Ear Mite Remedies

Hi, y'all!! I have an 11 year old Purebred Chocolate Lab... And she started getting a bad ear infection about 6months ago, and I have tried everything to get rid of it! I couldn't figure out if it was an ear infection (bacterial) or ear mites, and it was ruining her normally bubbly personality, not to mention making the ear canal raw red and bleed!! :( So, I tried everything I could think of, for both Ear Infections and Ear Mites, including some of the following (you can use these if you want! )... 50% Apple Cider Vinegar/50% Water, 50% Rubbing Alcohol/50% Water, Canola Oil with 2 cloves of Garlic left overnight and then removed the next day and using the oil (4-5 drops using a child's medicine dropper) to smother the mites 2 times daily, Rx Drops from the Vet (Tresaderm, I had to get the script filled 2 times because the first time didn't work, either did the second round for that matter.. That's how I knew it was Mites and not an infection. ) And I also used Amoxicillan 500mg (human Rx Pills) 2x daily, and THAT didn't work!

So, I was rummaging through my old medicine drawer, and I found old ear infection drops for me that were well expired, but it was a full bottle. So I figured, what the heck? The drops were called Cipro HC, OTC. The ingredients are Ciprofolaxin (.2% HCL)and Hydrocortisone (1% Otic Suspension. ) I swear to you, this poor dog was walking sideways because her equilibrium was compromised from these mites, and the first night I cleaned her ear with a cleaner and then used 2 drops of this stuff, no joke, the next morning, the ear looked almost back to normal!!! I only had to use 3 Q-Tips to get gunk out, which is brilliant compared to the 10-11 I used to have to use (and that's using both ends of each one! ) I used the drops again that morning, 2 drops, and again that night, and by the next morning, I didn't even need to use any Q-Tips!!!!

The first time I inserted the drops, she got a little uncomfortable, but the Hydrocortisone may have stung a little because she had open sores inside the ear canal. But it's been about 3 weeks since I stopped using the drops, and she is back to her old self!!!!

Before you use these drops, First, determine the amount of drops needed for your type of dog. My dog is about 60 lbs, and I used 2 drops, I could have used 3 but I didn't want to push it... but if you have a smaller dog, try one small drop first and see how the dog does, then adjust accordingly.

Use an ear cleaner from a Pet Shop or just use some warm water and Q-Tips. ** MAKE SURE you don't push the Q-Tip too far into the ear canal, as you could puncture the Ear Drum. Clean any debris out of the ear, and use a tissue outside of the ear to pat it dry. Then, insert the drops, and massage the dogs ear canal from the outside for about a minute. (It is basically the area right below the opening of the ear. ) Close the flap of the dogs ear so the ear canal is no longer exposed before massaging it.

Once you've massaged the drops in, try not to let your dog shake their head too much. If they do, it's not the end of the world, that's why you massaged the drops in, to assure that they made it deep into the source of the problem. Once you have massaged the drops in, "open" the ear back up, exposing the ear canal, and see if there is any fluids or pus around the flap of the ear or in the crevices inside the ear. If there are, just use either a Q-Tip or a tissue, and lightly remove that gunk. That could lead to a bacterial infection if left there.

Do this 2x a day, and use a flashlight to ensure you can see everything going on in the ear. Do not overdo the drops, as it could dry the ear out too much. Dogs need a certain amount of moisture in their ears to prevent further infections.

I hope this helps!!

Feel free to email me if you have any questions.

AveryMeyer89(at)gmail.com

****I am NOT a Veterinarian, and the article above is simply MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE. The information provided is not factually proven to be used on dogs, I just tried it with my dog and it worked. PLEASE use this information at YOUR OWN DISCRETION. I hold NO responsibility if anything should happen to your pet as a result of following the regamine I describe below. I can ensure you, however, that the information I have provided above is true to MY experience, and I hope this helps you!

Remember the liquid soap sold in health food concerns back in the hippie days? The one w/ writting covering the entire label w/ talk about God? Dr. B's All One? Came in Pepermint, Almond, and now I have been using the excelllent LAVENDER. (Bronner). I mixed a bit w/ water and gently cleansed my cat's ears of mite debris and massaged the suds in his ears and all around his ears, really making it a good experience for him! LAVENDER is helping... He is perked up and no twiching so far. I shall continue this as needed throughout the summer and whenever he needs it!! It's GREAT!

For those who use water to clean ear mites on cats/dogs...please be careful. Water will worsen the problem-- it will add bacteria to the canal. The main problems with ear mites are "us" humans (me included). Ear mites are hard to get rid off, but, if you follow the Vet's instruction, these little creatures will go away. We are very impatient and will try anything to get rid of the pesky ear mites. Animals cannot talk, therefore they cannot tell whether it hurts or not. We just keep adding stuff to their canal until we see a "clean ear". Would you like to be treated that way? If not, then, please stop.

Also, you can always tell if a Vet is a good one or not. Just ask: "How many animals do you have?". They usually have few dogs and cats in the house. They will tell you stories of previous animals, and they will also treat your animals with respect. If you do not see these qualities, then, you need to find a new Vet.

Happy days with your pets!
Iris

My male cat had scratched his ears so much that the ear developed a huge bubble and separated the ear skin/flesh. I had to take him to the vet for expensive treatment and surgery. It was due to ear mites. The ear is now permanently disfigured and ruined his appearance. I used diatomacious earth (food grade) mixed with a little water for transport, and and eye dropper, and put it in his ears when the mites came back. The water will evaporate and leaves the DE in the ear for ongoing treatment, as it is a powder and coats the inside of the ear a little. You don't need much. He stopped scratching by that night, and he hasn't had a problem since. That was a couple of years ago. My other cats are having problems though, and I am going to use it on them. I HATE ear mites and see how my cats can suffer with them. You can buy it (food grade) online or sometimes in a plant nursery (they use it to kill insects). It pays to remember that there may be an infection in the ears as well, and without a proper examination, you can't know. As much as I don't like vets offices, checking for an infection is worth it, especially in severe cases. One of my cats had mites and an infection. Her energy picked up after treatment for the infection, and I felt guilty that maybe she'd had it all along and it was painful. It's important to find a vet you like. Talk to people and get a referral for one you trust. Treatment can utilize both natural and standard treatment when appropriate.

No, boric acid is correct, not borax. You can get pharmacy grade boric acid. It soothes and prevents itching also. I use Pro-Pet Antiseptic Medicated Spray I got at WalMart for tick removal on myself and pets because it kills them and prevents itching when you remove them. Boric acid is an ingredient in the original "Blue Power" ear infection treatment, but a vet has to check the eardrum before using Blue Power.

BACK IN THE 1970'S I USED A VETERINARIAN WHO SPECIALIZED MAINLY IN CATS AND ALSO DID RESEARCH ON CATS AND THEIR DISEASES, ETC. I HAD 12 CATS AT THE TIME AND HE WAS A GREAT BELIEVER IN NATRUAL WHENEVER POSSIBLE. HE RECOMMENDED I USE MINERAL OIL IN EACH OF THE CATS EARS CLEANINING THEM DAILY. IT WORKED SPLENDIDLY. THIS VET LEFT HIS VETERINARIAN BUSINESS IN THE 80'S AND WENT INTO FULL TIME RESEARCH. WHAT I LEARNED FROM HIM HAS SAVED ME MUCH EXPENSE AND HAS BEEN INVALUANLE OVER THE YEARS.

Campho Phenique is toxic to cats, though I have used it successfully with rabbits. Cats do not have the necessary enzyme to break down any type of Phenol, so it builds up in the liver. Phenols, also contained in many household cleaning products, are also toxic to dogs. We used room temperature Colloidal Silver (I think 5ppm) to eliminate ear mites in our cats (half the dropper, every 24 hrs for 7 days). It didn't kill the eggs though, and the mites appear to have hatched, so must be dealt with again. Perhaps we should have continued treatment for the gestation period of the mite eggs?

I tried the Yellow Dock described below and it worked great. Thank you.

Please if your cat is losing hair and you have already attempted some home remedies fight all means, take him to a vet he needs an examination. If his hair is falling out the diatomaceous earth is probably drying out his skin and if that isn't the case he might have an internal infection or deficiency of some sort. If you truly loved your family member, your pet, you would act on it. If you yourself were scratching for months and hair was falling out eventually you would go to a doctor please if your cat is losing hair and you have already attempted home remedies, please, he needs an examination.

Please make sure you are using (FOOD GRADE), not (POOL GRADE)....pool grade has added chemicals for the pool and will hurt your pets!!

Thank you very much for posting. I just tried the diluted ACV mixture and was skeptical my dog would tolerate it. He did and seemed much calmer after. I think I've also determined from his soothed reaction, the right ear is worse or perhaps the only ear impacted. I have started itching too. I tried it and can attest to it soothing me. Thanks again! How long / frequent, did you use ACV mixture?

Animal mites do infect humans. I have found one website very helpful, and there is a regular email forum. It's called birdmites.org.

Only use food grade DE as any other can be hazardous to you and your pets.

There are two kinds of DE (Diatomaceous Earth). One is food grade and just as it says, food grade and when it is viewed under an electron microscope, you can see the razor blade sharpness of the long ago diatoms. Pool grade has been heated and is smooth and not to be used except for what it says, pool grade. The way the food grade DE works is by slicing into the breathing portals of fleas, flies, ticks, ants of any kind, termites and the list goes on. They say it is even good as a wormer when put in an animal's feed and if flies are a problem due to feces, the fly larvae can't live. I can't testify as to this but have read about it many times. I have eliminated huge red ant beds by putting maybe half a cup of food grade DE around the ant's entrance and if it rains, replace the DE. I often dust food grade DE on the shoulders and at the base of the tail for fleas during the summer and this will kill ticks if they walk though it.

My Cat has suffered with ear mites forever and I have tried everything my local vet has recommended and nothing has worked. So..I recently started using a wash of boric acid & warm water swabed out with cotton ball then a few drops in each ear of sweet oil! Seems to be working so far. However, I discovered through reading everyone eles's posts that I probably should continue treatment for approximately 1 month in order to kill the mites.

I grew up with a lot of ear infections and my grandmother always treated me with a lil boric acid and in no time, I was better. My bestfriend grew up on sweet oil for ear infections; so I figured it couldn't hurt to try it.

I use about a tablespoon of warm water to an 1/4 tsp boric acid; soak a cotton ball and swab out the ear. Then I use an eye dropper and apply 4 or 5 drops of sweet oil to each ear. I usually do this every other day. The washing usually only has to be done once per treatment. Use judgement based on look of ears.

DISREGARD the above post!! IT is a ridiculous statement! And posting it in all-caps did not make it any more believable or less fictional. I am embarrassed for this poster. Please only share your ignorance with your family members from now on. Unless this a pharma employee since no useful anecdote or stort was shared. He only left a negative-implant of stupid based information. This post is to negate that.

Diamotaceous Earth is comprised of Diatoms, and it is mined from dried up saltlake beds (not the above ridiculous theory). It does indeed look like glass shards under a microscope, which is how it messes up parasites, worms, insects, etc.

The above-post just goes to that we need to read ALL the posts for a particular treatment, since there are misguided people spouting wrong or harmful info (like the lady below who used poolgrade d.e. IN her dog's ear! ; do y'think she'd come back to update if her mistake turned out to be deadly?). We're not all rocket-scientists here, so ya need take the totality of the information in and not just one post.

Stay well, everyone!

Hartz puts out some of the "Worst" meds on the market. I don't know how they stay in business!

Call me ignorant, but Revolution doesn't always work and it's extremely expensive (speaking from experience). Also, why would I poison my kittie's entire body just to kill ear mites? Much too dangerous....

Many comments in the cat ear mite treatment area say to use q-tips to clean out the crud from your cat's ears. Please do not as this pushes debris further into the ear canal and makes the condition worse. To clean, gently spray the ear with warm soapy water followed by pure water. Repeat until clean which usually take three rounds.

Thanks for the tip. I've been treating my kitten with olive oil & tea tree oil (one tablespoon w/ 3 or 4 drops tea tree), cleaning every 2 - 3 days. I have been wondering how long the mite life-cycle is... knowing I need to get the new hatch before we get JR cured. I'm two weeks into treatments and will keep up the schedule for another two.

Thanks again! Christina

Understand that sometimes if these cures do not work - it may be a yeast infection in the ear and not ear mites. We dealt with this with our dog with long ears as well as with our cats.

IVOMEC is awesome stuff! For EARMITES, two to four drops in the ear canal, gently massaged in for good coverage. Wait a week, gently clean the ear. Any brown stuff should be considered ear mite waste and may be full of viable eggs, so be prepared. Have a folded paper towel or a zip lock waiting to catch the used Q-tips or whatever. After cleaning, reapply IVOMEC same as before. Wait a week & clean. Was there any brown stuff in the ear canal? Yes? Treat again. No? Your probly clear, but should treat one more time to be confident any hatchlings get killed. Check ear canals weekly for six weeks for any signs of the "Tell Tale" brown waste. Always check your pets ears at least monthly, even if they are not acting distressed. Why make them suffer when we can prevent it?

WARNING!

A stray cat decided it wanted a home. It seemed perfectly healthy and energetic and was very sweet.

Recently noticed he would walk with his ears back. Didn't think too much of it at first thought it was strange. A few days later he started walking with his head tilted.

I googled and it came up with ear mites. I checked the ears and it looked like the pictures. I used Olive oil for a week one ear that wasn't that bad looks pretty clean now but the bad one, the one he was tilting his head on still looks like a lot of gunk inside. The cat didn't mind the olive oil. Was really good about letting me put in with a dropper, esp. Considering its a stray. No scratching or trying to bite. Just shook his ears and wanted to get away after his treatment.

I tried the diluted 50/50 apple cidar vinigar and water and it hurt him really bad. He meowed a bunch of times then got really crazy and got away still didn't scratch or bite..poor thing. I felt horrible.

I figured the week of olive oil would've healed up any open sores.

He doesn't come when I call.and just wants to hide all.day. totally different personality.

I'm not sure if I should give the olive oil more time on the bad ear or try something else. I don't want to hurt him again.

Ear mites DE treatment

I've found to use a makeup brush to apply DE to dogs ears works very well, especially with animal that doesn't cooperate. Be sure to tap off brush before applying it. Doesn't take much to be effective.

Many, many years ago, I found someone at a cat show who was selling a special powder for treating ear mites in cats. It was in a sort of small squeeze bottle that had a narrow funnel with a small hole at the tip that you would attach in place of the cap. The powder was blown (sort of puffed) into the cat's ear, so that it probably spread around well, contacting the mites.

Of course, my cats hated having anything blown into their ears, however gently, but it worked beautifully in a short time and was minimally messy. The powder contained 3 ingredients, and I only remember that boric acid was one of them. I wish I remembered the other 2, but in any case, the person that was selling the powder mix didn't say what proportions they were in. I have been searching online in hopes that someone will have posted about something like it.

Boric acid, it's not dangerous I used it for eye wash whenever you get a fungal infection in your eye the reason it works for cockroaches is it dehydrates it's outside skeleton then anything else it will kill it. Just because it has acid in its name it is not dangerous. For instance it could also be used on baby blankets, babies pajamas as it makes it fire retardant. In a new Foster I'm using boric acid and peroxide carefully with an eyedropper to get rid of the infection and then I'm going to be using it oil to break down the wax sand to smother the mites.

It's the peroxide that can blind a cat if too much gets into this it's just like the peroxide washes for contacts if you don't give it to 12 hours to break down it burns your eyes like crazy.