My 4 year old lab has chronic ear infections. We have a great system in place (regular ear cleanings, steroid drops during an infection, and anti inflammatory when it’s really bothersome to him) to try to stay ahead of them, and treat them from home when he has a flare up. Recently during a flare up (about 2 weeks ago) he developed a lump on the inside of his ear that I thought was a scab from scratching, but now I’m worried it could be some kind of skin cancer. Or is it just scar tissue and since it’s on the ear is a little more raised? Should I take him in to be seen for this or monitor it a little longer to see if it heals and goes away? It doesn’t seem to cause him any pain, he’s more concerned about his itchy ears.
Good day- We are the proud owners of a one-year-old English Pointer named Bruno and a proud patient of Dr. Magnifico’s. Recently, Bruno has been shaking his head more often and scratching his ears. He has also been sleeping much more the past few days. When not sleeping, he is still pretty playful and eating/drinking. How do you know if he has an ear infection or not? His ears have been professional cleaned, but same actions with his head. Also, no smells coming from his ears. Any suggestions? Thank you.
Hello, Ear infections are best diagnosed with an otoscope visualization and a swab and microscopic slide evaluation of the ears. In some cases there is simply dirt and debris and only an ear cleaning is needed. In others it is infection and therefore an otic antibiotic or antifungal is needed and in some cases it is just a red itchy ear due to an allergy. In any and all cases of head shaking it is imperative to identify what is going on and alleviate it ASAP or you can get an aural hematoma. Which adds two things to treat for… Read more »
I have a 3 and a half year old GSD with HYPOthyroidism. I’m curious if anyone else has dealt with this disease in itself. So to begin, when she was about a year old I started noticing redness on her stomach. The vet I was currently with kept telling me she had ringworm and providing me with medicated shampoo and treating her with ketoconazole. It always seemed to clear up but would come right back soon after. So I searched and found another vet and he did all the testing and blood work and diagnosed her with HYPOthyroidism. She has kept a chronic skin infection which he diagnosed as a type of yeast infection due to the fluctuation of thyroid levels. She has been on levothyroxine for a year now. We have adjusted her dosage 3 times and each time she seems to do well for a month or so and then it seems to “level out” and her skin flare up comes back full force. It seems to get better and lightens up and starts to pink up and then goes right back to the hair loss and crusty on her stomach and under her legs/pits. I continue to do the medicated baths as told but it’s getting frustrating. I’m in the vet’s office every couple months it seems and spending hundreds each visit for the same thing with no resolve. Dont get me wrong I will do whatever it takes to help her but somethings gotta give. I’m just curious if anyone else has seen/heard or has dealt with hypothyroidism and the chronic skin infection. Have u found anything that helps or resolves it? What is your experience? Also she keeps bad ear infections (also tested and diagnosed as a type of yeast) daily flushes and drops in her ears as well. Still not seeming to get any better.
I feel so helpless and quite frankly I’m getting discouraged. I love the vet she sees now, he is a million times better than the one she seen previously.
Does it ever get better?
The pic is an older one, shes alot better now but still has the hairloss and discoloration over the better part of her stomach and under her legs. Just not as dark or as much.
Is there a rule of thumb protocol that vets go by regarding giving booster shots to a 17 yr old cat with an ear infection that will be given antibiotics to treat the ear infection?
Hello,
There really isn’t. We are at our best if we talk about our patients and clients concerns and address any underlying issues that might make vaccines more taxing on the pet, or less effective, or perhaps even detrimental based on their current health status. But in some cases we elect to vaccinate even when they have a health issue. It’s always best to talk to your vet before vaccinating, especially if there is a health issue going on.
My 8 year old dachshund, Ginny, was diagnosed with IVDD and had surgery last January. She went to physical therapy for 5 months. It took her 6 months to walk and she is still very wobbly. Her bladder function never returned to normal and she has to tap her bottom on the ground to urinate and often has to be expressed. Throughout the past 9 months she has suffered with constant recurrent UTIs. As soon as we are done with antibiotics she needs them again within a few days as she cannot empty her bladder completely. She has been prescribed bethanecol which makes her nauseous and prazosin which makes her extremely lethargic. She has also had recurrent yeast infections on her tummy, ear infections, and awful reverse sneezing episodes. Lately she seems to be in pain…shaking, panting, licking, big eyes. She’s on amoxicillin for yet another UTI which upsets her stomach. She’s walking worse and dragging her feet until her toenails bleed. We were recently in the ER with a reverse sneezing episode that was wet and crackly and left her unable to breath. We have spent about $8,000 on the surgery,
therapy, cultures, treatments and drugs that lately seem to just make her sick. She can wag her tail but doesn’t, not for long time. My fear is that I’m prolonging suffering in a dog that will continually be sick, in pain and unhappy. We have been so hopeful and have rejoiced with each small step forward. She’s just had so many steps backwards. How do I know when it’s enough?
Thank you for your kind words, they actually helped me a lot. No matter how I spin it in my head I always come back to the same conclusions… she’s not going to get better and we have tried everything. Prolonging it any longer is just tempting fate to throw her a devastating hand, and she has endured enough. So for today, I will feed her steak and ice cream, let her get filthy digging for unseen rabbits, and I will hold her and tell her she is the best dog that ever was a dog. Tonight she will sleep… Read more »
Hello, I’m sorry to hear about your pup. I understand your dilemma completely and for as long as I have been a vet (13 years) and for as long as I have had pets in my family (30) years I still cannot answer this question for myself concretely, never mind for others. I just went through a 9 month battle with my beloved pup Jekyll who struggled and ultimately died from prostate cancer. I dedicated every day of my life to him for the last 9 months. Hoping to prolong his life and keep him by my side. I asked… Read more »
I need help. My westie is almost 13 and she’s been suffering with recurring UTI’s for a little while now. She also has a bad ear infection. She’s tired. And i can’t stand to see her hurting anymore. I need help and advice on when euthanasia should come into the question. I’ve never done this before and i need all the help and second opinions i can get. this is my baby and i can’t watch her suffer. i also don’t want to put her down if she still has any value of life left. please help. please
Hello, I’m sorry to hear about your pup. I would say a few things are important to mention. 1. Call everyone to try to be seen by the neurologist sooner. Call and ask to be put on a cancelation list. So if they get an opening they can call you and get you in sooner. Call your closest vet school and try to get in there. 2. Ask about getting your mds filled via your pharmacy. Gabapentin is cheap here. About $30 for a two week supply. If you can’t get it cheaper ask about tramadol or an online pharmacy.… Read more »
Dear
Krista Magnifico
My adult cat Niko suddenly has developed sneezing symptoms and developed a lump between the eyes and above the nose. On occasion he has sneezed with signs of blood were present. We took him to our vet and they performed x-rays of his chest to make sure he doesn’t have respiratory infection which came back negative. They have already put him on two forms of antibiotics which have calmed down the sneezing and cleared up his eye some, but the lump is still present. They took biopsy of lump sent to lab for analysis which came back negative for cancer or fungal disease. They still are not sure what’s wrong with him. They don’t have small enough endoscope which can navigate up my cats nose to view if there is problem. I have already spent a lot of money and they want to charge $1200 more to flush nose and try to view whats the problem with instrument they view dogs ears which is the smallest instrument they have, which im worried about because if it doesn’t fix this problem were in same problem as before. Do you think it could be a polyp in his nasal cavity? He seems fine but won’t eat hard food anymore only soft food, maybe a little more tired than usual though.
This reminds me of a cat we had a few weeks ago. He was always an outside cat and was fed regularly by neigbours. They brought him in, because he developed a lump between his eyes, suddenly was blind and desoriented. He also showed heavy signs of cat flu (sneezing, discharge…). XRay didn’t show anything, but a CT Scan showed that the bone was dissolving. We couldn’t help him anymore :(.
I would definitly try what Krista recommended. I really wish the best for your cat and hope you find out what this is!
Hello, I have never seen a polyp cause a facial deformity. I would be very worried about a tumor. In my experience facial deformity has always been cancer. Fungal Disease is very unlikely in my area. For these cats I tend to hit the antibiotics hard and aggressive early on. And I go through at least 3 different ones before I stop. I also talk about a steroid to slow down the growth if I can rule out fungal infection. I have also tried traumatic biopsy with a catheter and then nasal flush whilemunder anesthesia. I do not have an… Read more »
Hello,
My cat has gone under right ear Hematoma surgery on Sunday. 15 stitches and a 2-3 cm single cut has been made to drain the blood and prevent the ear from filling up again, plus antibiotic syrop. After two days it got swollen up again, we came for a check in – the vet stuck a metal thing in the cut, popping up the liquids (not blood), without draining them completely (the cat hid in it’s bag and the vet didn’t even try to proceed until full disinfection), sold me a cleaning fluid and send me home telling me I need to clean his ear everyday (how can I, unequipped drain the liquids and disinfect them at home?) , until we get into check in again. What I’m asking is, how professional is it to send a client who paid good money for his pet to be rid of his ear problem by surgery intervention to be sent home to clean the skin around the closed cut of a filled with liquids ear (probably even with an infection) will help the ear to heal? Should I try another vet? Or is it alright for the ear to get swollen after surgery and will cleaning, outside without draining the fluids, help?
Hello- Sorry about your troubles. My first piece of advice would be that if you aren’t comfortable with your vet/vet office, speak to them about it and voice your concerns. If after that you still don’t feel good about them, then I would find avet that you do trust. Secondly, hematoma take a lot of time to heal or reabsorb. It is not uncommon for them to fill up again. I would call the vet you are currently using today, express your concerns and see if they have anything else to advise you as far as how to go about… Read more »
Our cat has been very sick for the past couple of months. It started as severe nasal congestion that got so bad she stopped eating. A few days before her scheduled nasal scope, she developed Horner’s syndrome. The scope revealed massive infection and pus in both ears and a nasal polyp, which they cleaned out. That was almost two months ago. She is difficult to medicate and her eating has been sporadic, and she’s lost a lot of weight. We finally got her eating again a couple of weeks ago, but then in the past few days she’s developed some sort of nerve problem on the side of her face with the Horners eye to the effect that she has great difficulty getting the food into her mouth although she has a good appetite. She sticks her tongue out of the other side of her mouth and can spend 20 minutes or more trying to lap up a little spoonful. She leans her head to the side with the bad eye and that side of her face ends up covered with food.
She is otherwise moving around well and using the litter box with no problem, and she will come and sit in our laps. She is probably mostly deaf.
We keep thinking this is the end for her, but is it? Is this at all sustainable? Is it possible the neve damage is temporary? Should we euthanize this cat? TIA for any advice.
Thank you, Krista. What’s baffling me is she is VERY hungry and tries frantically to eat whatever food I put in front of her, but it takes a huge effort for her to get it in her mouth. A lot of thick drool is involved. I just sat with her trying to guide some food into her mouth while she worked her tongue with a lot of strength against the spoon I was using. She did get some of it in her – I spooned out about a quarter of the can – but was obviously frustrated. I then set… Read more »
Hello, I am sorry to hear of your cats troubles. I am also sorry but it is hard for me to offer advice without an examination and a long talk with you. I think a couple of things are important to discuss with your vet. One is it possible to place a feeding tube while you wait to see if the Horners resolves? I am very aggresssive with placing them AS long as I think that the cat is able to recover from whatever is causing the anorexia. Also you can try an appetite stimulant, antibiotics (they come in injection… Read more »
Need advice – my poor GSD has been thru the ringer these past few months.
First vestibular, then fleas! – then what looked like dog flu, runny eyes, warm, runny nose… skin infection.. discharge from eyes (like she’s crying) and now sores under both eyes, being washed with warm cotton ball, dried and cream applied with cortisone with anti itch stuff.
has been in Cipro prescribed by vet, for at least 25 plus days (3rd refill) 2 treatments of steroids (vet prescribed)
and NOW, horrible Ear infection/mites, its Jan 1st, Im waiting until Jan 2nd to get her in the vets, BUT is there anything I can do to make her more comfortable? There must be something?
OK! – she had a bacterial infection whose name escapes me (sounds like coxsackie in humans) so she had her ears cleaned out, and has drops every day, and has ointment for her eyes, and.. the red patch under her nose, is from a nasal drip – so basically – an upper respiratory thing?
Phoenix now has clean ears, no runny eyes, and a new vet! when her vet said they couldnt see her until friday, that was it.. she seems a lot better in herself already.
Thank you for answering so fast. Phoenix is eight years young, getting control of the fleas involved, advantix, soresto and bravecto (yes all three) I now think she got them from my son’s girlfriend cat who is no longer with us, and I’m terrified that what got her, had crossed to my girl. This doesn’t make much sense to me, but her cat, the last thing the vet was checking was hema bordatella? Before seeing her at the vet on the last day, I’d never seen an animal so emaciated. Her blood counts were in the 8% for RBC. I’m… Read more »
Good morning. I’m sorry to hear about your pup. I think that all of the concerns which you have voiced here, should also be brought up at your vet visit, even if you’ve already asked. Seeing as you’re still trying to find out what is happening and how best to treat it, it can’t hurt to double check. If it’s possible, perhaps you could put a call in to your vet? Maybe they can squeeze you in early as possible, or suggest something else to do in the mean time since they are familiar with this case? It sounds like… Read more »
Hello,
No Tylenol please! I think that you just have to wait. There aren’t too many options if you are on a steroid. All would be prescription and/vet exclusive. The ER is the only place to get them. I also have never seen a dog on three flea preventatives. So I’m not sure about them either. I’ve also never seen fleas cause his many issues in an older dog. Sounds like something else is going on. I suggest asking for a specialist referral.
Hello, I’m sorry to hear about your pup. I’m also sorry to say that we can’t provide advice on prescribing anything because we don’t know your dog and don’t want to jeoprodize your current or future treatment plan or options. Maybe there is something that has been given to you already that you can use until tomorrow? Did they give you any pain meds or shampoos to try? Your only good option is to go to the ER or see your vet first thing tomorrow. I hope things work out. I have to say that I always worry about immune… Read more »
Hi there. Unfortunately it’s impossible to diagnose a lump or bump on the internet – the vet needs to actually touch it, feel it, etc. I wouldn’t freak out TOO much unless it starts to grow. In your situation I’d probably draw a circle around it (yes, on the ear itself) to monitor it, and I’d let the vet know what’s going on.