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Home Remedy For Dog Ear Infection- Know Everything About The Infection With Useful Remedies To Follow
If your dog is constantly irritated and itchy, you need a good home remedy for dog ear infection.
It is common for dogs to develop an ear infection and there are many reasons behind your dog developing an ear infection. These reasons include a buildup of bacterias, allergies, ear mites, and many more. If you have seen your dog suffer due to any of these illnesses, you must find out a home remedy for a dog ear infection.
The best thing to do when your dog has an ear infection os taking them to a vet to find out the possible causes and best treatment but due to some circumstances if you can not, here are some of the most effective home remedies for ear infections in dogs.
Before processing the home remedies, you must know that the dog has ear infections and not some other issue. Ear Infections are extremely painful so you will easily be able to find out that something is not right with your dog. However, here are some signs that indicate ear infections in dogs.
- Head tilting towards one side where the infected ear is.
- Shaking of head
- Scratching the paws and ears
- Rubbing their ears
- Hot ears
- Waxy discharge from the ear
- smelly ear
- Red, crusty skin inside the ear flap.
If the infection has spread too much, there are extreme cases of hearing loss, walking in circles. and loss of balance in the dog. If you witness any of such severe symptoms it is important to seek help from the vet rather than going for home remedies.
There are few main types of infections that you should know to find out which infection is prevalent in your dog.
Infections can appear in different parts of your body including:
- Otitis Externa- This is inflammation or infection present in external parts of the ear and is visible.
- Otitis Media- As the name suggests it is an infection or inflammation in the middle ear. To be precise 16% of dogs having otitis externa will also have otitis media.
- Otitis Interna- This is an infection or inflammation of the inner ear. When otitis media is left unresolved and the owner does not pay attention, it may turn to become otitis internal.
If your dog has otitis externa, it can be cured using some home remedies but for other cases like otitis interna and media, you must go for a specialist that can help you.
Another important step to follow when your dog has an ear infection is avoiding contention treatments. Some vets often end up prescribing antibiotics or medicated topical treatments. These medications are no doubt useful in clearing the symptoms and treating ear infections at first but their effects vanish within no time and there are high chances of the infection returning. This is because the drugs only help to clear and treating the symptoms, not the cause.
Drugs are not able to witness the underlying condition or help with the treatment of that, also they might have some side effects on your dog.
Also, antibiotics may disrupt the balance of bacterias in your dog’s stomach which may lead to more severe health issues. If the microbiome of the dog is not in good condition or disrupted, it will lead to the outgrowth of yeast killing good bacterias in their gut.
Sometimes vets also prescribe tasking steroids for an ear infection but steroids function by suppressing the activity of the immune system and causing some harmful effects so make sure you avoid them until they are highly needed.
When you try to suppress the symptoms without even correcting the underlying disease it leads to greater predicaments. Exposure to various vaccines and rugs stresses the immune system of your dog. Their body tries to remove these stressors by healing itself. When you use suppressive drugs, it will only drive the diseases deeper by blocking the exit.
Witnessing inflammation and later discharge from the dog’s ear can be a sign of their body working hard to remove the toxins present inside. If you look at it another way around, it is a good thing. So do not use suppressive drugs or antibiotics until it becomes highly necessary, till then you can use any home remedy for a dog ear infection.
Home Remedy For A Dog ear Infection
These remedies are excellent for getting your dog if the pain caused by an ear infection. They help to soothe the dog’s ear. Follow any one of these home remedies for a dog ear infection.
1. Green Tea
Green tea is known for having antioxidants that help reducing inflammation and infection. You can always use these remedies to get rid of ear infections. To use green tea as a home remedy for a dog ear infection, you just have to follow the steps given below:
- Boil 8 oz of water and add 2-3 bags of green tea inside of them.
- Let the tea added steep for 5 to 5 minutes and then let it cool down till it reached lukewarm temperature.
- You can use a cotton ball or syringe to pour the mixture of tea into your dog’s ear canal.
- Let it spread throughout the ear so that they can get relief.
2. Calendula Tincture
Calendula is an excellent home remedy for a dog ear infection. It helps relieve pain caused by infection and also aids in reducing inflammation. The antimicrobial properties of calendula help to prevent the infection further. If you wish to use this home remedy, you can follow these steps:
- Buy herbal calendula present in the form of tincture.
- You can always add 5 to 10 drops of this tincture to a cup of slightly warm water in filtered form.
- Use a song, cotton swabs, or a syringe to put it inside the ear.
3. Grapefruit Seed Extract
Grapefruit seed extract or GSE is a natural and powerful antioxidant. It has various other properties that can help your dog with the infection like antiviral, antifungal, and anti-bacterial properties. All these make it an amazing home remedy for a dog ear infection. To use GSE topically, follow these steps:
- Form a mixture using half oz of pure aloe vera juice and 10 drops of GSE.
- Use it in the ear to clean them and remove the infection caused.
If you want to use it internally for otitis media, you can always pour 3 to 5 drops deep inside their ears. One can also add few drops to their dog’s food so that it works internally healing ad fishing against bacterias or microbes causing the infection.
4. Oil Of Oregano
Oil of oregano is a natural substance known to be an excellent antibiotic. You can always use the oil of oregano as a home remedy too. Here are the steps you need to follow:
- Take pure aloe vera juice nearly a half ounce and add only 1 drop of oil of oregano to the juice.
- Using a dropper, add few drops of the resultant mixture on their outer ear, you can also add few drops inside their food if your dog is not letting you touch the infected ear out of pain.
5. Yogurt
you can also use yogurt as a home remedy for a dog ear infection as it is easily available in your kitchen as you know yogurt has a healthy amount of good bacteria. using it sparingly on dogs’ ears may counteract the bacteria that may cause the infection. all you need to do is place few drops of plain, unsweetened yogurt in the ear with a syringe.
6. Vinegar and Water
apple cider vinegar can be used as a home remedy that may help to reduce discomfort and pain from your pup. To make this remedy all you need is apple cider vinegar and filtered water or spring water. mix them well, add dropper and if dropper is not available you can use a cotton ball instead. All you need now is to massage the ear gently for five to ten minutes.
Apple cider vinegar can also be used as an antiseptic as you know. it is also known for its anti-inflammatory properties that help to overcome various infections
As per the owner of Animal clinic, the acidic nature of vinegar helps in destroying the yeast present inside your dog’s ear. Also, make sure you are not forcing the cotton balls too much inside the ear as it might rupture their eardrum causing greater complications.
7. Oil Of Mullein
Most people do not have this oil lying around in their kitchen or house, but if you have it, it makes an excellent home remedy for a dog ear infection. It helps minimize swelling and reduce pain caused by infection. It also helps kill the viruses if the infection is caused by them.
If you wish to use this home remedy, you can follow the steps provided below:
- Combine oil of garlic and oil of mullein in nearly 5 to 6 drops to prepare a solution.
- Add this mixture using a cotton ball or a dropper inside the ear.
- Try to apply this mixture 2 to 3 times a day to notice changes in the symptoms of ear infection.
8. Homeopathic Remedies To Follow
Home remedies are beneficial for treatment but you can also use homeopathic treatment as it is natural and quite similar to home remedies. It can easily treat acute flare-ups. Below given are some remedies you can use for your dog’s infection.
Belladonna- Use this remedy when the ears are highly inflamed and hot to touch. If this is the condition your dog might seem irritated and impatient so make sure you handle them with care to avoid injuries.
Pulsatilla- This particular remedy is amazing for flare-ups. If your dog’s ear is sensitive due to redness caused by infection along with a yellow discharge.
Hepar Sulphuris- This is useful when the animal acts to irritate and doesn’t like their inflamed ears being touched.
Other than these things, imbalance in the gut also tends to cause infections in the body. You can always give your dog a healthy diet to maintain a healthy body and avoid all such infections from occurring. Try to add food like animal proteins, asparagus, spirulina, and broccoli to avoid gut infections as they are highly rich in L-glutamine.
This was all you needed to find out on home remedies for a dog’s ear infection.
