CASE
12/24/2007: Jodi writes: "Ted, what can a person do who seems to have the mites everywhere. I cannot get rid of them no matter what I try! I am not sure which combinations of treatments are safe to do at the same time and for how long. Can you give me a schedule of exact step by step daily routine for the most extreme case! Do you think any drugs are safe? Can these things invade your organs? Is there a name for some type of Doctor' who specializes in this type of thing? I am losing hope! Thank you"
Ted from Bangkok, Thailand replies: "The single most important thing is to ge the dog quarantined in a small area inside a house (such as on the second floor patio) where it is 100% mite free. The dog should be shampooed daily at least for the first week of mites and the patio area is disinfected.
As a tip, once the dog is SHAMPOOED, the dog should be sprayed with OFF! or other insect repellent using DEET. This will prevent the mites from finding the dogs again. Usually most DEET spray protects about 12 hours (I doubt that), and therefore it should be technically sprayed two times a day. I actually spray on my dog three times a day.
The other area should be disinfected with a clorox and vinegar solution (50/50) sprayed over the entire area followed by a solution of borax to prevent them from coming back.
Yes I have the same problems, mites keeps coming back in large numbers, in my house, it numbers by the thousands because there is a hive hidden in the crevices of the house. The other thing I found is these mites runs quite quickly from outside when it smells a dog. A dog is a perfect target since they sleep on the floor. The reason why my house has an unlimited supply of mites it that next to my house, is a lumberyard full of old wood where the woods were cuts from deep forest. My dog nearly died of mites infestation, and I have to say that quarantine the dogs against further mites infestation plus the use of insect repellent really did the trick. There were no longer mites and fleas on the second week.
The other thing is everytime my dog goes into the garden, it gets infected with mites, the next day. Hence the garden should be disinfected with a borax and peroxide solution. In the house perhaps a more powerful clorox and vinegar solution.
I don't generally used an insecticide, but if need be, it will likely be permethrin based insecticide, marketed as "odorless" insecticide."
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HYDROGEN PEROXIDE FOR EAR MITES
10/23/2007: Andre writes: "Update: two weeks later. Kal romps around now without his collar, the mites are still there, as I see a small amount of residue, but clearly they are on the way out. Many thanks to Ted at earthclinic.com for his latest suggestions on using a more concentrated dose of H2O2 (hydrogen Peroxide) for the finish. .. Are there any other suggestions esp. re: diet to finish the ear mites? Maybe the drier air helped ."
Ted from Bangkok, Thailand replies: "Drier air helps, but most of the mites get reinfested from the surrounding environment as there are mites eggs lying around the house.
While it is impractical to quarantine the cat, the most practical solution I can come up with that has worked very well for me is to spray the animal (mine is a dog) with DEET, which is relatively safe, every 12 hours to prevent reinfection.
If the mites can't find the cat or dog, the mites just won't come back and eventually die. In case the cats do go outside, if DEET were present, the mites won't be running and jumping up on the cat again.
In a more professional way of getting rid of it requires the cat or dog to be quarantined or limit the area of movement, while the small areas are relatively free from mites, which makes for mite control relatively easier. While a solution of borax/pyrethrins is sprayed around the house to prevent reinfestation."
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IS BOREX SAFE FOR CATS
10/09/2007: NYC Andre writes: "Hi Ted
Thanks for the additional information - I have followed your advice.
Update: at this point, half a month later, my cat is still wearing his collar and I clean his ears every other day; last weekend I gave him a shampoo with the special mix, blow drying him gently afterwards, without rinsing with water. Just because I figured there might be mites on his fur, plus he hadn't had much of a chance to clean himself, what with the collar. The mites definitely are not on a growth cycle anymore, and I intend to keep at it until there is no more waxy residue in his ears. I figure given the 3 week (?) hatching cycle of the mites it might take a month or two to clear.
I have two questions you or maybe others could answer if you 'd like to.
1. Much as I try to be thorough, there are areas deep into his ears that I cannot reach with Q tips. I understand that in order to be effective, the mix has to be able to contact the skin directly. So if I cannot clear waxy residues in areas that are unreachable, what can I do? Do veterinarians have more sophisticated tools or stronger medicine to get these last mite (mighty!) strongholds.
2. My cat occasionally licks his fur, which has been bathed with the Borax solution. Is this safe ? I read on the box that Borax is cangerous if taken internally.
Thanks a lot again nycandre""
10/09/2007: Andre replies: "OK - I think I got the answer to Borax tocicity - about as dangerous as soap or laundry detergent, not suggested to eat, but need to eat a lot of it to get sick"
Ted from Bangkok, Thailand replies: "Dear Andre: 1. Much as I try to be thorough, there are areas deep into his ears that I cannot reach with Q tips.
A 1% solution of H2O2 with some borax can be sprayed or used as ear drops. Just make sure it doesn't go beyond 1%. The solution used in humans are a 3% H2O2 for the ears, but I believe this might be too strong. A mites if it reaches the ears inside and deep enough, and if not taken care of can my dog to be deaf (mites block their listening).
2. My cat occasionally licks his fur, which has been bathed with the Borax solution. Is this safe ? I read on the box that Borax is cangerous if taken internally.
Borax is safe for mammals. It is only if they take in large amounts that it can be dangerous, e.g. a large amounts mixed with food. But when a solution of borax is on the animal, the amount is too weak to have an effect.
Right now I am experimenting with a more effective solution, which in my opinion causes the mites to dehydrate faster from both the peroxide and the magnesium.
The solution is about 15% Milk of Magnesia, saturated borax in a 1% hydrogen peroxide solution. It seems to have a positive effect in kill off. The problems of a long kill off period seems that mites (at least at my home) is that mites line up to get into my house and attack my dog. The milk of magnesia/borax/peroxide at least this is my favorite anti mite remedy for my dog at the moment.
The LD50 (toxic dose where 50% of the animals die) for borax is roughly 2000 mg/kg so its easy to remember that the toxicity of borax is about the same as salt. "
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PREGNANT DOG
06/21/2007: "Hi Ted, My dog has ear mites. Your remedy for mange helped me so much that I though I'd write and ask your advice. She is a 2 year old pit bull and she's pregnant. I've been giving her vitamin e and vitamin c everyday. And, I've been cleaning her ears with warm water and peppermint soap every other day for the past 2 weeks, then I dry them and put olive oil mixed with garlic in each ear. I cannot tell if it's getting better. She still has the brown greasy discharge from both ears and now she has little red soars all over her face and in one part of her coat she had a brown spec of hair and when I cleaned it all of the hair disappeared making me think she has mange again. I can't take this, what do I do? I have another dog that NEVER gets sick. I don't want him to, but my female seems to catch everything."
Ted from Bangkok, Thailand replies: "Dear Dominique: Use the same mange formula, borax+hydrogen peroxide applied to the ears several times. I would add 1/8 teaspoon of baking soda to the drinking water plus 1/4 teaspoon of sea salt per liter of drinking water. The water will loosen some stools reducing the pus, but the borax+peroxide will kill most of the mites to the ear. No rinsing should be done."
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